When I read letters blaming politicians for every woe or concern, I wonder whether we are still living in a bubble.

Politicians, worldwide, do not fix the price of crude oil from which petrol, kerosene and aviation fuel come. It is a simple case of supply versus demand. Prices of the crude are on the rise, so to expect that by-products of oil will not increase, is unreasonable.

Mark Micallef (Politicians and the people, TMID 26 June) posed a question asking whether the government expected him to walk to his destination. I can assure Mr Micallef that thousands are doing just that if the distance involved is reasonable. But, more practical would be combining trips.

The same applies to rising food prices. This is a world-wide problem which sees the price of cereals doubling in the last three months, so, expect prices of bread, pasta and rice to at least double in the coming months.

There is simply no easy solution and governments cannot do anything except to try and control speculators. For the rest of us, by necessity, we have to alter our driving habits and diets. Both may end up to be beneficial to our health.

Whether one reads about rising prices on page one or 21 is immaterial. What counts is what one pays at the pump or at the grocery store. Many newspapers reserve page one for earth shattering news, sensationalism and propaganda. Others report the same news in other pages as “a matter of fact” event.

Both fuel and food prices, these days, are ordinary news witnessed by shoppers and drivers and their attention needs not to be grabbed by any page one articles.

Joe Martinelli

London, Ontario

Canada