Efficiency

Our Saturday Columnist

My favourite section of our Saturday paper is the column written by our friend, Matt Rilkoff, the paper's News Director. Matt was a student of Margaret's when he was at High School.

This morning he writes about the problem of lunch: to buy or to make and carry from home. Among his interesting facts is that the price of a Moro Bar in terms of wages earned to pay for it has doubled in his working lifetime.

It fascinates me that these discrepancies appear. Why has the cost of housing risen by 250% over my lifetime, while the cost of everyday food, petrol, and so on has stayed more or less stable? And at the same time, the cost of air travel has fallen by something like 80%, again in relation to wages.

Do these figures mean that the aircraft industry has been wonderfully, almost unbelievably efficient, and that competition between companies has been a positive factor? Do they mean that the building industry has become noticeably less efficient, and that there is no comparable competition there?

Matt sings the praises of his favourite sandwich taken from home: peanut butter and sultana. I can agree with him that these would make a welcome snack at midday in a busy work programme. But if the stories from my grandchildren's primary school are valid, Matt would be a persona non grata in some places if he dared to carry peanut butter sandwiches with him.

People seem to accept that taking peanut butter to school is a threat to the safety of others. By the same token, it is a threat to others to refuse to accept vaccination, or to oppose fluoridation of water. I cannot see a difference in principle between these three examples. Many public health issues depend on everyone being involved. Like insurance, the more of us get involved the cheaper it becomes for everyone.

So as he suggests, this issue raises questions from both nutritional and economic points of view, it even raises fundamental ethical matters. What is your take?