From Jon Scott.
ROGER Trower claimed in his letter (JEP, 9 December) that our Treasury Minister has been printing money to prop up States expenditure.

If only it was that simple, we could have the presses running night and day! Mr Trower appears to be confusing the issue with the Bank of England quantitative easing process.

Sadly for us, our complementary currency is tied to the fortunes of sterling, since each Jersey pound is redeemable against a British one. So when HM Government/Bank of England devalue Sterling by printing extra notes, we bear the consequence of that devaluation, but don’t get the privilege of spending any of it.

Maybe it is the price we pay for being what we are, but there must be better alternatives. Importantly though, each Jersey note has a UK counterpart which our Treasury invests, with fairly handsome returns. The Treasury Minister simply isn’t able to do as Mr Trower suggests, nor can he dispose of the £75m deposit because of the promise to pay it back.

It doesn’t make a lot of sense, but our notes are fully backed by English notes which are not.

The same letter dealt with the public sector workers’ pension scheme deficit.
Mr Trower pointed out the stark reality of needing to pay more in or take less out, though elsewhere, as one of The Angry Men, he also proposes dramatically downsizing the public sector workforce.

The predictable result is more retirees getting less, with fewer workers paying more.

This is compounded by the probability that the downsizing will be achieved by voluntary early retirement.

The good news, however, is that replacing old notes creates an opportunity to find out just how many notes will never be redeemed because they have been lost, destroyed or left the Island.

During the course of the last 18 years, there is a high probability that many of the £75m have gone for good.

It doesn’t seem impossible that, say, £20m of it could add to the States’ coffers if the old notes were phased-out.

We also have ample scope for special editions which are not usually redeemed. The £100 note and Alderney £5 coin are good examples, which are quite literally money spinners.