Every day, we publish a selection of your emails in our newsletter. We’d love to hear from you, you can email us at yoursay@theconversation.edu.au.
Monday February 16
Rethinking inflation control
“Using interest rates as a means of controlling inflation seems to me to be a very blunt instrument, favouring one part of society while being very hard on the younger generation. Is there not a better way? Why not increase tax rates? Those on the higher incomes who are currently spending, causing inflation to rise, will have their spending curbed and the younger generation will have a little better chance to get established in life.”
Don Perkins
A warning about whooping cough
“I had whooping cough in my thirties. I thought I was going to die – and at times wished I could. Unbearable coughing, broken ribs, muscular agony, no sleep, breathlessness, and vomiting at the end of a coughing fit just when I thought I’d never inhale again. When I realised what I had it was too late for antibiotics. Recovery took a full six months. Initially I thought it was a bad cold so, unknowingly, I travelled by plane while I was highly contagious. I worry what harm that may have caused. Please, please if you can, get vaccinated, and save yourself and others from experiencing what I did.”
Kim Ter-Horst
Renters continue to pay the price
“As a colleague of mine once said: ‘You rarely increase the supply of anything by taxing it more heavily’. The Hawke Keating government quickly reversed moves to curb tax benefits for landlords because of rent rises. When New Zealand curbed tax benefits for landlords, demand for investment loans fell and rents went up. So, theory and admittedly imperfect evidence coincide. The conclusion is that reducing capital gains tax benefits to help home-buyers and the budget should be accompanied by support for renters.”
Graham Partington
Tuesday February 17
Trump’s Iran talks
“What is the basis, under International Law, for these talks? Under what international norm does a stronger power have the right to demand a weaker power to comply with certain conditions to avoid war? Where is the "rules based order” that was established to ensure civilized discussions between states when disputes arise? Or, are we, in the 21st Century, reverting to the laws of the jungle where the strong prevails over the weak?“
Ranjan Yagoda, Melbourne VIC
The collapse of academic peer-reviewing
"Why can’t academic publishing work the same way as book publishing? You submit your paper to a few publishers, the publishers weigh up the risks and benefits, they bid by offering an advance, you accept the best offer and you sign a contract for a share of the royalties. Royalties come to the universities involved with a proportion to the academics concerned. Scientists should not be undervalued as unpaid volunteers who undertake reviewing after-hours (or in retirement).”
Jennie Brand-Miller AO, FAA Professor Emeritus University of Sydney 
New lib leadership
“I was disappointed listening to the first press conference of the new Liberal Party leadership team. My disquiet was with the members of the press gallery. Their questioning was so predictable and formulaic. Why not quiz Taylor or Hume with a few questions like this: Do you have a few early ideas about how you can boost housing affordability? What are three quick ways you would try to lower the cost of living?”
Richard Goodwin, Doubleview WA
Wednesday February 18
Welcome to the Jungle
“Ranjan Yagoda (Your say, Tuesday February 17)) asked some interesting questions. Trump has made ‘peace’ his mission – but it doesn’t matter how he brings it about. He has discarded the ‘rules-based order’ that prevailed in favour of his own order; i.e. it’s his way or the highway – and his way is to demonstrate that the USA has the military might and isn’t afraid to use it … to bring about peace! The answer to Ranjan’s question, unfortunately, is ‘Yes, the laws of the jungle now prevail’.”
David Gordon, Cranebrook NSW
Depression causes
“I endured depression continuously for 17 years from my late teens to well into my early 30s, much of it severe. There was no apparent cause or reason for it, certainly that I could tell, so for much of that time I just endured. Only four years ago, an alert young Indigenous doctor picked up on elevated blood iron levels in a routine checkup. Subsequent genetic testing confirmed I have haemochromatosis, which can lead to chronic stress which isn’t perceived by the sufferer but is surely a pre-condition leading to depression in many people that isn’t readily explained.”
Alex Nelson, Alice Springs NT
A better way to fight inflation?
“If the RBA raises interest rates on mortgages to reduce consumer spending, why not increase compulsory superannuation contributions paid by the employee. Then the money goes back into the pockets of our citizens and not the banks.”
Roger Webb, Mornington VIC
Thursday February 19
A third kind of inflation
“Luke Hartigan mentioned cost-push inflation and demand-pull inflation in his article, however, another cause of inflation that would be beneficial for the lay person to understand is profit-push inflation by businesses that maintain monopolistic market power. Arguably, this is what Australians have experienced from Coles and Woolworths. Market power and a lack of competition leads to inflationary pressure, which is fixed via fiscal policy and maintaining market competition. I feel that this would have been an important concept for people to know and understand. Why is this point of view so often neglected?”
Kyle Martelle, Adelaide SA
Should the shingles vax be for under 50s?
“While we’re talking about vaccines, I had shingles last September, I’m 47. The nerve pain is still with me. I’m surprised that no one ever considers that the younger folk who are coming down with shingles now are part of the generation of children who grew up without the chicken pox vax. How about, if you’ve had shingles and you’re not in the auto-vax category, you can have it by default before you’re 50.”
Catherine Mayer, Canterbury VIC
Does intermittent fasting help weight-loss?
“At the end of 2013 I decided to try the 5:2 diet as I had been a yo-yo dieter for many years and felt I could follow restricting my food for just 2 days per week. I ate plenty of protein which helps to make you feel fuller and cut back on ‘empty’ foods. It took me 2 years to achieve my goal and then I went to 6:1. I thought I would have to do 1 diet day per week for the rest of my life, but after a few years I also cut back on alcohol and I have eaten normally every day since. You need to be determined, but I have now kept the weight off for over 10 years.”
Caroline Craig, Toongabbie NSW
Friday February 20
A sky full of stars (and junk)
“I remember as if yesterday peering up at the night sky to see the first satellite hurtling above. Sputnik! From one piece of space junk to likely millions in way less than a century. The modern era population of space with super smart technology, ultimately to become junk, is just the latest graphic illustration of our species’ insatiable appetite to always push boundaries of whatever kind.”
Dr John Halsey, Emeritus Professor, Flinders University
Cut-off ages
“Why is 74 the cut-off age for automatically receiving bowel testing kits every two years? The same applies for regular mammograms – they don’t send reminders after women turn 74. It is left up to us to remember and request these tests. It feels like no one cares about older people and preventative health measures.”
Shirley Jones, Perth WA
“Life within a lie”
“The article on Mark Carney’s use of Václav Havel’s philosophies is so very enlightening in this era of consistent lies. Just refer then to the article on Amazon’s Ring doorbells; a case study in legalised criminality, not just privacy but uninvited and entirely unnecessary surveillance.”
Isabelle Canty