We all create wealth

It is my firm belief that everybody who works creates wealth, and not only a selected few, as is Richard Gibson’s opinion (New battle over trust’s support for Viking; SN 15/5/12).

I don’t understand why the views of Richard’s selected “wealth creators” should be of such importance, especially as the moneys in question are held in trust for the entire Shetland population.

Berthold Brecht’s poem “Questions of a reading worker” springs to mind. Here are a few of these questions:

Who built Thebes of the seven gates? 

In the books you will find the names of kings.
Did the kings haul up the lumps of rock?
The young Alexander conquered India.
Was he alone?
Caesar beat the Gauls.
Did he not have even a cook with him?

I also have a few questions and would appreciate an answer from Richard:

Do his “wealth creators” create this wealth alone?
Do they not have workers who create or at least help to create this wealth?
Have his “wealth creators” (and he himself for that matter) consulted their workforce on this issue?
If not, what gives them the right to speak for their workforce?
Do the voices of “wealth creators” carry more weight than those of the workers?
If so, why?

Solely consulting his “wealth creators” rather than the population of Shetland, strikes me as a return to the days before we had universal suffrage in this country.

Rosa Steppanova
Tresta