If John Sanders (Oxford Mail letters August 30) really believes that the “Labour Government doled out £850bn to rescue the banks” then I fear he needs a lesson in basic economics.

The sums actually doled out were £76bn to buy the shares in RBS and Lloyds (which hopefully can be sold at a profit), and £40bn of loans and other funding to Bradford and Bingley and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

The vast majority of this £850bn hasn’t been doled out to anyone.

The Government has provided various guarantees, insurance and indemnities totalling £730bn – which basically say if things go pear-shaped in the future, then the Government has to pay out.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed that this doesn’t happen.

I have one question, however.

I always was under the impression that proper financial management meant that in good times a prudent person put money aside for a rainy day.

No one has yet explained to me why the Government didn’t do that – but continued to overspend and borrow money.

Now the rainy day is here, all of us look like we are going to get extremely wet.

Paul Wilson, Kennedy Close, Oxford