'It's none of Trump's business how we run our internal affairs'

Should people use AI for financial advice? Should Andy Burnham challenge Donald Trump? Big Issue readers have written in to share their thoughts on these questions raised by articles in the magazine and online.

Trumped up

The housing piece says Burnham’s agenda may put him at odds with Trump. We may have different perspectives on social policy but, quite frankly, it’s none of the US’s business how we run our internal affairs. Trump and his coterie have tried to push their agendas onto us for the last two years while objecting to the labour activists who helped Kamala Harris in her election campaign. We should do what that Danish MP did about Greenland: tell them to F off!

The remark about Trump’s advisers “flooding the zone with shit” reminds me of Hannah Arendt’s warning that if you deliberately tell enough lies, people no longer know what to believe and end up believing nothing, which makes them easy to rule. It’s part of the far-right agenda.

Nigel Sharpe, Fareham

Take the heat off

First, issue 1728 is great! Second, Sam Delaney and I must’ve been separated at birth. I agreed with and laughed out loud at his railing against this scary weather. My advice is to buy a pet cooling pad and shove it under your bottom sheet. Bliss. Also use your bath, washing, veg water for your garden. Plants aren’t bothered what they drink. Keep it all going.
Love, Mads

Man vs machine

Mr MoneyJar omits a critical difference between a human financial adviser and AI. While the human is bound by confidentiality rules and has a duty to give you best advice, no such constraint applies to AI systems. When you use them, they feel personal, supportive, and discreet. As a result this can lead you to reveal all kinds of financial details about yourself. As the saying goes, “if it’s free, then you are the product” and the very psychological process that led you to tell it things you might not even discuss with a friend, now open you up to exploitation by Big Tech.

Dr Andrea Sella

Change of scene

In My Pitch Issue 1728, Simon Denis wrote about losing his government apprenticeship post when there was a change of government in 2010.

I had several similar experiences with changes of government or policies in the ’80s, ’90s and in 2010 too! At the end of my working life, despite being qualified in several fields of work, I had had 25 different employers, with spells on benefits and also teaching English abroad. I wonder how many MPs or government ministers had similar learning processes?

Clive Hopper, Swansea

Read more:

• The Trump administration has declared war on homelessness – the fightback starts now
• Tariffs, trade wars and unpredictability: What Trump 2.0 means for UK house prices
• Donald Trump is no less of a villain for winning an election – beware his effect on UK politics

Where do I sign?

Seeing in issue 1728 that 670,000 new homes could be created by using empty property (presumably shops as well as houses) I looked online for a petition and saw one had only received 46 signatures and had been closed (maybe because most of us hadn’t heard of it). Would another petition be in the pipeline?

P Robinson, Hampshire

Off message

I’ve read your paper for years, regularly, but nothing grabbed my attention as much as the Gary Stevenson section, plus his team of influencers. I had read his book before, so was aware of his story and the issue of wealth inequality, but there were also practical ideas in there for change. Good job.

Incidentally I work in a food bank and was quoting some of the stats to another volunteer (would you pay £20,000 tax if you were given £500,000?). I was astonished by her aggressive response. I received a lecture about taxes simply feeding the welfare system, which was the underlying problem. One would assume that the volunteers for a food bank would at least have a liberal stance? But giving up one’s cash for a better world is not a message that is easy to put across, it seems.

Thanks for your hard work and (in my opinion) high-class journalism.
Peter McCalister, Dunblane

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more. 

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