Sir, – Geoff Scargill (April 4th) and RD Banton (April 2nd) both appear to be unclear on the meaning of the word “invest”.
The Oxford Dictionary defines invest (v.) as “put (money) into financial schemes, shares, property, or a commercial venture with the expectation of achieving a profit”. To borrow, on the other hand, is defined as “to take and use (something that belongs to someone else) with the intention of returning it”. We have been spending money we don’t have, on things we don’t need, often to impress people we don’t like. We have chosen complicity with banks, for whom remember a loan is an asset, in this rewriting of language. – Yours, etc,