The Paula Principle

Financial times

Basic incomes surface in Davos – no longer marginal

Back in Aug 2014 I wrote a post on the idea of a citizen's income.  The idea of guaranteeing a basic income is PP-relevant because it would help people - especially women -  move in and out of formal employment without looking like deviant marginals. I said: The CI has been around for a long time. It has generally been dismissed as either cranky or ok in theory but unworkable. But when it was first being discussed 20 or so years ago, the labour market was very different..... As a political sell, it’s a tough one. Many will have an instinctive reaction against the unconditional something-for-nothing proposal....But as Iain Duncan…
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Grandparenting and the club sandwich

An interesting piece in yesterday's Financial Times on grandparents (in the main, grandmothers) who find themselves an essential part of their children's (mainly daughters) childcare arrangements.  This is, often, at the expense of their own career, which may have just been taking off again. The lead story (for those of you who aren't behind the FT's paywall) is about an accountant, Tracey Conway, who had moved up from 2 days a week to 5 days - and has now gone down again to help look after her grandson, as her daughter pursues her career at the bank.  She finds much to be happy about it, especially her strong link with the…
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Valuing work – what measures?

Mrs Moneypenny, a Financial Times columnist, wrote this weekend about how depressing she finds it that Mary Barra, the new head of General Motors, is being paid a basic salary of $1.6 million.  This is 25% less than her male equivalent at Ford. The gap is a significant one, and not atypical, though I find it hard to get too worked up about discrimination at this level.  What I find depressing is Mrs M's subsequent argument.  Apparently Ms Barra's predecessor at GM is being rehired as a consultant, at $4m (we aren't told if this is an annual fee, but I assume so). Mrs M comments: "That is someone who…
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Demography, price-earnings ratios – and the PP

The  Money section of the weekend's FT - yes, a regular read for me, though usually as a bit of financial anthropology more than anything else -  carried a piece by Norma Cohen which suggests that the investment growth of the late C20 will not be recovered for a long time, if at all.  The reason for this is the change shape of Western populations:  the passage of baby-boomers from middle age into retirement, and the shrinkage of the youth population.  The proportion of people aged 65+ in the UK has risen to 17%, and is projected to go up to nearly 25% in the next two decades. Conversely the 35-54 group is declining.  This…
Read More

Basic incomes surface in Davos – no longer marginal

Back in Aug 2014 I wrote a post on the idea of a citizen's income.  The idea of guaranteeing a basic income is PP-relevant because it would help people - especially women -  move in and out of formal employment without looking like deviant marginals. I said: The CI has been around for a long time. It has generally been dismissed as either cranky or ok in theory but unworkable. But when it was first being discussed 20 or so years ago, the labour market was very different..... As a political sell, it’s a tough one. Many will have an instinctive reaction against the unconditional something-for-nothing proposal....But as Iain Duncan…
Read More

Grandparenting and the club sandwich

An interesting piece in yesterday's Financial Times on grandparents (in the main, grandmothers) who find themselves an essential part of their children's (mainly daughters) childcare arrangements.  This is, often, at the expense of their own career, which may have just been taking off again. The lead story (for those of you who aren't behind the FT's paywall) is about an accountant, Tracey Conway, who had moved up from 2 days a week to 5 days - and has now gone down again to help look after her grandson, as her daughter pursues her career at the bank.  She finds much to be happy about it, especially her strong link with the…
Read More

Valuing work – what measures?

Mrs Moneypenny, a Financial Times columnist, wrote this weekend about how depressing she finds it that Mary Barra, the new head of General Motors, is being paid a basic salary of $1.6 million.  This is 25% less than her male equivalent at Ford. The gap is a significant one, and not atypical, though I find it hard to get too worked up about discrimination at this level.  What I find depressing is Mrs M's subsequent argument.  Apparently Ms Barra's predecessor at GM is being rehired as a consultant, at $4m (we aren't told if this is an annual fee, but I assume so). Mrs M comments: "That is someone who…
Read More

Demography, price-earnings ratios – and the PP

The  Money section of the weekend's FT - yes, a regular read for me, though usually as a bit of financial anthropology more than anything else -  carried a piece by Norma Cohen which suggests that the investment growth of the late C20 will not be recovered for a long time, if at all.  The reason for this is the change shape of Western populations:  the passage of baby-boomers from middle age into retirement, and the shrinkage of the youth population.  The proportion of people aged 65+ in the UK has risen to 17%, and is projected to go up to nearly 25% in the next two decades. Conversely the 35-54 group is declining.  This…
Read More

Basic incomes surface in Davos – no longer marginal

Back in Aug 2014 I wrote a post on the idea of a citizen's income.  The idea of guaranteeing a basic income is PP-relevant because it would help people - especially women -  move in and out of formal employment without looking like deviant marginals. I said: The CI has been around for a long time. It has generally been dismissed as either cranky or ok in theory but unworkable. But when it was first being discussed 20 or so years ago, the labour market was very different..... As a political sell, it’s a tough one. Many will have an instinctive reaction against the unconditional something-for-nothing proposal....But as Iain Duncan…
Read More

Grandparenting and the club sandwich

An interesting piece in yesterday's Financial Times on grandparents (in the main, grandmothers) who find themselves an essential part of their children's (mainly daughters) childcare arrangements.  This is, often, at the expense of their own career, which may have just been taking off again. The lead story (for those of you who aren't behind the FT's paywall) is about an accountant, Tracey Conway, who had moved up from 2 days a week to 5 days - and has now gone down again to help look after her grandson, as her daughter pursues her career at the bank.  She finds much to be happy about it, especially her strong link with the…
Read More

Valuing work – what measures?

Mrs Moneypenny, a Financial Times columnist, wrote this weekend about how depressing she finds it that Mary Barra, the new head of General Motors, is being paid a basic salary of $1.6 million.  This is 25% less than her male equivalent at Ford. The gap is a significant one, and not atypical, though I find it hard to get too worked up about discrimination at this level.  What I find depressing is Mrs M's subsequent argument.  Apparently Ms Barra's predecessor at GM is being rehired as a consultant, at $4m (we aren't told if this is an annual fee, but I assume so). Mrs M comments: "That is someone who…
Read More

Demography, price-earnings ratios – and the PP

The  Money section of the weekend's FT - yes, a regular read for me, though usually as a bit of financial anthropology more than anything else -  carried a piece by Norma Cohen which suggests that the investment growth of the late C20 will not be recovered for a long time, if at all.  The reason for this is the change shape of Western populations:  the passage of baby-boomers from middle age into retirement, and the shrinkage of the youth population.  The proportion of people aged 65+ in the UK has risen to 17%, and is projected to go up to nearly 25% in the next two decades. Conversely the 35-54 group is declining.  This…
Read More

Basic incomes surface in Davos – no longer marginal

Back in Aug 2014 I wrote a post on the idea of a citizen's income.  The idea of guaranteeing a basic income is PP-relevant because it would help people - especially women -  move in and out of formal employment without looking like deviant marginals. I said: The CI has been around for a long time. It has generally been dismissed as either cranky or ok in theory but unworkable. But when it was first being discussed 20 or so years ago, the labour market was very different..... As a political sell, it’s a tough one. Many will have an instinctive reaction against the unconditional something-for-nothing proposal....But as Iain Duncan…
Read More

Grandparenting and the club sandwich

An interesting piece in yesterday's Financial Times on grandparents (in the main, grandmothers) who find themselves an essential part of their children's (mainly daughters) childcare arrangements.  This is, often, at the expense of their own career, which may have just been taking off again. The lead story (for those of you who aren't behind the FT's paywall) is about an accountant, Tracey Conway, who had moved up from 2 days a week to 5 days - and has now gone down again to help look after her grandson, as her daughter pursues her career at the bank.  She finds much to be happy about it, especially her strong link with the…
Read More

Valuing work – what measures?

Mrs Moneypenny, a Financial Times columnist, wrote this weekend about how depressing she finds it that Mary Barra, the new head of General Motors, is being paid a basic salary of $1.6 million.  This is 25% less than her male equivalent at Ford. The gap is a significant one, and not atypical, though I find it hard to get too worked up about discrimination at this level.  What I find depressing is Mrs M's subsequent argument.  Apparently Ms Barra's predecessor at GM is being rehired as a consultant, at $4m (we aren't told if this is an annual fee, but I assume so). Mrs M comments: "That is someone who…
Read More

Demography, price-earnings ratios – and the PP

The  Money section of the weekend's FT - yes, a regular read for me, though usually as a bit of financial anthropology more than anything else -  carried a piece by Norma Cohen which suggests that the investment growth of the late C20 will not be recovered for a long time, if at all.  The reason for this is the change shape of Western populations:  the passage of baby-boomers from middle age into retirement, and the shrinkage of the youth population.  The proportion of people aged 65+ in the UK has risen to 17%, and is projected to go up to nearly 25% in the next two decades. Conversely the 35-54 group is declining.  This…
Read More