Too harsh or too generous? Rishi Sunak walks the job support tightrope October 27, 2020 Last Thursday, the chancellor gave his third economic statement in a month — U-turning on plans to replace the furlough scheme with a far less generous new Job Support Scheme (JSS) at the end of October. Instead, the JSS will now offer a level of government support almost as generous as that provided by the [...]
Why I’m calling the US election for Biden and the Democrats October 27, 2020 Given the absolute lunacy of this past year, the American presidential campaign of 2020 has followed a strikingly consistent pattern. Since the coming of the virus in the spring, Democratic challenger Joe Biden has held a clear (if not quite overwhelming) lead over the incumbent Donald Trump. Last Thursday’s Real Clear Politics aggregator of polls [...]
US election: Nervous New Yorkers sleepwalking toward polling day October 27, 2020 Taking a bus from New York’s John F Kennedy airport and through Long Island provides an insightful snapshot into some of the realities of 21st century America. In the one hour it took yesterday to drive from one of America’s largest airports to my accommodation in Brooklyn, I saw poverty that was akin to that [...]
Doctor, Doctor: How can we cure our chronic NHS shortage? October 27, 2020 Shortages of PPE and ventilators have been at the top of the agenda during this pandemic, but such attention has masked a far more intractable problem: the global shortage of doctors. According to one forecast, in 10 years there will be a global deficit of 400,000 doctors, with that undersupply spread between 32 OECD countries. [...]
Why I’m calling for a £15bn National Renewal Fund to support growing businesses October 27, 2020 Some 90 years ago, a government committee set up to examine the health of the British economy identified a persistent shortfall in funding for small and medium-sized businesses. This shortfall was termed the Macmillan Gap — named not after the politician but after the Scottish lawyer, Hugh Macmillan, who chaired the committee. As the saying [...]
Modern Monetary Theory: A shared delusion that will destroy the economy October 27, 2020 As Rishi Sunak announced another multi-billion-pound support package last week, most numerate people would have been boggling at the numbers. How are we ever going to pay all that money back? Surely it means years of austerity, high taxes, or debt for our children and grandchildren to repay? But there is a growing and increasingly [...]
It’s 2020 — why are we still debating whether period products are essential? October 27, 2020 On Monday, while alcohol was vital enough to feature in a Tesco branch only providing essential items in Cardiff, period products were nowhere to be found. The supermarket giant explained to a confused customer on Twitter that period products simply weren’t considered essential enough to be stocked for the duration of the fire break lockdown [...]
The magic of mentoring can unleash an entrepreneurial revolution October 27, 2020 During times of uncertainty, great opportunity emerges from the darkness. That’s why new businesses are created in the midst of economic recessions. It might seem reckless to launch a company during this time of enormous disruption in society, but this is a chance to unleash our wildest dreams and experiment with new ideas. When big [...]
How much is Donald Trump worth? Judging by his Scottish golf resorts, not as much as you think October 26, 2020 You might have missed the news in the avalanche of election stories pouring out of America, but earlier this month, Donald Trump received planning approval for a new golf course at his Aberdeenshire resort. But before you get too excited (or outraged), understand that it is unlikely to ever be built. The President’s Scottish properties [...]
Congratulations Brussels for capturing EU states’ financial sovereignty October 26, 2020 The European Union achieved spectacular market success this month when it launched its new “Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency” bond programme (SURE). The €100bn programme will be used by the EU to support member nations addressing pandemic job security and social welfare weakness over the next year. The first €17bn bond issue [...]