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Read The Book
Before the welfare state
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The Greycoat Hospital
The Greycoat Hospital was once a workhouse. It has since been a hospital and a school. It has a very long welfare history. It has now been taken over by the state.
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The Greycoat Hospital
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Education and State
Licence
Stats
The drive towards ‘lower inequality’
This idea is not going away. As part of the research for my new book, I visited the OECD last week and interviewed eight people there. The concept of low inequality being a ‘good thing’ was referred to explicitly or … Continue reading
We don’t follow logic. We follow emotions
“Understanding is not cognitive. It is emotional.” In other words, you do not understand something because you have successfully followed a line of logic. You understand it at an emotional level. This assertion was made to me recently by a … Continue reading
The good and bad of welfare reform in the USA
http://www.centerforajustsociety.org/2011/08/25/32484/blog/the-difficulties-of-welfare-reform/
Aspects of the riots and what needs to be done
Some articles in today’s Sunday Telegraph reflect different aspects of the riots and their aftermath: The interview with David Cameron. He is talking tough on crime now but he is the man who appointed Kenneth Clarke to be in charge … Continue reading
Posted by James Bartholomew
Indexed in Behaviour & Crime, Blog, Parenting, Politics, Reform, Unemployment, Welfare benefits
The rise and fall(?) of the state
Between 1940 and 1975, government’s share of GDP “doubled in Germany, tripled in the UK, quadrupled in the Netherlands and quintupled in Denmark.” Yet the apparent need for state intervention increased proving “the amazing ability of the welfare state to … Continue reading
Why is Japanese healthcare cheap? Or, to put it another way, why is British and, even more, American healthcare so expensive?
The Japanese healthcare system is very different from that of Britain or America. That much is certain. But the following are preliminary notes on the subject from a private conversation with a Japanese person now living in Britain. More research … Continue reading
Japan has an old-fashioned contributions-based welfare system. It works pretty well but it is probably moving towards a worse model
Daiwa Anglo Japanese Foundation 7/4/11. Session on work and pensions in the UK and Japan. Talk by Soichiro Sasago, First Secretary and the Embassy of Japan in London Significant points I took away from his talk: Minimal income support. The … Continue reading
East Side Story – visit to a charity (2)
I visited Community Links for a second time last week. I have lost most of my notes but here is some of what I remember. 1. Cutbacks to citizens’ advice and legal aid The first thing the policy people at … Continue reading
Posted by James Bartholomew
Indexed in Behaviour & Crime, Charity, Parenting, Reform, Welfare benefits
Charity work in the East End
I visited a charity called Community Links towards the end of last year, to find out what it does. I saw two of its various activities. The first was helping people get back into work. This is done on behalf … Continue reading
Posted by James Bartholomew
Indexed in Behaviour & Crime, Charity, Education, Reform, Welfare benefits
But changes to the state pension may improve the incentives for the poor to save…
The government will make it “crystal clear” to young people that it “pays to save” for retirement when it reforms pensions, Iain Duncan Smith has said. The work and pensions secretary indicated a move towards a flat-rate state pension, removing … Continue reading