Wednesday, October 28, 2009

The new family economics

In a recent leader comment At the Mercy of Events on the crisis in childcare, The Times repeats the claim that “fostering, both the best & the cheapest of options, suffers from a shortage of suitable parents

Well of course it does - & not (necessarily) because of rules about obesity, racial ‘identity’ or any other right on nostrums.

It’s the economy, stupid.

Fostering is based on the old model of a wife who stayed at home to look after the children while the husband provided the cash income. The State had to finance only the marginal cost of the child (or the cost of the marginal child).

Now the Government believes that mothers should participate in the labour market, even though they still have school age children. Cash is king. And so if they want people to do the job of looking after children they will have to pay the wages.

*****

Politicians find it easy to prescribe nostra when out of power, hoping that things will be easier when they get to Downing Street.

Cited in OED: 1967 Times Rev. Industry Aug. 14/1