Interesting discussion on Radio 4’s Today programme this morning (19 Nov 2013). Prof. Tom Kirkwood of Newcastle University put a strong case for the value to the overall economy that is provided by older people continuing to work; whether as employees or entrepreneurs.
Host John Humphrys put the widely-held counter-view, i.e. that every senior still working is “job-blocking”, i.e. removing an opportunity for the younger person who might replace them.
However Kirkwood gave as good as he got by calling such an attitude “simplistic”. In other words, it is not a zero-sum game; and he went on to explain why the university’s current work backs up his view.
If you’d like to hear what was said, here’s a LINK.
The piece is at 08:47.
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
It’s always good to hear any radio guest who is not intimidated by the Humphrys / Paxman style of interviewing. (To be fair, Humphrys was pretty polite this morning, by his standards.)
I still treasure Paxman’s interview with Plaid Cymru spokesman Eurfyl ap Gwilym, which resulted in the most-watched video of the 2010 election. (LINK)