Gervase,

That reminds me of something said by a keynote speaker(may have been Chamber of Commerce0 at a conference some years back about how school leavers shouldn't expect to get a job with good pay.

Lets face it, if a large proportion of people finishing education are better qualified, with transferable skills, who will have aspirations to become a burger tosser, and if/as there is pressure from commercial lobbyists to drive down wages, then it is possible that the government may want to redress the balance to ensure the supply of unskilled cheap labour.

And thereby hangs a paradox - the same commercial sector is driven by consumerism, i.e. more people buying more. So if it isn't funded by wages, then it can only be funded by debt. So more personal debt, the banks rub there hands at he interest and default fees they can charge, then borrowers find they can't afford to make repayments, so the banks face a cashflow crises, therefore we/taxpayers have to bail the banks out.

it doesn't bear thinking about - oh but hasn't that just happened?

Then the second scenario - commerce decides that it doesn't actually need a UK work force, especially as there are developing economies where workers can be employed for pence rather than pounds. Before anyone calls me racist,I am not condemning the people employed, but the exploitation of the workers who are often work in appalling conditions.

So, someone may say, globalisation means that labour costs in UK need to be driven down to be competitive?

If one considers it acceptable that the main role of a worker is solely to create wealth for someone else,than it would be true.   However, this stifles innovation, and development of new markets. A good education system creates the prospects of innovation taking place, creating wealth at a micro level.

Looks like I am getting sidetracked again

S.