Taxes should not be increased on Gen Z and Millennial Americans to fund Social Security for Baby Boomers. Social Security Benefits should not be cut for Baby Boomers. The federal government should spend less money and frivolous welfare programs should be heavily cut.

France is apparently dipping into its schools budget to plug holes in its public pension system. Seems relevant given that the country is currently being rocked by students protesting over conditions at their high schools!theconversation.com/the-fren…

The elites of Victorian Britain got up late, drank ceaselessly, worked short hours, partied through the night, and knew nothing about science, technology or engineering. And yet, by their own lights, they were hugely effective. worksinprogress.co/issue/the… The Victorians are often held up as a model against the supposedly soft, feckless, humanities-educated elites of today. But I argue that the genius of their system may have been its drastic weighting towards soft skills, team-building and intra-elite networking: - A Victorian’s gentleman’s office hours typically began about 11am and finished about 5pm, including a multi-course lunch with wine. - Upper-class Victorians drank ceaselessly. Conduct guides recommended four or five glasses of wine at dinner *for married women*. Port was often served in pints. - Party culture was intense and nocturnal. Balls started at about 10pm, peaked after 1am, and continued till dawn. During the social season, bankers, judges and politicians might go to several balls per week. - Elite Victorians learnt almost no STEM at school or university. At least half of class time was given over to ancient languages, often as much as 80 percent. One leading educationalist remarked that it was not worth teaching science to gentlemen because it does not involve ‘continued reasoning’. - Sports and character formation were valued far above transmitting facts. A top headmaster described his school’s priorities as ‘First – character, second – physique, third – intelligence, fourth – manners, fifth – information’. This cannot have made elite Victorians more productive individually, but maybe the dense social and emotional network it created helped them to work as a sort of extended team. Perhaps we should think again about what makes groups of people effective.

Grenfell - 72 died from the fire, at least five died by suicide, 11,000 have PTSD, concerns about long term effects of toxicity on residents, 11 firefighters with terminal cancer - plus £1bn spent and rising. That's 'nothing' right?

Harry Kane, one season wonder.

Bleak. The pantheon of passported benefits grows ever larger.

Happy Brazilian Election day to all those who celebrate it