Share Sounds. from Thought for the Week

Liz Truss and Kwazi Kwarteng could have done with the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee report 'Where have all the workers gone?' to supplement our commentary on 26th September 'Workforce Capacity is the Missing Link'. It was, however, published a couple of working days before Christmas, and it prompted us to consider again what's happened to the more than half a million people who are not employed and not claiming benefits. So, supported with evidence from the excellent Oldie magazine, we offer a few thoughts on a wide variety of enterprising activity that these older folk could be doing — and we round off this episode with a further suggestion for entrepreneurial activity which the Government might support in due course. Background music: '64 Sundays' by Twin Musicom, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Artist: http://www.twinmusicom.org/

The earthquake disaster in Turkey shows yet again how little we learn from the past, and the limited attention we give to planning for the future. Constitutional principles could do much to help - but are we making best use of them? Meanwhile insurers tend to refer to natural disasters as 'Acts of God', but such a description doesn't align with with the Christian understanding that the nature of God is love. In March 2020 we recorded 'Love at the Cutting Edge' seeking to provide an answer, and it's included as the second part of this commentary. Background music: 'Elegy' by Wayne Jones; and to accompany 'Love at the Cutting Edge', Gorecki's Symphony No. 3, first movement as performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1995.

If you’re currently aged between 43 and 59, start watching the news carefully: the chances are that the Government has you firmly in its sights. Of course there's much talk of getting you back to work, if you're one of the 'economically inactive' following the pandemic — but they also have it in mind to make you wait a couple of years longer before your pension can start. For every downside there is, of course, an upside: but that flows 100% to the Government, since HM Treasury would see a windfall of c. £10 billion pa. Be prepared to roll your sleeves up, unless you can master new technologies! Background music: 'Officer of the Day March' by the United States Marine Band

Everyone knows the key ingredients which provide the best opportunity for a young person to achieve their potential in adult life. Love and encouragement are right at the centre but, following close behind, there’s the need for some financial resources and life skills in order to give them the best opportunity for success. For young people in care, the last two of these plus plenty of encouragement are provided through The Share Foundation, which has just published its 2022 annual report. It also operates a major recovery campaign for the Child Trust Fund which focuses attention on supporting young people in low-income families throughout the United Kingdom. Background music: 'Ammo' by Density & Time

Just as Nicola Sturgeon steps out of Scottish politics and Rishi Sunak struggles with the Brexit Protocol for Northern Ireland, my attention was drawn to some world-leading legislation passed by the Welsh Government in 2015: 'The Well-being of Future Generations Act'. Recognising the degree to which modern society impacts the future so much more than any of the generations which have preceded us, this Act is of constitutional significance — requiring public bodies to think about the long-term impact of their decisions, to work better with people, communities and each other, and to prevent persistent problems such as poverty, health inequalities and climate change. No wonder that it is attracting interest from countries across the world, offering a huge opportunity to make a long-lasting, positive change for future generations. Background music: Celtic Impulse by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Putin's two-hour monologue in Moscow last week sought to justify his assault on Ukraine with a raft of dogma, including a presumption of divine male headship — hardly the basis for economic and social justice for all. Elitist theories, whether based on gender, race or nationality, have no place in an egalitarian, peaceful world: it is men, not women, who start wars and fill the prisons. Likewise, Churches should not allow themselves to be drawn into defending masculinity in the nature of God. Background music: 'A Fool's Theme' by Brian Bolger Also: view https://www.shareradio.co.uk/media/8106/love-and-the-individual.pdf

New Year resolutions are in the air, and both Sunak and Starmer set out theirs in speeches on 4th and 5th January respectively. Much of the media reporting was drowned out by Harry's book and associated interviews, and headline objectives such as halving inflation and restoring growth were somewhat 'motherhood and apple pie'. But dig deeper (there are links to the full texts in the webpage commentary) and there are some gems to be found, although they still merit some close scrutiny. However George Bush's 1988 quote seems to encapsulate their performance: 'What's wrong with being a boring kind of guy?' Background music: 'Resolution' by Wayne Jones

The Resolution Foundation's paper 'ISA ISA Baby' released last week drew a scathing response from This Is Money, and understandably so. Their analysis of the inadequate attention given to building savings and investment in low-income families was very much on target, but they chose to accompany it with an ill thought-out and uninformed attack on the most successful long-term savings and investment plan in the United Kingdom, the Individual Savings Account. The route to a more egalitarian form of capitalism is not by attacking aspiration by penalising those who are successful and thrifty. Savings are not just for a rainy day — they bring economic freedom. Background music: 'Resolution' by Wayne Jones

The huge take-up of ChatGPT over recent weeks has brought the challenge of Artificial Intelligence into sharp relief. As the Chief Executive of its creator, OpenAI, said in one of his blogs, 'Artificial Intelligence will bring unimaginable wealth but, unless something changes, most of us will get none of it. We need a radical solution'. Conventional wisdom sees Universal Basic Income as the way through this dilemma, but this will only bring us more state intermediation and human subservience. We can put forward a better solution, by enabling all to share in the wealth that technology brings and to play their part in its future governance. Background music: 'Digital Solitude' by Silent Partner

Our understanding of science moves forward relentlessly: it feels that we are not far from unwrapping the nysteries of the spiritual dimension. For example, the seemingly impossible basis of communication which is quantum entanglement, illustrated by murmurations, appears to be beyond the limitations of the known laws of physics — could this be the route by which the disciplines of spiritual and scientific endeavour can converge? Meanwhile the established Churches seem locked in tradition as they struggle to present the message of love and servant leadership which Jesus brought. Background music: 'In the Temple Garden' by Aaron Kenny Image source: Geograph © Walter Baxter