“The young can’t advance because everywhere they find that my complacent generation is in situ. The only way of solving the problem is to make everyone of a certain age, say over 50, walk the plank. The choice boils down to whether it’s better for people to have a decade at the beginning or at the end of their careers where they are demoralized and underemployed. The answer is easy: Surely it is better to be more active at the beginning. To have people idle at a time when they are full of energy and their grey-cell count is at a maximum is a shocking waste. My generation has had it very good for much too long. We bought houses when they were still just about affordable. We had free education and pensions. It’s all been jolly nice, and I’ve enjoyed it a lot. Now is the time to start to pay.”
Lucy Kellaway in the Financial Times
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