This seems like a proper problem

Something should be done, no?

But what should be done?

We can all think of things. Say, lower the starting wage so the untried get a chance at a job. Lower employment taxes, reduce employment protections so that employment of the young and untried costs less. Perhaps reduce the restrictions upon teenagers getting jobs so that they get tried in part time roles?

We might also think of experimentation inside the education system itself. Say, different methods of teaching, different curricula to see what actually works in terms of this readin’, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic stuff? Ah yes, we are fairtly sure that Bridget Phillipson just banned that, didn’t she? All schools, however nominally independent, must now teach the same things in the same ways.

We might even think that getting on for a century of nationalised education wasn’t all that birght an idea.

Which is where the problem actually is, no? The political establishment has created this problem which they now insist they’ve got to solve but which they won’t solve by undoing those of their own actions which led to the problem.

As we’ve been known to remark politics is a bad way of running things.

Tim Worstall