This is a much needed book, bringing fresh thinking to the safety net. The idea is that there are risks to all of us that ought to be shared. We all experience old age which limits our ability to work, we can all have health emergencies, childbirth and rearing impacts the ability to work, and, as we can see, it is far too easy to lose a job, and increasingly, one's home. We have made efforts to socialize many of these risks through insurance for very good reasons. As Colin points out, they are critical risks either because they are very high probability or very high impact, or both. The social safety net is effectively a hedge against these risks.
Colin believes, though, that it is time to update the mechanisms by which we make that hedge. For much of recent history, we have used not just government but the corporation as the vehicle by which we ensure stable income. This has been a win-win. Because consumer spending is a key engine of the economy, when businesses (and other segments of society) help make investments in the income of others, it is returned to businesses through their spending. When they have no money to spend, businesses by definition have fewer customers.
But in the 21st century, this social compact has broken down. There are many (including me) who lament the fact that businesses have turned away from the social benefit of providing stable, well-paying jobs, and instead treat people as a cost to be eliminated in order to drive profits (and thus stock price) for financial owners. Colin focuses instead on the opportunity to build the safety net for a more entrepreneurial society (illustrated in the two diagrams above (created by illustrator Marguerite Deneuville)), in which the social safety net is centered not on the corporation but on the individual.
This is a fresh view of a thorny problem. Highly recommended.
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About the author
Key idea: The safety net is a hedge
This is a much needed book, bringing fresh thinking to the safety net. The idea is that there are risks to all of us that ought to be shared. We all experience old age which limits our ability to work, we can all have health emergencies, childbirth and rearing impacts the ability to work, and, as we can see, it is far too easy to lose a job, and increasingly, one's home. We have made efforts to socialize many of these risks through insurance for very good reasons. As Colin points out, they are critical risks either because they are very high probability or very high impact, or both. The social safety net is effectively a hedge against these risks. Colin believes, though, that it is time to update the mechanisms by which we make that hedge. For much of recent history, we have used not just government but the corporation as the vehicle by which we ensure stable income. This has been a win-win. Because consumer spending is a key engine of the economy, when businesses (and other segments of society) help make investments in the income of others, it is returned to businesses through their spending. When they have no money to spend, businesses by definition have fewer customers. But in the 21st century, this social compact has broken down. There are many (including me) who lament the fact that businesses have turned away from the social benefit of providing stable, well-paying jobs, and instead treat people as a cost to be eliminated in order to drive profits (and thus stock price) for financial owners. Colin focuses instead on the opportunity to build the safety net for a more entrepreneurial society (illustrated in the two diagrams above (created by illustrator Marguerite Deneuville)), in which the social safety net is centered not on the corporation but on the individual. This is a fresh view of a thorny problem. Highly recommended.
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2018
This is a much needed book, bringing fresh thinking to the safety net. The idea is that there are risks to all of us that ought to be shared. We all experience old age which limits our ability to work, we can all have health emergencies, childbirth and rearing impacts the ability to work, and, as we can see, it is far too easy to lose a job, and increasingly, one's home. We have made efforts to socialize many of these risks through insurance for very good reasons. As Colin points out, they are critical risks either because they are very high probability or very high impact, or both. The social safety net is effectively a hedge against these risks.
Colin believes, though, that it is time to update the mechanisms by which we make that hedge. For much of recent history, we have used not just government but the corporation as the vehicle by which we ensure stable income. This has been a win-win. Because consumer spending is a key engine of the economy, when businesses (and other segments of society) help make investments in the income of others, it is returned to businesses through their spending. When they have no money to spend, businesses by definition have fewer customers.
But in the 21st century, this social compact has broken down. There are many (including me) who lament the fact that businesses have turned away from the social benefit of providing stable, well-paying jobs, and instead treat people as a cost to be eliminated in order to drive profits (and thus stock price) for financial owners. Colin focuses instead on the opportunity to build the safety net for a more entrepreneurial society (illustrated in the two diagrams above (created by illustrator Marguerite Deneuville)), in which the social safety net is centered not on the corporation but on the individual.
This is a fresh view of a thorny problem. Highly recommended.
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Top reviews from other countries
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Guillaume MaisonReviewed in France on October 3, 2018
Vers un nouveau monde de prospérité
- PkReviewed in France on September 5, 2018
Beyond the tech clash, a refreshing look towards a new safety net for our age
- artbeatsReviewed in the United Kingdom on October 16, 2018
Great read and very relevant!
