Learning to Earn?

University fees, Unemployment, or Government deficit. There is a weary air of concern surrounding money in the UK right now. At an organisational level solvency is key, but likewise it seems the individual concern is how to earn more cash. In times of strife and uncertainty it is human nature to adopt a degree of self preservation and introverted stacking of financial sandbags around your little corner of the world.

Ask most people about their financial clout and the answer (if you get one) will invariably involve a quantification of what they "earn". Of course we all know what this means and how it might translate into lifestyle and behaviours. But with the word comes an erroneous, and I would argue, dangerous idea. As inflation soars to a three year high of 5.2% we are beginning to see the value of our pay-packet eroded at an alarming rate. We go to work, we face down recession, and we think we are "earning" a living.

Now by no means am I seeking to undermine the mentality that we (and Europe) should work our way out of recession back into less fraught financial times. What I am considering is whether we are kidding ourselves by suggesting that we are really "earning" in a climate such as this. With money losing value faster than you can hand it to a shop assistant, we are moving towards a model where value is simply being transferred 1 for 1 rather than being generated with every transaction.

In happier times when salaries are rising and the National GDP is healthy, we can all draw close to the comfort blanket of successful Capitalism as the total wealth of the nation increases along with our personal fortunes. What is most sobering about our current (albeit temporary) position is the fact that we really do need to fight for every pound.

I enjoyed myself at Dartmouth Food Festival this weekend. A brilliantly run and attended event with real quality producers on show. It did however occur to me in-between stuffing my face with pies and pasties, that every sale ringing up around me was a baby step into the gale force problem of the credit crunch hangover and its runaway inflation. Right now we aren't so much earning money, as wrestling it from the next man's wallet.

Of course the basic trade model that we have does not fundamentally change when we are in tough times, but recently the domino effect of shaky investor confidence and rising cost of living does put us in a situation which does not lay well with a reliance on Capitalism and its perpetual model of growth.

So what I am really saying is that at least in the short term we should reign in our expectation of being able to "earn" to our hearts content and fill our own wallets. Instead perhaps we should hone our sales patter and focus on providing better value to our customers. That way we might have a little more respect for the man handing over his hard earned cash, and realise that we really are all in this together.

Working harder, working longer?

So an unprecedented financial challenge has descended on global markets. A hugely complex problem with a range of causes, and a maelstrom of impacts. The best banking minds in the world were either unwilling or unable to prevent the credit crunch and subsequent fallout, and have so far been unable to abate its raging consequences. Sentiment seems to have gone from vaguely apathetic in 2007, shifting to inescapably concerned some time around 2009, to somewhat helpless for some now that 2011 has rolled around and a pre-recession daily routine is a distant memory.

With such a complex conundrum and many years to face up to the situation, you might think that we would have  brought our full arsenal of possible solutions into play against the Global Financial crisis. Well it certainly seems like many politicians and economists are at the end of their rope (if not already swinging from it). There have been bailout packages and capital injections staged at multiple points over the last 5 years, with the generous benefactors secretly hoping it will be the last time they put their hand in their pockets as their smiles wear thin.

Either way the problem has not been solved. Investments are still shaky, several banks are struggling to make the figures add up (with more than a degree of irony) and their credit ratings are still being downgraded, property prices look to be uncertain with a trend of around 15% drop in the last year. So what are we doing?

Seemingly the only panacea which is still being offered is work. Whether it be hourly, salaried or freelance, the advice seems to be to just get on with it. 'We had some good times where people worked hard, and now we are experiencing some bad times, so we should just work harder?' Not a bad idea in theory (although a little Dickensian). But have we really adopted this mantra in practise whilst manning the pumps of a sinking economy?

My suggestion would be, not necessarily. Where some companies cut holiday, freeze salaries, and reduce benefits without lowering the working expectation there will of course be cost savings. With staff simultaneously working harder the benefit should be twofold with the net gain for the company and the Economy, being nicely in the black. But I am not sure that the message always gets through that to really succeed in financial recovery, we need to work smarter, as well as harder.

I read an interesting post from Robert Llewellyn (of authoring and Red-Dwarf based fame) regarding the notion of perpetual, plodding growth ultimately being nonsense. I would be inclined to agree with him that the faster we work, the faster we plough towards the exhaustion of the Earth's resources.

However in all honestly I am worried about a far more pressing exhaustion in the working populace. Are we working ourselves to death by taking on a mantle of staggering debt armed with nothing but a steely yet unspecific resolve to "work more". After all, increasing the pension age isn't much good if your workforce snuffs it at 55...