The Twilight Report

The Economist has no bylines, but it does have three titles for every article. With great interest, I read one article in the last issue of the year, which arrived in my mailbox yesterday, was variously titled 1. "The Servant Problem" 2. "A Modest Proposal" and 3. "How to solve the biggest issue in modern politics." The second title "A Modest proposal" is of course a reference to Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal, the de facto standard in satire, so naturally I was prepared for some good satire about the downfall of politicians for employing "illegal" immigrants, but the setting up of the piece was long and winding so when it got to the satire bit

Parents are not the only people who have difficulty getting visas for workers. All employers face restrictive immigration policies which raise labour costs. Some may respond by trying to fiddle the immigration system, but most deal with the matter by exporting jobs. In the age of the global economy, the solution to the servant problem is simple: rather than importing the nanny, offshore the children.

The Economist 16 December 2004

I had forgotten to expect it. They can't be serious I thought to myself, and then I remembered that they aren't. I love to read The Economist in the Laundromat. It makes me feel so snobbish and elitist... and I am not talking 3L33T.