Maternity leave and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

• "Aging workers are an important asset, given their skill sets, experience, and commitment," said Stefano Scarpetta, Director, Directorate Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, OECD.
• "Retaining them in the workforce is key to sustaining high living standards in our economies.
• Yet while 50% of employers use LinkedIn, only 24% of older workers cite LinkedIn as one of their "preferred" job channels.
• The report lays out thirteen concrete recommendations for employers, policy makers, and midcareer and older individuals to enable an intergeneration workforce.

• Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell experienced two extended “freeze episodes” during press conferences.
• And several members of Congress mistook TikTok for the name of a breath mint (Tic Tac).
• His leading rival in the 2024 presidential race, former President Donald Trump, is not far behind at 77.

How did we get to this ‘senior moment’?

• Some of this may also be attributed to older Americans being far more likely to vote than their younger counterparts.
• Yet lifespans have increased around the world and the ageing of US politicians still stands out compared to other developed nations.
• Read more:
  Yes, Joe Biden is old and has low approval ratings, but this is why he's still confident of re-election

What did the founding fathers think about term limits?

• The founding fathers fiercely debated term limits for both presidents and members of Congress and even included them for members of the Continental Congress in the first Articles of Confederation.
• As much as Americans cherish the idea of the nation being founded on a constitution and laws instead of traditions and monarchy, the founding fathers ultimately did not legislate any term limits.
• Instead, they largely assumed custom, tradition and democratic elections would dictate the terms of office.
• While US presidents have faced term limits for most of the past century, members of Congress continue to serve as long as they like.

The price of elected office and who can afford it

• The 2020 election was not only contentious, but it was also the most expensive in US history.
• It cost more than US$14.4 billion (A$22.5 billion) for the presidential and congressional races – more than double what was spent in the 2016 elections.
• The 2022 elections also broke a record for spending in a midterm election at US$8.9 billion (A$13.9 billion).
• On an individual level, the average winner of a House of Representatives race in 1990 spent around US$400,000.
• Those with the resources necessary to afford such expensive campaigns are more likely to be older than not.

• Most new medicines come to market with high treatment costs, and specialty medicines such as biologic, orphan, and cancer treatments continue to make up a growing share of the new drug landscape.
• The Meds Entry Watch report focuses on medicines approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and/or Health Canada.
• This edition examines trends in the market for new medicines approved since 2016, highlighting the 50 medicines that received first-time market approval in 2020 and providing a preliminary analysis of the 55 medicines approved in 2021.
• Of those, 76% had high treatment costs (>$10,000 annually or >$5,000 per 28-day treatment cycle), 58% received an orphan designation, and 36% were oncology medicines.

• In the US, when given the option of remote work, 87% of employees take up the offer.
• These spaces provide flexible access to shared workspaces, with a range of facilities such as decent coffee, good wifi, digital printing and postal services.
• Since they first emerged in the US in 2005, co-working spaces have seen significant growth in both urban and rural locations.
• Some are run by large global companies while others are set up by local independent providers.

Commercial collaboration

• Such a diverse community can open up new opportunities for collaboration and the exchange of ideas – and even the potential for new commercial partnerships.
• And while most co-working spaces are designed for desk workers, there are an increasing number of manufacturing and engineering companies getting involved.
• Spaces which provide access to things like CAD software, 3D printers and lathes are particularly useful for small design or artisan businesses.

A role for policy?

• In the US, for example, there has been a political push to promote co-working spaces as seedbeds of entrepreneurship.
• The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has also expressed interest in the potential of co-working spaces to boost regional development.
• But so far in the UK the role of co-working spaces has largely been absent from any political party’s vision for developing regional economies.
• Overall though there seems to be a lack of strategic thinking from the national government on the funding and location of co-working spaces.