Working women almost certainly caused the credit crunch

[Rune]

Working women almost certainly caused the credit crunch
…
Of course there will always be a place in the world of business for exceptional women. Women also have an important role to play in jobs that are too demeaning for men, like teaching. But the general employment of women is another matter. Indeed, working women almost certainly caused the credit crunch by bringing a second income into the average household, pushing property prices up to unsustainable levels.
…
In short, women were the driving force behind the greed, consumerism and materialism of the Celtic Tiger years and it was female employment that funded their oestrogen-crazed acquisitiveness.
…

Working women almost certainly caused the credit crunch

• “oestrogen-crazed acquisitiveness” heh. Gotta love that phrase. Well that’s that then girls. Back to knitting in the kitchen.

[The_Devil_s_Grandmother]

I’ll try to learn to knit if it would make the economy get better quicker. I could knit a tinfoil hat for the person who wrote the linked article. S/he certainly needs one.

[Lobsang]

Why isn’t my dinner made?!

[purple_haze]

Yes, dear. Right away. The cookies are in the oven too.

Actually, my husband’s making dinner. I guess we’re just crazy, mixed up kids.

[ShelliBean]

But… but… but…

I quit my job already.

[Eonwe]

This person has taken what may be an argument with merit (the increase in labor created by women entering the work force in the 20th century had some negative side effects) and is trying to get it to point to a ‘cute’ cause and effect. If it is true that double income households as the norm are part of the problem (which is highly debatable on many levels), then it’s not women’s fault, it’s households earning two incomes. Hubby is just as much to blame.

[mhendo]

My first thought on reading that was that it MUST be parody or satire. But then again, i’ve seen some pretty fucked up ideas make it into print.

It turns out, though, that it probably IS satire. Here is the original, appearing on the Irish Times website. It’s written by Newton Emerson who, according to his Wiki entry:

is a political commentator and satirist in Northern Ireland.

<snip>

He first came to prominence as the editor the “Portadown News” website, similar to American publication, “The Onion”.

[The_Devil_s_Grandmother]

Those poor Irish writers, no-one takes thier good ideas seriously.

[An_Gadai]

@mhendo

My first thought on reading that was that it MUST be parody or satire. But then again, i’ve seen some pretty fucked up ideas make it into print.

It turns out, though, that it probably IS satire. Here is the original, appearing on the Irish Times website. It’s written by Newton Emerson who, according to his Wiki entry:

Yes, Newton’s Optic is a satirical/joke column. It’s usually not as well done as the example posted in the OP.

[Tracy_Lord]

Really, it was clearly all those men coming back after WWII to flood the workforce that did it.

[Thudlow_Boink]

Women are twice as likely as men to work in the public sector. They account for two-thirds of the Civil Service and three-quarters of all public employees.

Yet they are barely represented in the useful public services of firefighting and arresting people. Encouraging women to leave the workforce would go a long way towards addressing the budget deficit without any downside whatsoever.

Heh.

[Winnipeg]

I don’t want to be overly controversial here but…

My wife buys way more “Stuff” than I do, our house is full of all sorts of, well I can say it here, Crap.

She shops for entertainment. When she feel down, and when she wants to celebrate.

I don’t buy 1/20th of what she does.

[Koxinga]

@Winnipeg

I don’t want to be overly controversial here but…

My wife buys way more “Stuff” than I do, our house is full of all sorts of, well I can say it here, Crap.

She shops for entertainment. When she feel down, and when she wants to celebrate.

I don’t buy 1/20th of what she does.

One word: Shoes

[Quartz]

It may be parody, but it’s actually in part correct, though for the wrong reasons. I can’t speak for America, but over here one of the things that happened is that instead of mortgages being granted on 3x the higher income and 1.5x the lower, assuming that one partner would take time out or a lower paying part time job because of childcare, mortgages were calculated as if both partners were going to be fully earning throughout. And they allowed 4x and 5x earnings too. So two people each on £20K could suddenly get a mortgage of £160K instead of one of £90K.

Oops.