The "Lipstick Economy"

Dr. Mark Perry has blogged about this before, but since I haven't mentioned it here before, it's worth noting his most recent post on the topic, from his Carpe Diem blog on Sunday, "Happy Father's Day; Welcome The "Lipstick Economy" And Major Jobless Rate and Degree Gaps". Below are the charts Dr. Perry used to illustrate the gender gaps in jobless rates and college degrees, followed by a quote from him.




Dr. Perry speculating on the implications of these trends:

On this Father's Day, we should maybe recognize that we are witnessing what might possibly be a permanent structural change in the labor market and higher education, which will have profound and lasting implications for family roles, career choices, divorce settlements and child custody decisions by family courts, public policy, etc.

For example, just thinking out loud here, would it be possible in the future that a college-educated, professional woman working full-time would pay alimony to her unemployed ex-husband who hasn't found employment since the Great Mancession of 2008, and he might also get primary custody of the children and be paid child support?

The photo above, of the Lipstick Building in Midtown Manhattan, comes from Laura's NYC Tales. Incidentally, this is the building in which Bernie Madoff's ponzi operation was headquartered.