equality

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Bathwater and babies

Written By: - Date published: 9:42 pm, March 19th, 2012 - 31 comments

Tapu Misa has an excellent article in today’s Herald. She hopes those predicting the demise of Labour’s pre-election promise to extend Working to Families to the children of beneficiaries are wrong. So do I. Labour will be defined by what it does for our children. Let’s not throw out what was a very very good policy.

Fabians in Auckland and Wellington Tuesday 28th

Written By: - Date published: 2:44 am, February 27th, 2012 - 4 comments

Rick Boven in Auckland – Global environmental trends Global environmental trends will affect New Zealand’s future. In his forthcoming lecture to the Fabian Society, Rick Boven of the New Zealand Institute will summarise the high-level trends, identify implications for New Zealand, explain obstacles to an effective response and propose strategic priorities to reduce risks and […]

A sustainable future

Written By: - Date published: 8:10 am, February 8th, 2012 - 19 comments

The UN High Level Panel on Global Sustainability has delivered a report about creating a future that’s sustainable economically, socially and environmentally. Our government and political parties should be looking at it and measuring themselves against it.

Inequality: a big issue for our time

Written By: - Date published: 6:43 am, February 7th, 2012 - 218 comments

The Herald looks like it has an excellent series this week, on Auckland: A city divided by income. It’s an issue that has been waiting to be examined in the local context in more depth.  It’s been quite a big issue in the UK for a while, with The Spirit Level making an impact before […]

Closing the Gap: who’s listening?

Written By: - Date published: 10:22 am, January 27th, 2012 - 31 comments

Income inequality is one of the major issues of our time, and is being discussed globally. But our government doesn’t appear to be listening. Now a new organisation is aiming to raise awareness of the issue, and pressure our politicians to do something about it.

The Wealth Gap

Written By: - Date published: 2:42 pm, January 18th, 2012 - 23 comments

There’s a documentary on BBC World Service about the Wealth Gap – how the top 0.1% keep earning more and more. Looks worth a listen…

Nats built the poverty trap, let’s destroy it

Written By: - Date published: 11:59 am, January 18th, 2012 - 92 comments

A new study confirms that growing up in poverty means you’ll likely be impoverished as an adult. With the negative consequences for the individual and society. The Nats’ low-wage, high unemployment policies create the poverty trap. Poverty is a design feature of the rightwing economy. Hypocritical and useless to demand their victims save themselves from poverty. Change the policies, fix the problem.

New Zealand – unequal and rising

Written By: - Date published: 8:19 am, December 7th, 2011 - 62 comments

The OECD has a report out blasting increasing income inequality, and saying trickle down doesn’t work for wealth or social mobility. New Zealand had the greatest increase in inequality in the Western World. So what are we going to do to fix it?

Trading Futures

Written By: - Date published: 3:46 pm, December 2nd, 2011 - 74 comments

This post is intended to do more than merely generate discussion. It’s a serious proposition seeking action. Its intent is to lay out or sign post (at least some of) the basic or necessary legal and social structures of a Community Collective comprised of both workers and housing collectives that would enable people to assume meaningful control over aspects of their futures.

Nek minnit

Written By: - Date published: 11:31 am, October 28th, 2011 - 52 comments

Net benefit of hosting the Rugby World Cup $280m over 7 weeks ($780m tourist spending minus $500m investment and operating losses). Cost of an 8cm welding crack in the Maui pipeline: $350m after 2 days. Guess it pays to mind the small stuff. Least it didn’t happen during the Cup when Auckland was chocka with tourists.

NRT: The effects of NeoLiberalism

Written By: - Date published: 10:47 am, September 6th, 2011 - 15 comments

The New York Times has a graphic comparing the outcomes of economic policy in the US, specifically comparing the broadly social democratic policies prevalent between 1847 and 1979, and the NeoLiberal policies since 1980. The differences are astounding.

Key’s own goal on poverty

Written By: - Date published: 6:09 am, August 3rd, 2011 - 56 comments

A bad mistake by John Key in the House yesterday. Phil Goff asked him about the gap between rich and poor. Key cited a new report on falling inequality. But he should have read the report properly. It credits Labour policies for driving down poverty and inequality.

The Spirit Level in New Zealand

Written By: - Date published: 12:08 pm, July 23rd, 2011 - 3 comments

We’ve written about The Spirit Level on several occasions. Here are the authors discussing the New Zealand situation.

Nats block pay equity bill

Written By: - Date published: 2:33 pm, July 6th, 2011 - 11 comments

The Nats are all in favour of pay equity for women.  Or so they say.  But their actions speak louder than their words.

Sexist dinosaur Nats

Written By: - Date published: 7:07 am, June 27th, 2011 - 59 comments

Employers and Manufacturers Association head Alasdair Thompson’s sexist outbursts have drawn near universal condemnation, and are likely to cost him his job.  But while we’re about the business of punishing sexist dinosaurs, we should set our sights a little higher than Thompson.

NZMA position on health inequity

Written By: - Date published: 2:54 pm, May 3rd, 2011 - 18 comments

NZ’s doctor’s organisation is prescribing a healthier society: putting kids first, reduced income inequality (higher minimum income), investment in skills and education, and equity, not equality in our social services – helping most those with the greatest need. Take note Don, John.

How to tell you have a Tory govt

Written By: - Date published: 5:01 pm, April 16th, 2011 - 7 comments

Brian Fallow is one of the Heralds more understated columnists. Brian and I probably vote differently, but I find his articles usually worth the read. But there is understatement, and then there is deliberate obfuscation. His column today starts out workmanlike enough, repeating the PM’s case how average wages/salaries have increased in real terms around […]

Evidence-based policy

Written By: - Date published: 1:05 pm, April 11th, 2011 - 64 comments

From the Dunedin Study, to The Spirit Level, to the IPCC – there is a lot of evidence out there that our government should be basing their policy on. Let’s champion that aim.

IMF: Neo-liberalism dead

Written By: - Date published: 9:03 am, April 7th, 2011 - 48 comments

This post is largely by the head of the IMF. “[T]he pendulum will swing … from the market to the state,” Mr Strauss-Kahn says, “The benefits of growth must be broadly shared, not just captured by a privileged few … the invisible hand must not become the invisible fist.”

Tax policy for economic stimulus and growth

Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, February 26th, 2011 - 79 comments

Last week, Treasury issued a press statement saying it had commissioned research on the impact of governments’ fiscal stimulus packages, now published in the influential publication the Economic Journal. One article, “Tax policy for economic stimulus and growth”, had this to say:

Why Revolutions Stumble and Fall

Written By: - Date published: 12:28 pm, February 15th, 2011 - 28 comments

Democracy doesn’t suddenly magically appear as though from a conjurers hat. We know that, right?  So why are revolutions seeking democracy  D.O.A?

Why are the “Right” terrified of equality?

Written By: - Date published: 7:21 am, February 14th, 2011 - 78 comments

Economic inequality is damaging to the fabric of society.  It’s a simple and compelling message, and it seems to have the political “Right” in a complete panic.  In fact if Deborah Coddington’s latest piece is anything to go by, the Right are terrified to the point of derangement.

Mind the Wealth Gap

Written By: - Date published: 2:41 pm, February 3rd, 2011 - 2 comments

The Onion, PARIS—At a press conference Tuesday, the World Heritage Committee officially recognized the Gap Between Rich and Poor as the “Eighth Wonder of the World,” describing the global wealth divide as the “most colossal and enduring of mankind’s creations.”

Guest post: Why the left needs feminism II

Written By: - Date published: 7:17 am, February 1st, 2011 - 181 comments

Why the left needs feminism part II: why the centre vote is a lie and what Labour needs to do to reclaim its soul.

Guest post: Why the left needs feminism

Written By: - Date published: 7:36 am, January 31st, 2011 - 134 comments

In the first part of a two part guest post, Queen of Thorns takes a look at feminism, the left, the labour party and funny old Chris Trotter.

John “30-sec” Key…. smile and walk away.

Written By: - Date published: 8:33 pm, January 3rd, 2011 - 103 comments

The two significant things from the Herald interview: #1 The signalling by John Key of his willingness to step down. #2 The view of John Key that “essentially there is no money”. “There won’t be money for us and there won’t be money for Labour,” John Key. The significant thing about the first statement is, […]

Human Nature and Propaganda

Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, December 17th, 2010 - 63 comments

We don’t have to care so much about beneficiaries any more. Or those single parents. Or the trials and tribulations of anyone else at all really. We have to be grown up. And we are more mean and lean than we used to be. Hell, even those pesky parliamentary lefties have abandoned the beneficiaries and the single parents. Yup. Nothing to see there. Life is good. We’re getting ahead. And we sure know what’s what. Don’t we?

The new economy: tax & redistribution

Written By: - Date published: 11:13 am, December 7th, 2010 - 135 comments

The other week we talked about what a new economic order should look like, following the neoliberal experiment’s resoundingly failure. Sustainability and fairness need to be at the heart of the system. Government acts on the economy through law, taxation and income redistribution, and as market player. Let’s start with tax and redistribution.

Spirit Level author on Q+A

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, November 21st, 2010 - 11 comments

The Spirit Level is the book that the loony right of politics loves to hate.  Today, Sunday morning political analysis show Q+A features Emeritus Professor Richard Wilkinson, co-author of The Spirit Level (9am on One).  Should be an interesting programme…

Inequality Rises

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, November 10th, 2010 - 53 comments

Wages rose for the rich and fell for the poor this year, according to a Employers and Manufacturer’s Association survey. Managing Directors got a 3.7% rise from $190k to $197k, whilst the unskilled production workers beneath them saw their wages drop 6.5% or $2000 to $29.5k.

The recession, combined with this government, hurts the poor the hardest.

National – No Friend to Women

Written By: - Date published: 2:44 pm, November 9th, 2010 - 45 comments

The gender pay gap is increasing by about 1 percentage point each year under Pansy Wong’s watch – it’s now 13%.  And a new report out shows women’s level of participation in key leadership areas is static or falling.  Female unemployment had passed 7 percent for the first time in 12 years.  National’s policies equate to an attack on women.

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