Posts Tagged ‘poverty’

Inequality is a choice

Written By: - Date published: 7:10 am, November 10th, 2015 - 65 comments

Inequality is a choice. It isn’t a choice made by individuals, it is a choice made by governments. Check out Joseph Stiglitz’s new book Rewriting the Rules of the American Economy: An Agenda for Growth and Shared Prosperity.

Food Bank Charity

Written By: - Date published: 4:45 pm, October 30th, 2015 - 97 comments

Guest post from Kōrero Pono on the politics and ethics of food banks.

Briefing Papers: Refugees and inequality

Written By: - Date published: 9:59 am, October 13th, 2015 - 9 comments

Briefing Papers have been busy recently, check out some recent articles. How long can wealth keep sucking up before a society breaks down completely?

Good question

Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, September 16th, 2015 - 66 comments

sanders-poverty

Tom Scott on housing

Written By: - Date published: 11:48 am, August 28th, 2015 - 20 comments

Scott-on-housing

Signs of a society under stress

Written By: - Date published: 8:05 am, August 21st, 2015 - 77 comments

The signs are all around us.

MSD household incomes report

Written By: - Date published: 9:34 am, August 18th, 2015 - 7 comments

While we devote acres of pixels to flag distractions and “celebrity” nonsense, the health of the nation goes largely unremarked. Was there any MSM coverage of the latest Ministry of Social Development report – Household Incomes in New Zealand: trends in indicators of inequality and hardship 1982 to 2014?

Absurdistan

Written By: - Date published: 7:09 am, August 2nd, 2015 - 39 comments

An excellent piece by Graham Adams – well worth reading the whole thing in Metro, but here are some extracts “on the slow unravelling of a small democracy”.

Saying one thing and doing the other

Written By: - Date published: 9:16 am, July 22nd, 2015 - 40 comments

Both Key and English now on record as being “concerned” about rising inequality. So why are they acting to increase it?

Benefit numbers falling – through the cracks

Written By: - Date published: 12:04 pm, July 21st, 2015 - 40 comments

As the Nats celebrate “falling” benefit numbers it turns out that almost half who leave the benefit are not going in to work. So what happens to them?

Social mobility policies do not address poverty

Written By: - Date published: 12:20 pm, July 15th, 2015 - 27 comments

Excellent work by RNZ, following up on previously redacted documents to expose this sham.

Rashbrooke on poverty in NZ and UK

Written By: - Date published: 8:23 am, July 9th, 2015 - 15 comments

Max Rashbrooke has a major article in The Guardian today looking at poverty in NZ and the UK, and what each country can learn from the other.

Deconstructing the government’s report card

Written By: - Date published: 12:21 pm, July 7th, 2015 - 11 comments

The government has awarded itself a nice report card. Let’s take a closer look.

School lunches – Key vs data

Written By: - Date published: 7:11 am, July 6th, 2015 - 29 comments

Key claimed that the number of hungry kids in schools was limited to “the odd one or two”. Everyone knew it was nonsense. Now a survey by the New Zealand Principals’ Federation indicates the true extent of the problem.

Another disease of poverty making a comeback

Written By: - Date published: 9:18 am, June 30th, 2015 - 139 comments

Add another disease of poverty to the list of those that are making a comeback in NZ.

The death of trickle down economics and the mess we’re in

Written By: - Date published: 7:11 am, June 17th, 2015 - 139 comments

Trickle down economics is pronounced dead by the IMF. Housing, the working poor and the economy – the policy settings are wrong everywhere.

The shame of poverty in NZ

Written By: - Date published: 7:11 am, June 6th, 2015 - 30 comments

According to the Ministry of Social Development child poverty is worse in NZ than in any European country. According to the Child Poverty Action Group new figures are going to show an increase in poverty. According to the coroner a damp unhealthy state house contributed to the death of a child. Welcome to the “brighter future”.

Campbell on the budget

Written By: - Date published: 9:48 am, May 26th, 2015 - 4 comments

Should have covered this earlier – extracts from Gordon Campbell on the budget.

Budget 2015 – A reactive budget

Written By: - Date published: 6:30 am, May 21st, 2015 - 161 comments

A panicked response to the Auckland property crisis. A welcome (albeit inadequate) adjustment to benefit rates. Public pressure is forcing action on the Left’s political agenda. Still no surplus, and no one believes the projected one next year. A reactive budget – there is no vision.

Poverty and the budget

Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, May 18th, 2015 - 13 comments

The levels of poverty and inequality in NZ are a disgrace. Apparently the budget is to “arrest the decline”, but we have heard such promises again and again from Key.

Key runs from poverty protestors

Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, February 16th, 2015 - 226 comments

The PM running from a yacht club when confronted with protestors against poverty. Pretty fair summary of where this country is at.

Salvation Army – State of the Nation

Written By: - Date published: 9:42 am, February 11th, 2015 - 18 comments

This morning the Salvation Army released their state of the nation report – A Mountain All Can Climb. It is mixed news, and most coverage has focused on the impact of the housing crisis.

An interesting milestone

Written By: - Date published: 4:22 pm, January 19th, 2015 - 37 comments

An interesting milestone in inequality is about to be passed.

No quick fix for diseases of poverty

Written By: - Date published: 9:23 am, January 16th, 2015 - 136 comments

The continued rise of rheumatic fever is an indictment of our society.

New figures show that there is no quick fix for diseases of poverty.

Your move, National.

Christmas at the extremes

Written By: - Date published: 10:24 am, December 13th, 2014 - 65 comments

Two New Zealands will shortly celebrate Christmas, the poor and the rich. Here’s a crazy thought…

The working poor

Written By: - Date published: 9:20 am, November 8th, 2014 - 183 comments

The Nats’ line on poverty is that beneficiaries need to get in to work. The rise of the working poor both in NZ and internationally, shows what nonsense that excuse is.

Poverty and the need to belong

Written By: - Date published: 8:03 am, October 25th, 2014 - 37 comments

I’ve read a couple of thought-provoking accounts of poverty lately. There are common themes – issues that the political right, which can only see “the poor” as separate from “us”, will never understand and acknowledge.

Measuring poverty

Written By: - Date published: 9:38 am, October 22nd, 2014 - 40 comments

The National government has always been selective about what it likes to measure, and so far refused to measure poverty. Under questioning on Morning Report this morning Key finally made a commitment to do so. We must hold him to it.

Hiding the government’s failure on poverty

Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, October 17th, 2014 - 81 comments

Thanks to Radio New Zealand, we now know that National got no real plan to address poverty, but also that they really, really don’t want to be honest about it.

Official advice on poverty

Written By: - Date published: 9:01 am, October 15th, 2014 - 53 comments

An excellent piece by Brent Edwards on Morning Report today, looking at official advice to the government on poverty. Underneath the politicised process the answer is as obvious as ever.

Cause of poverty and inequality found!

Written By: - Date published: 8:06 am, October 8th, 2014 - 36 comments

Good news citizens! The National government has revealed unto us today the cause of poverty and inequality.

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