You may feel little sympathy for people in the top bracket of earnings, but don’t let that stop you reading. Like it or not, their views and actions matter to everyone
The UK Labour Party used to radically advocate for common ownership. But as private wealth in Britain benefits from ever greater tax breaks, anti-inequality sentiment is waning.
Susan St John, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
Forget wealth or capital gains taxes, a straight tax on housing equity – exempting most homeowners – would be a simple and efficient way to break the circuit of inequality.
The costs of high taxes on the rich are likely only to be moderate. But the democratic, environmental, and health benefits are truly enormous and could transform society and dramatically.
As the year ends, how has New Zealand fared on global and domestic measurements, from social and economic freedoms to tackling poverty and homelessness?
Soaring inflation in the US has been driven in part by large increases in the price of groceries – a burden that falls disproportionately on lower-income families.
Max Rashbrooke, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
The number of New Zealanders with ‘negative net wealth’ is large and growing – reflecting widening economic inequality that remains an urgent political priority.
Agata Soroko, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
Teaching kids better budgeting won’t fix post-pandemic inequalities. A more robust social safety net, less hoarding and squandering of wealth and more equitable tax policies might.
Rethinking capitalism requires that the primary focus should be on the distribution of economic power as the potential leading causal factor driving inequality.
You might be surprised to find yourself in the company of Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos in the world’s richest 1%. This has big implications for planetary survival.
It was a campaign like no other, and while there were missed opportunities and lapses of judgement, the fact New Zealanders are voting in a safe and fair election is reason enough to celebrate.
Deputy Director of the Afrobarometer & Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and MSU’s African Studies Center, Michigan State University