The pace of federal government action to date does not align with the urgency of the twin climate and inequality crises. The latest fiscal update doesn’t go far enough on either crisis.
Voters who own housing are strongly invested in increasing the value of their wealth-generating assets. And they strongly favour the Coalition, which knows to protect their interests.
Paul R. Carr, Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO)
Surviving COVID-19 means reconsidering what type of world we want to build and live in, together. We can no longer feign being a democracy that is not democratic.
Ilan Wiesel, The University of Melbourne; Liss Ralston, Swinburne University of Technology e Wendy Stone, Swinburne University of Technology
You’d think falling housing prices might help people on low incomes, but history shows downturns often increase inequality. And many buyers who took out big loans during the housing boom are at risk.
The T-Mobile-Sprint merger is the latest example of weakened enforcement of antitrust laws, which reduces competition and exacerbates already-record levels of inequality.
Michael Fletcher, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Ardern’s coalition government promised to overhaul New Zealand’s welfare system, but its response to a comprehensive report by an expert advisory group has been disappointing at best.
Thanks to a long history of exclusionary government programs, the typical black family now has only 10 cents for every dollar held by the typical white family.
Americans are increasingly struggling to save enough for retirement. If Social Security isn’t saved, growing old in poverty will likely become more common.
While government payments and programs go some way to reducing inequality, the transformation of the labour market and its institutions has cut workers’ share of the pie to historic lows.
This is the first article in a series, Reclaiming the Fair Go, to mark the awarding of the 2018 Sydney Peace Prize to Nobel laureate and economist Joseph Stiglitz.
Ilan Wiesel, The University of Melbourne; Liss Ralston, Swinburne University of Technology e Wendy Stone, Swinburne University of Technology
The Productivity Commission neglected the impact of housing costs. After allowing for these costs, the top 10% of households’ average disposable income grew at 2.7 times the rate of the bottom 10%.
A new study shows that natural disasters enrich white victims while hurting people of color, worsening wealth inequality. And government aid contributes to the problem.
New legislation may boost growth rate of employee-owned companies in the US, easing the impact of one of the largest transfers of wealth in American history.