The news today is that mistakes by the Treasury and Statistics New Zealand mean that poverty and inequality are even worse than we thought. By double counting the Accommodation Supplement and making some other errors, they accidentally inflated low incomes. How big is the mistake? It’s significant. The headline number is that there are 285,000…
Following recent criticism of the Living Wage calculations by Brian Scott, Charles Waldegrave, one of the principal creators of the methodology, responds here. http://www.scribd.com/doc/207883123/Waldegrave-Responds-to-Living-Wage-Critique To quote his summary: This paper addresses the conceptual basis and evidence of Scott’s critique. It demonstrates the critique lacks an informed understanding of the definition of a living wage, confuses…
UMR Research have just released their latest Mood of the Nation report (not online yet), and it shows huge public concern about our widened income gaps. The key findings are: Concern Fully half the country is “very concerned” about inequality, with a further 37% “somewhat concerned”; just 13% say they are not concerned about it…
This metaphor, from inequality writer Chuck Collins, captures something about the way that advantage and disadvantage get compounded: Imagine a ten-mile race in which contestants have different starting lines based on parental education, income, and wealth. The economically privileged athletes start several hundred yards ahead of the disadvantaged runners. Each contestant begins with ten one-pound…
As the Living Wage campaign gathers momentum, the latest development is a petition being circulated at Auckland University, calling on the Vice Chancellor, Stuart McCutcheon, to support a Living Wage for all university staff. It comes on the heels of Wellington city council agreeing to pay the Living Wage to all its staff (with contractors…