The ODT is the latest newspaper to come out arguing that inequality is a crucial issue for New Zealand. In an editorial, it argues that it has to be tackled not just through financial support for people at the lower end but also fundamental changes in thinking and policy. Oxfam is calling on governments to…
One of the enduring income inequalities in New Zealand is that between men and women. Women are paid around 13% less than men for doing the same work, and the Bartlett case last year showed that entire industries have been poorly paid simply because the work is done mostly by women. This is especially relevant…
It’s sometimes said that raising taxes, as one might do to combat inequality, will force the rich to flee in droves. But not only did this not happen when the UK recently hiked its top tax rate to 50%; not only is Sweden still home to thousands of wealthy people, despite its 50%+ tax rates;…
A lot of the research behind the Living Wage is based on overseas work (unsurprisingly, since that’s where it originated), so it’s good to see that Massey academics are launching a project to look at what it means here: Project team co-leader Professor Jane Parker says the project aims to “go beyond the usual economic…
Prue Hyman has an excellent piece in the Dom Post today about why it makes sense economically to pay the Living Wage: Productivity gains, reduced absenteeism, and lower turnover costs are benefits found overseas when committed workers know they are valued. One key argument against the Living Wage has been that it is not well…
One of the responses to the recent report on child poverty, showing that 265,000 New Zealand children live below the poverty line, is to say that the measurements are flawed. This, from a blog on the Newstalk ZB site, is typical: Poverty as defined in New Zealand are the households that make less than 60…
It’s sometimes said that people living in poverty just need to try harder, but I’m not sure how much more Amy Scott, profiled today in The Press, could be doing: Amy Scott and her two children have moved houses five times since the earthquakes. Scott lost her job after work as a bartender “dwindled off”….
Last week Ted Thomas gave his Bruce Jesson lecture. The text of it is attached, but his basic argument is that the best way to tackle inequality is a rights-based campaign. As he puts it: “The community, or groups within the community, will need to take a more assertive, if not aggressive, approach to the…
The only thing worse than being attacked is being ignored, so it’s probably a good sign that people are now taking the time to criticise Inequality: A New Zealand Crisis. This is the latest such, from the Herald: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11150603 Of course, inequality is not a zero-sum game, as the article claims. The point is that…
More media coverage in recent weeks – in both the main centres and the regions – strengthens the case that inequality is one of the key issues today. Stuff has just run a major story on income gaps, quoting Inequality: A New Zealand Crisis and attracting over 170 comments. The story is here: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/9330822/Do-Kiwis-care-about-wage-inequality Meanwhile,…