I’ve just run the numbers on the latest NBR Rich List, released earlier this month. The graph below shows how the List has grown in the three decades of its life. Very rapidly, is the short answer: from $13 billion to $84 billion (in constant 2015 dollars). It has almost doubled – increased by 95%…
In recent years the idea of love has become increasingly important in political thinking. It’s one of life’s main driving forces, of course. But it’s not a word that has in previous decades been much associated with politics. In the New Zealand context, Max Harris – channelling a range of thinkers including bell hooks –…
Many people feel that, following the prime minister’s decision not to implement a capital gains tax while in power, there is no longer any prospect of taxing wealth in New Zealand. I beg to differ. While a capital gains tax is clearly off the table, the government has not ruled out other forms of wealth…
Many claims have been made recently that a capital gains tax is dead in the water because the public is firmly against it. This is not so, however. While the tax is not wildly popular, there is a strong support base for it. The precise level of support is not easy to gauge, as none…
This week I’ve proposed a Social Income, essentially a more generous though means-tested unemployment benefit set at the poverty line of 50% of average income (currently $19,000 a year approximately) and available for people doing a range of socially useful activities, including caring for sick relatives, raising children and volunteering for a registered charity. For…
The 2019 political year is now well and truly up and running. So what progress might we see on two key areas of interest for me, and I think for most New Zealanders as well – economic equality, and more deeply open and participatory government? In brief, I think the current government has better ambitions…
I’m delighted to announce the publication of my new book, Government for the Public Good: The Surprising Science of Large-Scale Collective Action. It is available from all good bookstores and online. The culmination of several years’ work, it goes right to the heart of one of the dominant ideas of the last few decades –…
One fascinating development this week has seen the long-running concerns about undisclosed interests in the media finally burst out into the open. First, it was revealed that a commentator on Radio New Zealand, supposedly an ‘independent’ PR consultant, was actually working in the Prime Minister’s office. Then, even more strikingly, the NBR column of prominent…
For people interested in greater transparency, the last seven days have been filled with little rumbles that could turn into earthquakes. The biggest deal was an announcement by the Green Party over the weekend that its MPs would stop accepting corporate hospitality, and its ministers would soon publish the diaries that detail who they have…
Earlier this week Oxfam released figures arguing that “the richest 1 per cent of Kiwis bagged a staggering 28 per cent of all wealth created last year while the poorest 30 per cent of the population got just 1 per cent”. Note that this is talking about the increase in wealth in one year, and…