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We are all in this together. Covid-19 has made that crystal clear. We have shown we can work together for our common good. We are cooperating, in NZ and internationally, to flatten the curve. We can be proud here in Aotearoa of how well we've contained the virus.
Now, what next? We, together, have to grapple with many people losing their incomes and jobs due to our reduced ability to travel and interact closely while Covid-19 remains a threat.
We are all in this together. Our solutions to the economic shock must take this into account. The economy is, after all, just us. There is no economy without healthy people who can do and make things for each other.
There's no economy without a healthy planet for people to live on. We all need a stable climate. We are part of nature. We can provide for our needs now while tending to the earth that will sustain us and future generations.
Ultimately our lives, livelihoods and incomes are all interdependent. The balance of one's bank account or the wealth one has means nothing if there aren't other people producing food and goods, providing services, healthcare, education, etc.
While GDP has certainly taken a hit, we also know it's not the best metric of what matters: people’s health & well-being.
We can take comfort from the fact we have the basic building blocks of all we need for people to thrive – if we keep working together.
We can take comfort from the fact we have the basic building blocks of all we need for people to thrive – if we keep working together.
GDP doesn't count all the unpaid work, predominantly undertaken by women, that underpins the commercial economy we measure.
It does count pollution and rentier activities, like property speculation, that extract value from the real economy.
It does count pollution and rentier activities, like property speculation, that extract value from the real economy.
We can decide to do and count things differently. We can prioritise the things that matter most to us.
There are many essential jobs to be done; looking after the nature that sustains us. Looking after people. Education. Building energy efficient housing.
There are many essential jobs to be done; looking after the nature that sustains us. Looking after people. Education. Building energy efficient housing.
There are vested interests who claim we don't have choices: they say we must keep polluting, we can't afford to invest in healthcare or education or housing. They say the super rich "create" wealth so we should let them get even richer. It's BS.
The biggest barrier to change is people and corporations who benefit from the status quo, who are motivated by greed. They use their power to campaign against change, usually using fear, anger, racism and division.
But together, we outnumber them.
But together, we outnumber them.
People together have created the wealth that exists. People together have made huge strides in healthcare, research, technology. We've done it because we are passionate and curious and generous. We can and must turn our efforts to solving the climate crisis.
And we can't solve the climate crisis without addressing inequality. We need a guarantee of a sufficient minimum income for everyone, and to address high housing costs by making it a guaranteed human right.
We must continue with an extensive provision of public housing (creates jobs!), a capital gains tax on all investment property, tenancy laws that better protect renters, and empowering local councils to again provide public housing.
We must scale up investment in our essential workforce: health, education & childcare workers (currently mostly women) deserve better pay & working conditions. We should recruit and train more of them. We can pay for this with a highly progressive tax system.
We must price pollution & use of non-renewable resources. We must use regulation to safeguard our water, soil, air & climate. This is tending to the very things that enable people to thrive, to create, to share and trade. And that is all our economy is.
We are all in this together. We can decide to do things differently, using our democratic institutions. We can better support all people and protect nature, and in doing so we can create a better world for all of us.
