organised by income equality aotearoa new zealand inc more equal societies work better for everyone
TRANSCRIPT
• Organised by
Income Equality Aotearoa New Zealand Inc
More equal societies work better for everyone
• Subject: FW: Chat up line• At a bar ...• •
• •
•
New Zealand’s Problem
Increased wealth but ↑health/social problems
•crime/violence/imprisonment
•drugs/alcohol
•mental disorders
•health/obesity/infant mortality
•education
•other………..
WHY?
Authors
• Wilkinson – economics (LSE)
- epidemiology (Nots, London,York)
• Pickett – physical anthropology (Cambridge)
- nutritional sciences (Cornell)
- epidemiology (Berkeley)
Source of Data
• World Bank
• WHO
• UN
• OECD
Selection of Countries
• Richest 50 countries (World Bank 2004)
• Flat portion of curve
• Exclude - no data
- <3 million
Dataset = 23 countries
Education Performance
Bigger GAP = worse performance
Finland - at the top
1. Free (illegal to charge fees), compulsory (7-16 yr), no selection of
students, no national testing, no league tables, no inspections
2. Teachers: “The most sought after profession”- Master’s
degree, prestige, competitive++“Teachers are academics and well trained, so we trust them”
(Prof Lavonen)
3. Narrow income gap (Little social mobility)
[Free tertiary education]
Statistical AssociationsCause & Effect?
• Correlations between countries & States
• Robust correlations
• Changes with time in parallel - USSR to Russia
- Japan vs USA post WWII
- Post-Berlin Wall
Explanations
“Stress”• Social status
• Trust (lack of..)
• Anger & frustration
• Physiology-to-pathophysiology
• Impaired broad view - society, foreign aid
Imperfect Understanding
The GAP in New Zealand
“It is no coincidence that the biggest increases in income inequalities have
occurred in economies such as those of America, Britain and New Zealand, where free-market economic policies have been
pursued most zealously”
The Economist 1994
The GAP in New Zealand
“Income disparities are widening and they will widen much more. That doesn’t worry
me”
Minister of Finance 1995
The GAP in New Zealand 2009-2010
INCOME
Chief Executives – 14% rise
All New Zealanders – 1.7% rise
Business Herald 2010
Considerations for the Rich
1. Reducing the GAP benefits the rich
(as well as the poor)
2. Can the GAP expand further?
“As we watch the fervor across the Arab world – where a fraction of the population controls the lion’s share of wealth – we must ask: when will it come to America”
Joseph E Stiglitz (2011)
ACTION: Reduce the income GAP
Hypothesis: Reducing the GAP will:• Improve health indices• Reduce infant mortality• Reduce crime & imprisonment rates• Reduce obesity• Reduce mental illness• Reduce teenage pregnancies• Improve education performance• Improve wellbeing….etc etc• Save $$$ long-term
How to Reduce the GAP
• Tax/Welfare – Scandinavian model
• Decrease Income GAP – Japan model
• Oversight of ministries etc (remove blinkers)
• Close tax havens ($$ trillions)
(Treasure Islands Nick Shaxson)
Public / Political will
The Fight Against Organised Misery
But stand up,
you, stand up,
but stand up with me
and let us go off together
to fight face to face
against the devil’s webs,
against the system that distributes hunger,
against organised misery
The Captain’s VersesPablo Neruda 1972
• Income Equality Aotearoa New Zealand Inc.
• started in 2011, based on Wilkinson and Pickett in their book “The Spirit Level”.
• aim is to convince a sufficient number of New Zealand of the merits of the argument
• get politicians to take notice, make reducing the Income Gap in New Zealand a top priority and
• work out ways of accomplishing that goal.
• attempting to do this through a variety of channels the most important of which is our website www.closingthegap.org.nz.
Where to from here?
NEW ZEALAND
www.closingthegap.org.nz
www.closertogether.org.nz
Living Wage Campaign SFW Union
Poverty Action Waikato
UKwww.equalitytrust.org.uk
we need:
• political consensus that expresses a vision of a socially fair and just society
• a fair, all encompassing progressive tax system.
• lift bottom incomes
– Enough well paid jobs – A well educated workforce – Better educational results for the bottom 20% – Better homes, preschool, and schools
• A safety net welfare system which provides proper adequate support.
• Warren Buffet :
It has been class warfare over the last
20 years and at the moment the rich
are winning”
• Stephen Hessell
It is time for Outrage
• We must have everybody winning.