The Standard

Economy

Posts on the economy, work, business, income, and labour

Categories under Economy

Building a mass movement

Written By: - Date published: 3:13 pm, January 19th, 2016 - 61 comments

Republished by request, and permission from Stephanie Rodgers at Boots Theory

[Content note: mentions of transphobia, sexual violence and violence against people of colour]

Kingi Taurua says Government not welcome to Waitangi if TPPA signed

Written By: - Date published: 7:45 am, January 19th, 2016 - 342 comments

Ngāpuhi kaumātua and spokesperson for Te Tii Marae Kingi Tairua has announced that because of the lack of consultation if the TPPA is signed the Government will not be welcome at Waitangi.

62 vs 3.6 Billion

Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, January 19th, 2016 - 155 comments

Ever widening inequality generates ever more astonishing statistics – suck up economics in action. The super-rich are laughing all the way to the bank.

Skill shortages and reaping what you sow

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, January 18th, 2016 - 114 comments

Data released to the Sunday Star-Times shows a huge decline in numbers of tertiary students, including declines in many key skills and fields. Various explanations are offered, only one of them makes sense…

Robertson / Labour on the future of work

Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, January 18th, 2016 - 60 comments

It’s a good thing that one of the major parties is thinking seriously about the future…

Not all research is created equal

Written By: - Date published: 12:59 pm, January 17th, 2016 - 193 comments

A recent “research” report on alcohol, funded by brewing company Lion, has been in the news lately. Sadly, not everything that purports to be research is honest research.

What to do about poverty (and a suggestion to the media)

Written By: - Date published: 10:25 am, January 16th, 2016 - 43 comments

An excellent piece on poverty by Lizzie Marvelly in The Herald this morning poses a question to which we already know the answer. (Plus some bonus rambling on the media.)

The unexpected oil crisis

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, January 16th, 2016 - 186 comments

The world is currently facing a problem that even a few years ago was unthinkable.  Oil is cheap and demand has dropped out of the market.  What are the geopolitical implications of this?

Gender Pay Gap: Average Wage Graph telling

Written By: - Date published: 10:38 am, January 15th, 2016 - 76 comments

Now maybe it’s because I’m a bloke, but looking at this graph I couldn’t help but think: wouldn’t it be better to close the pay gap for women by increasing their wages rather than decreasing men’s?

How to improve pay gender equality

Written By: - Date published: 8:49 am, January 15th, 2016 - 17 comments

It’s been a hardy annual finding of late – the pay gap between males and females is getting steadily worse. History suggests that Labour governments have some answers…

New Zealand’s alternative 1984

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, January 14th, 2016 - 76 comments

What would have happened if in 1984 David Lange had exerted control and appointed a centrist rather than right wing Labour cabinet?

TPP circus rolls on

Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, January 14th, 2016 - 203 comments

The new year begins much as the old one ended, with secrets, evasions and dissent over the TPP and what it means for NZ.

Boots Theory: Move left to win? Move left to win!

Written By: - Date published: 11:46 am, January 13th, 2016 - 77 comments

Boots Theory on the American Working Families Charter, how they are trying to move the Democratic Party to the left, and possible lessons for New Zealand.

Royal Bank of Scotland to investors: “Sell everything”

Written By: - Date published: 10:48 am, January 13th, 2016 - 154 comments

The Bank of Scotland has advised advised its clients to brace for a “cataclysmic year” and a global deflationary crisis.

National’s vision for New Zealand’s future

Written By: - Date published: 11:28 am, January 12th, 2016 - 94 comments

Stephen Joyce has had published an opinion piece in this morning’s Herald which extolls the virtue of free trade and ignores the pitfalls.  Such as those shown this week when TransCanada sued the US Government for rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline contract.

Why are we working so hard?

Written By: - Date published: 11:42 am, January 10th, 2016 - 46 comments

A recent New Matilda article discusses why at a time of increasing productivity the need to work has increased and not decreased.

The problem with free market capitalism

Written By: - Date published: 11:16 am, January 9th, 2016 - 249 comments

This morning’s Herald contains a story about a young man who with a family gift has managed to purchase eleven houses over the past five years and can afford to pay World of Warcraft all day.

Well this is awkward

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, January 8th, 2016 - 81 comments

Jamie Whyte yesterday wrote an article for the Herald claiming that child poverty does not exist in New Zealand. But he wrote essentially the same article in 2005 about child poverty in Great Britain.

TPPA to be signed in New Zealand but the Government is not confirming

Written By: - Date published: 6:18 pm, January 7th, 2016 - 24 comments

The Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement will be signed in New Zealand on February 4, 2016.  But the Government is not confirming …

The major world risks in 2016

Written By: - Date published: 12:37 pm, January 5th, 2016 - 14 comments

Ad reviews Eurasia’s appraisal of global risks the world faces in 2016.

The China Stockmarket crisis

Written By: - Date published: 12:08 pm, January 5th, 2016 - 103 comments

Overnight there has been further turmoil on the Chinese Stock exchange with stocks plummeting 7% before trading was stopped. And things may only get worse when a 6 month ban on trading by major stock owners is lifted.

The myth of drug dependancy and poverty

Written By: - Date published: 10:39 am, January 2nd, 2016 - 306 comments

New research from Morgan Foundation suggests that poverty can be alleviated by increasing incomes and that the beneficiaries will be children of poor families not vendors of alcohol and cigarettes.

John Key – the White Ribbon Ambassador

Written By: - Date published: 12:03 pm, December 28th, 2015 - 278 comments

A comprehensive run through of behaviours and attitudes associated with a White Ribbon ambassador.

We will always have Paris

Written By: - Date published: 7:09 am, December 27th, 2015 - 56 comments

COP21 provided welcome commitment by the world’s nations to do something meaningful about climate change. But this is not enough. So what next?

Guest Post: Employment and Unemployment

Written By: - Date published: 9:04 am, December 26th, 2015 - 49 comments

Incognito on the meaning of work and unemployment at a time of increasing change.

On the twelfth day of Christmas AFFCO gave two of its workers …

Written By: - Date published: 7:29 am, December 24th, 2015 - 189 comments

AFFCO clearly lacks any sense of a christmas spirit when dealing with its workers.

Summer break

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, December 19th, 2015 - 46 comments

Standardista authors are on summer break! There will be an Open Mike each day, but little or no other posting (unless an author feels particularly inspired). Here’s some summer reading suggestions – by all means add your own…

Child poverty has been monitored – now what?

Written By: - Date published: 7:05 am, December 18th, 2015 - 104 comments

A guest post from McFlock on what we might do about poverty when the talking’s done.

Key is blaming child poverty on – wait for it – – drugs!

Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, December 16th, 2015 - 206 comments

John Key has tried to deflect from his government’s appalling record on child poverty with some throw-away nonsense about drugs. There are just three teeny tiny problems with that line…

Obesity is a structural problem

Written By: - Date published: 9:20 am, December 16th, 2015 - 59 comments

Structural problems need structural solutions. Progress on this major public health issue has been set back by a decade because we elected a useless National government.

Child poverty – it’s not choice

Written By: - Date published: 10:35 am, December 15th, 2015 - 172 comments

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