The Good Society is the home of my writing about how we can shape a better world together.
A detail from Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s Renaissance fresco The Allegory of Good and Bad Government
The Spinoff: Has Labour worsened inequality?
Its record is more complex than people think.
The Spinoff: The Two Poverties
How can overall hardship have fallen even foodbank use and other signs of deprivation are rising?
The Post: Whisper it, but could KiwiBuild have finally found its mojo?
The government needs to act counter-cyclically to stave off a housing downturn, and its much-maligned underwrite scheme could help.
The Post: Labour needs to be prepared to say the n-word
A little light (part) nationalisation might lead to public money’s being better spent.
RNZ: Smart moves in Budget 2023 but no transformation for poorer families
More will be needed to meet the government’s targets to slash poverty.
Guardian: Why does it take a deadly fire for New Zealand to pay attention to how its most vulnerable live?
The deaths of at least six people at Wellington’s Loafers Lodge has shone a light on the country’s long-ignored housing crisis.
The Post: Is degrowth the planet's saviour or a left-wing menace?
We need to live more sustainably, but it’s not clear that we need to shrink the economy to do so.
Guardian: New Zealand’s millionaires pay lower tax rates than cashiers – it’s time to fix the system
The country’s 311 wealthiest people pay just 8.9% of their income in tax, less than minimum-wage workers.
Spinoff: Our unfair tax system has been exposed – will Labour do something about it?
We have the data on tax unfairness, but not necessarily the political will.