Veronika Wild

-Image by Copilot, modified by Cluan  Where we are now Great wealth has indeed been created over the past 40 years. However,  “the invisible hand " of the market, which free marketeers are fond of citing which was to bring wealth to all, has been busily transferring wealth upwards, rather than allowing any to “trickle down” as promised when giving tax cuts to the already wealthy. Under pressure from corporations and wealthy individuals,  both top tax rates and company taxes have been progressively cut, leaving many countries with deep budget deficits and growing inequality, even before the recent automation and AI layoffs.  For the rest of the population, life has become less secure and more difficult since the 1980s and the changes are coming much more swiftly than in the past -far faster than society is able to absorb the displaced workers.  We see the evidence all around us, whether it is in crumbling infrastructure, boarded up shopfronts,  rising homele...

Sign of the Times Pardon me, I’m not an economist, but I fail to see how cutting the wages of low paid workers and the poor will save the economy. According to Stephen Koukoulas of The Guardian , Australia currently has around 725,000 unemployed people and 1,067,000 people who are underemployed, not counting those who have given up looking. You are officially 'employed' even if you only work one hour a week. Even if and it’s a big if , employers do put on another worker, also on a low wage, where will the extra money come from to buy more beer,   another coffee or more things? The same goes for cutting pensions.  Our retirees, unemployed people and those on disabilities have also come in for their share of cost cutting, so less money will be spent in the community, especially as all other costs are rising, and wages have barely moved since the Global Financial Crisis, despite significant increases in corporate profitability.  Instead, it will be like a reverse stimulu...