Robert Howell on whether our investment funds are really caring for people and the Earth
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In this recent presentation, Robert highlights the variety of terms used by these institutions to highlight their 'ethical' credentials. These include 'sustainable', 'ESG' (Environment, Social and Governance) and 'responsible'. In the majority of instances, these are not validated and, as a result, the methodologies used to implement these notions result in funds investing in unethical companies. Examples are provided in the slides, dealing with Kiwisaver funds and the NZ Superannuation Fund.
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Zoom Meetup – Fixing unemployment: Social insurance and a job guarantee
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10am–noon, Saturday 20 June 2020
Is it time to completely rethink how we deal with unemployment? We face a tsunami of job losses not seen in generations. The damage could be immense, especially if the devastation of people, regions and entire communities becomes entrenched. Many still haven’t recovered from the 1980s restructuring.
Two ideas — social insurance and a job guarantee — are gaining prominence as ways that could fundamentally change how we deal with the problem. One is intended to provide income protection for those who lose employment, the other aims for something bolder: the elimination of unemployment.
In this Zoom meetup, Dr Michael Fletcher of Victoria University of Wellington and Dr Bill Cochrane of the University of Waikato join us to explain and examine our options for change in these extraordinary times.
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Zoom Meetup – Bill Mitchell: The case for full employment and the end of austerity economics
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Unemployment is a political choice, says economist Bill Mitchell, and Covid-19 presents us with the opportunity to eliminate it. In this Zoom meetup, Professor Mitchell, a long time proponent of a job guarantee, shows what went wrong when economists began preaching austerity and why a state guarantee of full employment is central to fixing it.
Dr Geoff Bertram - How to pay for Covid-19
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Over 350 people registered for this webinar with Dr Geoff Bertram on Saturday May 23. He started by debunking the dominant austerity narrative which says that government spending resulting in deficits must mean either borrowing or "money-printing", which respectively either is a "burden on future generations", or inevitably leads to hyperinflation. That leads to a confusing argument that it is a strong Crown balance sheet with relatively low debt that provides fiscal space to increase spending. But it is Covid, not low Crown debt, that has opened up the fiscal space.
