“People are the heart of the real economy and it is our needs that the economy should work to provide. We want a society that is fairer, that tolerates neither poverty nor the human costs of high inequality, and where people are no longer economically disadvantaged by being women, Māori or Pasefika. ”

That is the vision of the CTU’s Alternative Economic Strategy launched this week.  The Strategy’s author, CTU Economist Dr Bill Rosenberg, says the New Zealand economy has failed to achieve in crucial ways for several decades.

“The economy is failing to meet the needs of people and the environment and it is a time for serious consideration of alternatives. This is a union contribution to that process.”

“Workers are not receiving the benefits of economic growth in their pay. Poverty is blighting a society that produces enough for everyone but fails to share it fairly. The economy is failing to thrive and is badly unbalanced. It fails to make best use of the skills and experience of its workforce by excluding most of them from meaningful participation in the decisions that shape their work, industry and economy. Internationally, the use of the Earth’s limited resources and misuse of many natural resources are unsustainable.”

Bill Rosenberg said “The strategy includes over 100 specific policy recommendations across many areas including economic development, education, financial stability, globalisation, the environment, employment, social security, housing, retirement, inequality, worker participation and the media.”

Specific tertiary education policies include lower fees for learners willing to be bonded to work in New Zealand, employer workplace training funding conditional on skill recognition in pay scales and support of life-long learning by the right to one year of fees and allowances in every five.

You can listen to an interview with Dr Bill Rosenberg on CTU’s alternative economic strategy here:

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