27/05/22
Josie was interviewed on AM.
Watch here.
21/05/22
The prime minister’s promise that she was in politics to end child poverty will have to wait. Next year, perhaps.
Housing has become so unaffordable for poor families, food essentials so expensive, and the economy so close to recession, that by the end of next year child poverty will be heading back to 1990s levels. The children of the 1990s are the new parents of today and intergenerational hardship is disappearing from the political agenda. Delivering more requires courage, and tough choices. Just handing out cash to the squeakiest wheels is easy.
Read more here.06/05/22
Josie looks at campaigns driven by personality, not policy, and suggests some policy choices that would make for better debate in New Zealand.
Critics routinely fail to present a better idea to solve the problem, or even acknowledge a problem exists. The problem a wealth tax is meant to solve is that the gap between the richest and poorest New Zealander has increased. According to author Max Rashbrooke, the richest 1% of us, as few as 38,000 people, are worth nearly 70 times more than the typical New Zealander. Reflect on that figure for a moment, and before you criticise a wealth tax, tell us how you would close that gap, or even acknowledge its existence. Only tax policy will meaningfully reduce inequality.
Her Stuff column is here.