Politicians are always telling us that we need to sacrifice and surrender legal and social rights or environmental protections in the name of economic growth. But is it worth it? Data from Australia says "nope":
A new paper from the Australia Institute shows 93% of the benefits of economic growth between 2009 and 2019 went to the top 10%, while the bottom 90% received just 7%.This is an Australian result, but there's no reason to believe Aotearoa is any different.The paper shows the share of economic growth going to the top 10% over that period was far higher in Australia than in other developed countries, including the US and Canada.
It also showed the phenomenon has been getting worse – in the postwar period, larger shares of the benefit of economic growth have been going to the top of Australia’s income recipients.
In short, most people see very little benefit from growth. If you're in the top 10%, great. but for the rest of us, all it means is higher inequality and the people at the top getting further and further ahead, making things worse for everyone else in the process. Which invites the question not only of why we should sacrifice anything for this, but also why we should even allow it in the first place.
