Mike Treen

The crisis engulfing the globe seems to be on a trajectory towards levels of economic decline not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s. At that time unemployment surged to levels of 20 or more percent in the capitalist world, including New Zealand.

It is inevitable as a country that we needed to rapidly move to level three and four in our response to be able to suffocate the spread of the virus.

The government’s announcements today are a useful start to combatting the impending crisis. There is an international economic recession unfolding that will cause many businesses to cut spending and slash jobs.

The entire banking system should be taken over as a public service

We need a Green New Deal that prioritises people and the planet above the pursuit of profit by the 1% class of private owners of the monopoly corporations that dominate all economic life. A Green New Deal can be the step towards the new system we need. It already has a name. 

The government has announced a series of changes that will only intensify the crisis around migrant worker exploitation.

Overcoming entrenched poverty and inequality requires a Prime Minister and a government willing to do much more than spin pathetic numbers.

The Economic commentator Bernard Hickey made an important point about the proposed infrastructure investment. It is way too small to make much impact on the years of neglect.

There is a discussion taking place across the globe about the type of change that is needed. Will a series of reforms to the current system be enough or will we require some form of revolution. That is a discussion taking place in the squares of cities around the world that have been engulfed in months of continuous protest against the existing order.