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Dear John,
What does Covid-19 mean for the future of our economy? This is a question I and my fellow economists at Positive Money are thinking about every day. We’re at a crossroads, facing tough choices about keeping people safe now, getting our economy back on track, and how best to safeguard ourselves against an uncertain future.
Positive Money is both a people-powered campaign and a think tank. Today, we’re inviting you to dig a little deeper into the world we’re trying to create together and our ideas for 2020 and beyond. So here’s a summary of 7 of our best blogs from this summer so far...
GOVERNMENT DEBT AND COVID-19: WHY THERE’S NO NEED TO WORRY
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We're still in the midst of this crisis and already seeing the usual suspects shouting about rising government debt. But there are good reasons not to fear it. The focus must be on a swift and safe recovery; on seizing the chance to reshape the economy to support more secure employment at sustainable businesses, and to end economic and social inequality. |
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CORONAVIRUS EXPOSES DEEP ROOTED PROBLEMS AT THE HEART OF OUR ECONOMY
From financialisation to structural oppression, Covid-19 is highlighting how dysfunctional our economic system really is. But at the same time, it feels like now is an opportunity for some real conversation and debate about how our society should function. |
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NOW’S THE TIME TO STOP WORSHIPPING THE FALSE GOD OF GDP
As we emerge from this crisis, returning to a senseless pursuit of endless growth would do more harm than good. We mustn’t be sidetracked by GDP-based arguments that attempt to justify a weak public health response to Covid-19 and put private wealth before public health. |
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MORE PRIVATE DEBT ISN’T THE SOLUTION, THIS CRISIS CALLS FOR BOLD MEASURES The immediate economic response needs to involve targeted measures to protect the most vulnerable, while longer-term interventions should be focused on radically restructuring our economy. |
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IT’S TIME TO CHAMPION THE VISIBLE HAND The Government has vowed to build back better, but still fails to see the role of the ‘visible hand’ in keeping their promises. We need large-scale public interventions with a long-term vision of the economy that matches the desires of the public. We want an economy based on need, not greed.
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UNEMPLOYMENT IS THE NEXT CRISIS – WE CANNOT REPEAT THE MISTAKES OF THE 1980S The pandemic has brought into focus the underlying fragility of the UK’s labour market. A worker-centred approach would overcome the looming jobs crisis, and even address the structural causes of widespread insecure and low-paid employment.
DISCUSSING DIGITAL CASH WITH THE BANK OF ENGLAND
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In March 2020, the Bank of England published a new discussion paper on Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) – an important step towards an official launch of a democratic form of digital money. But the Bank’s paper lacks an answer to the most important question we have: will their CBDC be safe, fair and accessible for everyone?
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The pandemic has hit us hard, and it’s going to take time to get our bearings. But we have a unique opportunity to rewire and restructure our economy as we build back.
Our new economy must: > rebalance and distribute wealth fairly > champion good, green jobs > maximise public health and wellbeing and ultimately make our economy fairer, more democratic and sustainable.
We hope the posts we’ve shared today gave you a better insight into our vision for how we’ll get there together. Thank you for all that you do to help,
Danisha and the rest of the Positive Money team |
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Positive Money relies on donations from generous individuals like you to carry out our research, education work and campaign for a fairer money and banking system. |
