With US Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney admitting that on his $42 million annual income he pays about 15% tax only while those struggling on part time or any low paid job pay much more than, it is not surprising to read in the NZ media and in the internet concerns about inequality.

Something important is happening in New Zealand politics. After two-and-a-half decades in which economic policy has been a no-go area for political discussion, we have at last seen the beginnings of a debate about what is potentially the central issue of our politics.

If you had a fully grown elephant in your dwelling place, wherever or whatever it may be, you would surely see it, smell it, or bump into it. You probably couldn't move without finding it obstructing any plans you may have.

There is a growing conviction around the world that something is fundamentally wrong with the economic system. Money, once a convenient means of exchange, has become a commodity like oil or wheat or coffee. It can be bought and sold, through hedge funds, futures and other money market casino games...

Prime Minister John Key has been working for a free trade agreement with the US. The US is seeking other bilateral free trade agreements. Holdups by the Republicans are prompted by their opposition to ‘Trade adjustment assistance’ which attempts to reduce the problem of increased unemployment.

Should we trust Shell with oil exploration off NZ? Consider this: Nigeria is one of the world's major oil producers. Overwhelmingly its main oil fields are in the Ogoniland region, which could take 30 years to recover fully from the damage caused by years of oil spills as a result of 50 years of...

Here in New Zealand, the Green Party is stuck in the prison of the financial status quo unable to release itself from its self-imposed claustrophobic restriction. It voluntarily entered the cage, voluntarily shut the door and its leaders, by their statements, confirm that they have no intention ex...

New Zealand is a new country both geologically and historically, having been occupied for hundreds rather than thousands of years. Having become a nation, it hurried to make its mark politically, being a world leader in advancing social rights. Until the last thirty years New Zealand still was a w...

I really get tired of the moaning, bleatings, and threats of the wealthy and privileged that they are hard done by.

There is ‘institutional truth’ favoured by politicians, the military and commerce - and there is painful reality. That is the choice that the late John K Galbraith, economist and political thinker, put before the women graduates of the elite Smith College, Massachusetts in 1989. Regrettably, this ...