Economic Policy Archives – Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy

Why Is Simple Living So Complicated?

January 8, 2026/7 Comments/in Consumption, Corporate Reform, Economic Policy, Governance, Inflation, Jobs and Employment, Money and Investments, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Wellbeing /by Alix Underwood

by Keith Akers

In industrially advanced countries, we have massively overshot the limits to economic growth. Climate change, peak oil, soil erosion, mass extinctions, and groundwater depletion are already biting into our well-being. Economic and social collapse seems to be the default.

We need “simple living”—the voluntary reduction of consumption—but on a massive scale. We need other things too, like social justice and cultural changes. But let’s focus on the economic logistics of simple living.

Investors Profit from the Affordable Housing Crisis

December 31, 2025/6 Comments/in Amelia Jaycen, Corporate Reform, Corruption, Economic Policy, Governance, Inequality, Money and Investments, Steady State Herald, Wealth, Wellbeing /by Alix Underwood

by Amelia Jaycen

Today, we see endless suburban sprawl and no shortage of stories about the U.S. affordable-housing crisis. So, why aren’t there enough homes yet?

The story is one of “artificial scarcity,” in which there are plenty of means to close the affordable-housing gap, but scarcity is created by investment companies buying up homes. Investors own 20 percent of single-family homes in the United States. Loopholes in the U.S.

Federal Land Management Reaches Full Sellout Under Trump

December 18, 2025/3 Comments/in Autocracy, Conservation, Corruption, Economic Policy, Endangered Species, Energy, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Governance, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

by Kirsten Stade

While U.S. federal land management agencies have seldom been bastions of conservationist vision, their level of regulatory capture has reached a new high in the Trump era. From opening up protected areas to oil and gas development to efforts to sell public lands outright, the current administration and Congress are looking to turn over public lands to extractive industry for its private profit.

We are in a new era of public lands mismanagement,

Revisiting the Fight for the Final Forest

December 11, 2025/1 Comment/in Conservation, Corruption, Dave Rollo, Economic Policy, Governance, KEEP Our Counties Great, Limits to Growth, Politics, Pollution, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

By Dave Rollo

The fight to save Sledge Forest in New Hanover County, covered in the Steady State Herald this past spring, continues in earnest. As reported then, Hilton Bluffs—a massive, 4,000-unit development—pits county residents against Copper Builders, an outside developer. The proposal threatens what locals refer to as “The Last Forest.” The community’s resistance, spearheaded by the group Save Sledge Forest, has continued and grown,

Labour’s Military Spending Undermines Climate Goals

December 4, 2025/6 Comments/in Climate Change, Corruption, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Governance, Materials use, Money and Investments, Peace, Politics, Pollution, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

by Darryl Rigby

As Edwin Starr once sang: “War, what is it good for?” If we’re to believe the United Kingdom’s Labour Party government, it’s good for boosting GDP and protecting your population from the existential threat of Russia.

But one thing increased militarisation most certainly isn’t good for is the environment. Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently announced his plan to steadily increase the defence budget over the next decade.

Introducing the Sustainable Trade Act

October 17, 2025/6 Comments/in David Shreve, Economic Policy, Energy, Food and Agriculture, Fossil Fuels, Governance, Jobs and Employment, Politics, Steady State Economy Act, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

by David Shreve

What are supposed to be the advantages of the free-trade consensus that has emerged in the last century? Yes, innovative technologies and techniques have made their way around the globe. The diffusion of digital communications, managerial technology, advanced materials engineering, and efficient shipping techniques are but a few prominent examples. The openness and complexity of the global trading system have facilitated this diffusion.

Additionally, trade based on “comparative advantage” has modestly increased global economic efficiency.

Introducing the Sustainable Population and Immigration Act

September 18, 2025/25 Comments/in Brian Czech, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Governance, Immigration, Limits to Growth, Politics, Population, Steady State Economy, Steady State Economy Act, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

by Brian Czech

A steady state economy requires, by definition, a stabilized population. If population is not stabilized, it won’t matter how much we try to conserve. Our consumption as individuals—“per capita consumption”—can only go so low before we hit the lower limits of mere survival.

Mere survival isn’t comfortable, much less fun. It precludes any political viability for keeping consumption at minimal levels. So, as a society concerned about sustainability,

Attempting a “SlowDown” in Stafford County

September 11, 2025/3 Comments/in Dave Rollo, Economic Policy, Governance, KEEP Our Counties Great, Politics, Population, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

by Dave Rollo

Stafford County, Virginia, is one of the oldest counties in the United States. Unsustainable development threatens its agrarian culture and residents’ quality of life. Uniquely, the local government has tools to measure the negative impacts of growth. However, they continue to incentivize big-box commercial and retail development. They are changing zoning, extending infrastructure, and failing to increase impact fees. The county’s supervisors are serving developer interests, and a developer currently serves on the planning commission.

Introducing the Natural Resources and Electricity Cap-and-Trade Act

July 10, 2025/7 Comments/in Consumption, David Shreve, Economic Policy, Energy, Fossil Fuels, Materials use, Pollution, Steady State Economy, Steady State Economy Act, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

by David Shreve

In cap-and-trade systems, the government places a “cap,” or limit, typically on pollution or resource extraction. The amount of pollution or extraction is then divided into “allowances,” which are allocated to the polluting or extracting corporations. These corporations can trade their unused allowances in the marketplace.

Cap-and-trade policies promise significant abatement at an optimally low cost. But does experience with cap-and-trade systems vindicate this promise?

The United States and other countries have tested a variety of cap-and-trade systems.

No Steady State Economy with Global South in Debt Crisis

July 3, 2025/3 Comments/in Alix Underwood, Corruption, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Governance, Inequality, Money and Investments, Politics, Poverty, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

by Alix Underwood

This week marks the fourth annual International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4). Leaders of governments, international organizations, and financial institutions meet in Seville, Spain, to “reform financing at all levels.” Global South countries and advocacy groups from across the world hoped this would be the moment for a UN Framework Convention on Sovereign Debt.

According to Didier Jacobs, Oxfam International’s Debt Relief Advocacy Lead,