The One Percent: Not Kristallnacht but Lebensraum
The talking points of conspicuous consumers can be just as obnoxious as their purchasing habits.
These are the CASSE blog articles on economic policy.
The Green New Deal: What’s Really Green and What’s Really New
/11 Comments/in Climate Change, Consumption, Corporate Reform, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Environment, Food and Agriculture, Politics, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czechby Brian Czech
Ask Americans what the Green New Deal is all about, and you’ll get two basic answers. Most often you’ll hear, “It’s about moving to renewable energy in order to fight climate change.” You’ll also hear, from a camp further right, “It’s all about socialism!”
Either way, the really green, really new feature is overlooked. What the Green New Deal is really about is the transition to a steady state economy.
A Country of Immigrants
/1 Comment/in Economic Policy, Jobs and Employment, Population, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian CzechBy Herman Daly
Historically, the U.S. is undeniably a country of immigrants. But why is this uncontested fact so repeatedly emphasized? Might the unremitting celebration of immigration as a policy (as opposed to the celebration of particular immigrants as people) obscure a dark side of our immigration history?
Neocornucopianism and the Steady State: Part I
/0 Comments/in Consumption, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Energy, Population, Steady State Herald, Sustainability, Technology /by Brian CzechBy Josh Farley
Perhaps the main reason people reject the need for a steady state economy is some form of cornucopianism, the belief that technological progress will overcome all ecological and physical limits, allowing endless economic growth into the indefinite future. Cornucopianism has several flavors, and I will describe three: mainstream economics, eco-modernism, and singularity theory.
An Act of Congress for the Steady-State Timeline
/6 Comments/in Brian Czech, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Governance, Politics, Steady State Herald /by Brian CzechBy Brian Czech
Some years down the road—probably decades—we’ll pass the Full and Sustainable Employment Act, calling for a steady state economy in the USA. This is our vision at CASSE. When that day comes, scholars and commentators will construct a timeline demarcating the major steps along the way. On that timeline, August 28, 2018 will be duly noted. This was the day when the Measuring Real Income Growth Act, “MRIGA,” was introduced in the U.S. Senate by Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM).
Thankful to be Back in the Steady-State Saddle
/4 Comments/in Brian Czech, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Steady State Economy, Sustainability, The Daly News /by Brian Czechby Brian Czech
One thing about American holidays – there’s no mincing of words. Thanksgiving Day is as self-explanatory as it gets. And from where I write, it happens to be easy, giving thanks this time around. For starters, it’s a crisp fall day in Virginia!
But I’ve a bonus to be thankful for. Twenty days and three hours ago, I turned in my retirement papers at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service headquarters and immediately went to work as CASSE’s executive director.
No Mere Resolution: The Vermont Legislature and the Steady State Economy
/2 Comments/in Brian Czech, Consumption, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Steady State Economy, The Daly News /by Brian Czechby Brian Czech
Here’s a day to remember: May 6, 2016. That’s the day when, late in the afternoon, the Legislature of the State of Vermont passed H.C.R. 412, “House Concurrent Resolution Honoring the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy for Its Important Work.” In a nation where acts of steady statesmanship – political support for a steady state economy – have only just begun, the Vermont Legislature has offered a perfect and prescient precedent.
Appropriate Scarcity
/8 Comments/in Consumption, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Steady State Economy, The Daly News /by Brian Czechby Robert A. Herendeen
… appealing to people to restrain themselves [by] self-enforced abstinence alone is a waste of time. By and large, we consume as much as our incomes allow…. changes… cannot take place without constraints that apply to everyone rather than everyone else. Manmade global warming cannot be restrained unless we persuade the government to force us to change the way we live.
—George Monbiot, Heat (2006/2009)
The results indicate that the likelihood of paying a positive amount for supporting renewable energy is higher under a mandatory scheme compared to a voluntary payment option in the UK.
What is Wrong with a Zero Interest Rate?
/6 Comments/in Corporate Reform, Economic Policy, Governance, Inflation, Monetary Policy, Money and Investments, The Daly News /by Brian Czechby Herman Daly
The stock market took a dip, so the Fed will likely continue to keep the interest rate at zero, in conformity with its goal of supporting asset prices by quantitative easing. What is wrong with a zero interest rate? Doesn’t it boost investment, growth, and employment?
There are many things wrong with a zero interest rate. Remember that the interest rate is a price paid to savers by borrowing investors.
A Sustainable True-Cost Economy Promises an Escape from Massive Water Pollution
/2 Comments/in Economic Policy, Environment, Steady State Economy, The Daly News /by Brian Czechby Brent Blackwelder
A year ago, I wrote about how a true-cost steady state economy would deal with water pollution. Last August, the alarming green slime at the west end of Lake Erie was so bad that it shut down Toledo’s water supply for half a million people. Who would pay the tremendous damages caused by the green slime? Certainly not the industrial agricultural interests who were responsible for about two-thirds of the problem!