Steady State Herald – Page 12 of 21 – Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy

Resisting the Temptation of Growth at the County Level

November 19, 2021/1 Comment/in Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Environment, Food and Agriculture, Governance, Jobs and Employment, Monetary Policy, Politics, Population, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

by Daniel Giles

Across the USA, a battle for the souls of rural counties is being waged. The battle is fought not in major news outlets, but in local government meetings and the opinion columns of local newspapers. Despite the lack of national coverage, the cumulative outcome of these localized conflicts will change the American landscape for generations to come.

This monumental battle is between those fighting for growth—or “development” as some use interchangeably—and those who strive to conserve the current character of counties.

Pope Francis and the Steady State Economy

October 28, 2021/4 Comments/in Consumption, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Environment, Governance, Politics, Poverty, Religion, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

by Brian Snyder

Let’s play a game of “who said it.” I’ll give you quotes from either For the Common Good (by Herman Daly and John Cobb), or Let Us Dream (by Pope Francis). You guess who wrote it:

“…in the wealthier parts of the world, the fixation with constant economic growth has become destabilizing, producing vast inequalities and putting the natural world out of balance.”
“Then ‘God’ became redundant and disappeared.

Facebook and Its Religion of Growth

October 22, 2021/5 Comments/in Consumption, Corporate Reform, Corruption, Economic Policy, Governance, Politics, Religion, Steady State Herald, Technology /by Brian Czech

by Taylor Lange

There was a time when I dreamt of working at Facebook. I was less intrigued by the software development side than with studying the exchange of information and the cultural evolution occurring through online social networks. One of my research interests is how individuals learn to act cooperatively and acquire new preferences. What better place is there to do that than at the largest online social media platform?

Since joining Facebook in 2009,

Reframing the Debate: It’s the (Steady State) Economy, Stupid

October 14, 2021/18 Comments/in Degrowth, Politics, Postgrowth, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

by Brian Czech

May I offer you a pet peeve to chew on? I’m willing to share one for our mutual displeasure.

Here it is: Being told by academics and activists—nary a political expert among them—that “it doesn’t matter what you call it, as long as we’re all after the same thing.” With the possible exception of Donald Trump’s lips, nothing could be further from the truth. If common sense doesn’t suffice to illuminate the importance of name recognition,

Housing Policy: An Agent for Growth

October 7, 2021/5 Comments/in Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Environment, Governance, Politics, Population, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

by John Mirisch

In the ongoing and increasingly heated discussions about housing, urban planning, and zoning, I often return to Greta Thunberg’s seething indictment of our world’s decision-makers: “Here we are at the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can do is talk about money and fairytales of eternal economic growth.”

Greta may have been directing her remarks to politicians at the highest levels of government; but, neither should we forget as former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill once famously remarked,

The Parliamentary Prospects of Steady-State Politics

September 23, 2021/6 Comments/in Climate Change, Economic Growth, Environment, Governance, Politics, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

by James Lamont

In August steady staters enjoyed a victory worthy of reflection. Following May elections, the Scottish Greens struck a power-sharing deal with the Scottish National Party (SNP), bringing the Greens into a national UK government for the first time.

Buried beneath the media chatter about what this partnership could mean for Scottish independence (both parties are in favor) is the fact that a party explicitly against infinite growth is now in power in the UK.

Next Big Thing or Next Big Mistake?

September 16, 2021/5 Comments/in Economic Growth, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Technology /by Brian Czech

by Brian Snyder

In a 2021 landmark of ludicrousness, Jeff Bezos launched himself, cowboy hat and all, into space aboard a phallus-shaped rocket. But Bezos’ fruitless attempt to fill that gaping hole in his life was only the latest stupid reason to send something to space. Spaceship stupidity goes back to the SNAPSHOT program which, in 1965, sent a working nuclear reactor into space. Not surprisingly,

Labor Day Reflections: Growth Doesn’t Solve Inequality

September 10, 2021/6 Comments/in Consumption, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Governance, Jobs and Employment, Monetary Policy, Politics, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

by Taylor Lange

Labor Day, like other holidays of remembrance, is an opportunity to reflect on the past and critically consider the future. Our memory ought to include the foot soldiers of the labor movement, from the 10,000 coal miners who fought in the Battle of Blair Mountain to the steel workers who duked it out with the Pinkertons at Homestead mill. We owe our rights as workers to the bitter struggles of many who preceded us.

Introducing the Forgoing Flights for America the Beautiful Act

September 2, 2021/5 Comments/in Brian Czech, Climate Change, Economic Policy, Environment, Governance, Politics, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

by Brian Czech

The first commandment of serious policy reform is: “Thou shalt not propose sweeping legislation without the drafting thereof.” So, if we’re going to get serious about banning flights, we better produce the legislative goods. In doing so, we strive to obey the second commandment as well: “Thou shalt not propose infeasible legislation.”

To be feasible, the Forgoing Flights for America the Beautiful Act (FFAB) must be presented as a logical sequence of reforms.

#BanFlightsUSA, Before It’s Too Late!

August 26, 2021/26 Comments/in Brian Czech, Climate Change, Economic Policy, Environment, Governance, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

by Brian Czech

In a rational world, we’d avoid doing things that rot our teeth, cause traffic accidents, or…ruin the planet for the kids, grandkids, and millions of other species. Unfortunately, our rationality has been spotty at best. We’ve been rational enough to protect plenty of teeth and prevent numerous accidents, but we’ve done nothing to stop the global heating that is wrecking our spectacular Earth.

That’s why we need to ban flights now.