READING THE NEW ZEALAND ECONOMY This document sets out lists of internet links to publicly available information that has been read and collated by a number of people. The intent of these lists is to provide a readily accessible link database to public information on socio-economic matters that provoke a broader understanding of what possibly might be happening in the economy and the flow on effects into society. The information contained in these lists is by no means exhaustive or even balanced. This is a starter document. It is an initial attempt to collaboratively build up over time a sober and balanced information reference resource for those who want to gain a deeper understanding of the possible trajectories of the global and New Zealand economy, and what might be thoughtful Christian responses to them. It includes links to biblical reflections on the crisis. This is not a policy document and the views expressed or implied by the reference to any links do not necessarily represent the views of St Pauls or the St Paul's Marketplace Group. We would welcome advices on additional internet links and reference sources that may help Christians more deeply understand both our economic times and the reading of the biblical text for economic situations. We are also keen to hear examples of leadership that the Christian community is taking in New Zealand and overseas in responding to the crisis. Please email any suggested items to add to the lists to marketplace@stpauls.org.nz If you wish to be receive updated lists from us send us an email with SUBSCRIBE in the heading. We will not share your email with third parties. St Paul's Marketplace Group LIST A Reading the Context LIST A. READING THE CONTEXT [incomplete] ITEM 1: 40%+ of world's wealth been destroyed by the global credit crisis ITEM 2: “Lost through destructive creation” ITEM 3: "A brief account of the financial crisis" ITEM 4: “The consequence of bad economics” Extract: “But the most astounding fact [of the current financial collapse] is how familiar its physiognomy and physiology look compared to past financial crashes… No one can read the chronicles of those earlier crashes without sensing – with a chill – that history is repeating itself... The great mistake was to rely merely on self-interest in as imperfect and as important a market as the financial sector… But those who sound the death knell of market capitalism are therefore mistaken. This was not a failure of markets; it was a failure to create proper markets. What is to blame is a certain mindset…. It ignored a capitalist economy’s inherent instabilities – and therefore relieved policymakers who could manage those instabilities of their responsibility to do so.” ITEM 5: The coming collapse of the middle class in the United States This BU Thomas Jefferson Lecture 2007 (60mins) has caught the attention of senior New Zealand policy advisors. Warren's analysis of the middle class in the US and what they are up against is insightful. Whilst it appears no similar analysis has been carried out on the NZ middles class it would seem some of the inter-generational trends Warren highlights parallel the NZ middle class experience, albeit her summation of a potential collapse of the middle class in the US does not necessarily directly correlate to NZ given the more comprehensive safety net provided by our government (e.g. working for families package). Note Warren’s comment that 90% of ‘family with children’ bankruptcies in the US are filed for one of three reasons: Warren identifies family bankruptcy as the hidden illness in the US. More children in the US are now in houses that file for bankruptcy than file for divorce. For a current reality link / human face to this issue refer to the Sacramento County tent city residents are typically white middle class, foreclosed (or tenants whose landlord has been foreclosed on) and jobless. Shelters are at capacity (3x occupancy from 18 months ago) and officials proposing refuge camp style solutions. See photos at: ITEM 6: “Don’t blame the bankers, deregulation and spending caused it too” Archbishop delivers attack on impact of globalisation. Says its time for everyone to look at own lifestyles. Copied below in full www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/mar/09/deregulation-spending-banking “The Archbishop of Canterbury criticised the unthinking pursuit of growth. Blaming the greed of individual bankers for the financial crisis was too easy and people should instead be asking profound questions about how poorly regulated economies obsessed with ever-growing consumer choice have skewed the judgments of entire countries, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said. The Right Rev Rowan Williams used a lecture in Cardiff at the weekend to deliver a wide-ranging attack on a globalised economic system which had been "spectacularly successful in generating purchasing power" but which had also led us to "the most radical insecurity imaginable". As economists struggle to find technical solutions to the recession, which has brought interests rates to their lowest level in 300 years and forced the government to cut VAT in an effort to get shoppers back into the high street, he said ordinary people had to ask themselves difficult questions about their own lives. "To use one of the more obvious examples, it has become clear that lifestyles dependent on high levels of fossil fuel consumption reduce the long-term opportunities of basic human flourishing for many people because of their environmental cost - not to mention the various political traps associated with the production and marketing of oil in some parts of the world, with the consequent risks to peace and regional stability." Dr Williams criticised the unthinking pursuit of growth, which had led to an "unhealthily hyperactive" economy. He said: "If it is essential to invest in certain kinds of productive ventures, how does this relate to the broader and longer-term imperative of securing the funding of social care future by way of sustainable shared resources, accumulated wealth?" The global economic downturn has hurled several powerful bankers from relative anonymity into the limelight. Chief among them is the former chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Sir Fred Goodwin, who has found himself embroiled in an increasingly bitter row with the government over his £703,000-a-year pension. Many senior figures in the government have questioned whether he deserved such a large reward given his stewardship of the bank, which lost £24bn last year. But although Harriet Harman, the deputy leader of the Labour party, has described Goodwin's pension as "unacceptable", Dr Williams questioned whether heaping blame on individual bankers served any purpose when much of the fault lies with the financial system itself. Focusing on the greed of bankers had made people lose sight of the fact that "governments committed to deregulation and to the encouragement of speculation and high personal borrowing were elected repeatedly in Britain and the United States for a crucial couple of decades", he said. "Add to that the fact of warnings of some of the risks of poor (or no) regulation, and we are left with the question of what it was that skewed the judgment of a whole society as well as of financial professionals." The archbishop is known to have had several meetings with bankers and financial experts as he developed his critique of the way in which – as he sees it – a consumer class in developed countries had helped to a "new group of urban paupers" in unstable developing countries. He said that governments which promised "maximised choice and minimised risk" encouraged voters to forget the fundamentals of economic reality. He criticised a financial system which, he said, displayed deep and systemic impatience. "A badly or inadequately regulated market is one in which no one is properly monitoring the scarcity of credit. And this absence of monitoring is especially attractive when governments depend for their electability on a steady expansion of spending power for their citizens." The archbishop cautioned against a move towards protectionism, but attacked "opportunistic" offshoring and outsourcing by large international companies. "The present situation favours economic agreements that give little or no leverage to workers and that have minimal reference to social, environmental or even local legal concerns. "Learning how to use governmental antitrust legislation to break up the virtually monopolistic powers of large multinationals that have become cuckoos in the nest of a national economy would also be an essential part of a strategy designed to stop the slide from opportunistic outsourcing towards protectionism and monitoring or policing the chaotic flow of capital across boundaries," he said. In future politicians and economists would have to move away from the idea that wealth and profit could be achieved without risk. He called for a "return to the primitive capitalist idea" of risk-sharing. He also demanded that environmental costs should be factored into all future economic calculations.” ITEM 7: Economic crisis who is asking the BIG QUESTIONS at this time…“Less a game than a blood sport, it has become Westminster's favourite pastime: Make Gordon Say Sorry. The prime minister flies into Washington to make the kind of big-picture, future-of-the-world speech he truly relishes – only to run into the same old lobby journalists asking him yet again to apologise for his part in the collapse of the global banking system. Mr Brown has so far refused to oblige, but some of his lieutenants – most notably last week Ed Balls and Alistair Darling – have eaten their slices of humble pie. This hunt for an apology is largely about news cycles and the hunger for party attack lines. It is a game that is impossible for Labour to win; it can only hope to lose as few points as possible. But there is another aspect that Number 10 also needs to acknowledge. The great crash is one of the two most significant global events of this decade. Its impact will be felt way beyond the City and Westminster. Thousands will lose their homes and millions their jobs; many others are already asking whether this decade's boom was only a mirage of cheap credit. Amid this turmoil, there is inevitably a desire for a larger account of how we got here and where we go next. Apology-seeking is an inarticulate expression of that need, and it is one Mr Brown should take seriously. True, any crisis-hit government will struggle to lift its eyes from those problems immediately at hand. But leaders more emotionally literate than Mr Brown would also have twigged by now that the public wants to hear from them something more far-reaching than his plans for monitoring bank capital reserves. This should be natural territory for a party of the left, yet it is David Cameron who speaks about the need for capitalism with a conscience. Labour jibes that this is mere positioning - after all, this was the Conservative leader who last summer promised to do to society what Margaret Thatcher did to the economy. Still, the government has yet to set out a positive vision for the kind of economy it wants to come out of the crash. Two big opportunities to do so come next month: the G20 summit and the budget. Ministers must make the most of them. One reason why this debate has been so narrow is that the participants also come from too narrow a base - they are mostly politicians and economists. Yet those questions about reshaping a market economy obviously have a moral dimension too. Rowan Williams's intervention this weekend is therefore particularly welcome. In his lecture at Cardiff, the Archbishop of Canterbury rightly focused not on bankers' greed or other individual failings, but on the problems of an entire system geared up to giving consumers what they want - whatever the consequences. The key questions, he thought, were: "What is growth for? For what and for whom is wealth important?" These are not questions that have been asked often enough during this crisis - and yet economists from Adam Smith on used to take them very seriously. For their part, Christians in this country used to be much more openly engaged in economic questions. There was the Faith in the City report of 1985, which attacked the social effects of Thatcherism so boldly that Norman Tebbit angrily dismissed it as Marxism. And around the turn of this decade there was the Jubilee debt campaign. But this is a trail that has gone cold. It may be that Dr Williams has been cowed by his self-professed lack of economic expertise, or perhaps he has been distracted by the Anglican communion's internal battles over the position of gays and women. Whatever the reason, it is to be hoped that this weekend is followed by more interventions – and not only from the Church of England. When it comes to economic policy at least, Gordon Brown was wrong: this is a very good time to be a novice. Many of the experts' assumptions have fallen apart, and the argument over how to put them together again should be open to all.” ITEM 8: “Implications of the financial crisis and the recession” ITEM 9: “Setting the Scene” Ellis outlines what are the key questions to consider behind the headlines? Ellis worked at the Bank of England and is now strategic leader for the Methodist Connexional Team (UK) and Treasurer of the United Reformed Church (UK) ITEM 10: “Underlying causes of the global economic crisis” Goudzwaard is Professor Emeritus of Economics and Social Philosophy, at the Free University in Amsterdam and former member of the Dutch parliament. co-author of Hope in Troubled Times: A New Vision for Confronting Global Crises ITEM 11: Blog – Debtonation An insightful blog. The blogger is Ann Pettifor, author and analyst of the global financial system, and co-author of the Green New Deal. She predicted an Anglo-American debt-deflationary crisis back in 2003, and is known for her work on sovereign debt and international finance, including Jubilee 2000. Currently a Fellow of the New Economics Foundation, and director of Advocacy International, and Campaign Director of Operation Noah ITEM 12: Faith, ethics, rate of interest & the Green New Deal ITEM 13: New Zealand Institute
ITEM 14: Infometrics Infometrics offers a range of economic consulting and forecasting services on commercial terms to companies, business organisations and government departments. It has consistently provided good contemporary New Zealand economic analysis. Their home page is public but a subscription is required for the substance ITEM 15: New Zealand Treasury “2009 Jobs Summit Presentation” by John Whitehead,Secretary to the Treasury http://beehive.govt.nz/sites/all/files/jobsumm09-pres_whitehead.ppt#12 Treasury article: “Perspectives on Past Recesssions” “Briefing to Incoming Minister of Finance – Economic and Fiscal Strategy” (Dec 08) ITEM 16: New Zealand Reserve Bank “World Recession and How We Cope” – The world has just experienced the “biggest destruction of global wealth ever.” “Financial Stability Report” (Nov 08) http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/finstab/fsreport/ ITEM 17: Independent readings of the New Zealand social context [incomplete] ITEM 18: Readings on global capitalism and development [incomplete] “Credit for those who need it most” by Philip Bowring (10 Mar 09) http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/03/10/opinion/edbowring.php “A survival plan for global capitalism” – An FT Editorial ITEM 19: Independent news sites who provide more than spot news and who report on voices often not be reflected in mainstream news [incomplete] Stratfor www.stratfor.com Christian Science Monitor www.csmonitor.com ITEM 20: Other news websites [incomplete] Economist http://www.economist.com/ Financial Times http://www.ft.com/home/asia
LIST B. READING THE BIBLICAL TEXT [incomplete] ITEM 1: “From Anxiety and Greed to Milk and Honey” ITEM 2: “Theology of Work and Why Work Matters” The Archbishop of York speaks at the launch of the "God at Work" course at Holy Trinity Brompton. He asks the questions of What is the vision for business? What is one's calling in business? What is the vision for God at work in the world of work? He highlights five themes that are relevant for the times, particularly in the midst of the current economic crisis. ITEM 3: “Kingdom Economics” ITEM 4: "Christianity Today's coverage of the US economic crisis" ITEM 5: Intro to debate on implications of the financial crisis and recession at General Synod (England) ITEM 6: “Faith, ethics, rate of interest & the Green New Deal” http://www.ctbi.org.uk/pdf_view.php?id=312 This is the first ‘product’ of a project on economic justice by the (US) Centre for Public Justice http://www.cpjustice.org/ ITEM 8: Developing a theological and practical response to contemporary Capitalism ITEM 9: The Sermon on the Mount (Matt 6:19-34) ITEM 10: The Old Testament Prophets
LIST C. ADVOCACY AND ACTION [incomplete] ITEM 1: US Conference of Catholic Bishops On Justice Peace and Human Development ITEM 2: “Time for less Selfish Capitalism” ITEM 3: “The Age of Obligation” ITEM 4: Canadians thinking through the Christian response ITEM 5: “Its time to Get Fair” National Coordinator of Church Action on Poverty and the Get Fair campaign (UK) ITEM 6: “Housing and Homelessness Issues” Chief Executive of Housing Justice (UK) ITEM 7: “Ethical Investment – A Solution to Financial Turmoil?” ITEM 8: British and Irish Churches thinking through the Christian response The aim of the conference was to reflect theologically on the root causes of the current economic crisis and the response of the churches in terms of their prophetic, pastoral and partnership roles and responsibilities. Access the papers and presentations at http://www.ctbi.org.uk/357 ITEM 9: “The economic crisis: A Scottish perspective” ITEM 10: Australia Prime Minister view on Faith and Politics ITEM 11: US President view on Faith and Politics ITEM 12: “Regaining a Big Vision for Britain” ITEM 13: “Christian Hope in a Confusing World” ITEM 14: Immediate responses relevant to New Zealand [incomplete]:
ITEM 15: “The future of human beings is what matters” ITEM 16: Thought leaders of new economic paradigms [incomplete] “After barely 50 days in office, it is clear the [Obama] administration perceives the watershed… and intends to exploit it. This determination to turn the world’s deepest economic downturn since the Great Depression into the beginning of a new era of progressive politics in America is the most important political consequence – and the biggest political gamble – of the crisis of capitalism in capitalism’s homeland... Mr Summers, a strong defender of free markets, likewise has concluded: “The view that the market economy is inherently self-stabilising, always, has been dealt a fatal blow... This notion that the economy is self-stabilising is usually right, but it is wrong a few times a century and this is one of those times... Mr Paulson said his purpose was to save capitalism. Mr Obama wants to do much more than that. Over the past few weeks, he has unveiled a sweeping progressive agenda aimed not merely at sorting out the market economy’s travails but addressing a deeper failing in the current manifestation of American capitalism. That flaw, in his view, is the rising income inequality and median wage stagnation of the past three decades – it is this central idea that unites his ambitious project.” Financial Times – The Future Of Capitalism Series (Mar 09) Refer to the FT interactive on 50 people who will frame the debate by Steven Bernard, Jeremy Lemer and FT Reporters (10 Mar 09) http://www.ft.com/indepth/capitalism-future New Economics Foundation
McKinsey & Company Feasta ITEM 17: The Capitalism Project http://capitalismproject.org/about/
LIST D. BOOKS THAT INFORM ACTION [incomplete] ITEM 1: Suicide of the West “In this controversial book, Richard Koch and Chris Smith identify six key pillars of Western civilization: Christianity, optimism, science, economic growth, liberalism and individualism. They show how these ideas have suffered a century of sustained attack from within and no longer inspire or unite the West, making a drift towards collective suicide appear inevitable. The work is a polemic and leaves the reader with not much hope or alternatives to the current capitalist liberal market economy other than one where personal morality and responsibility is better exercised.” [ref] For a neo-liberal review of the book refer http://www.iea.org.uk/record.jsp?type=pressArticle&ID=303 ITEM 2: The Long Emergency: Surviving The Converging Catastrophes Of The Twenty-first Century Kunstler is one of the great commentators on American space and place. “From the stirring foreword by Henri Nouwen to the last page of Romero's text, this powerful little volume of eloquent, simple meditations never wastes a word. Yet the real depth of Romero's message lies not in his words themselves, poetic as they are. It lies in the life they give witness to: the hard life of a man who was martyred for his faith in a late capitalist market economy that had gone awry. Thus The Violence of Love gives more insight, perhaps, than any biographical account of his life.” [ref] “During his three years as archbishop of San Salvador, Óscar Romero became known as a fearless defender of the poor and suffering. His work on behalf of the oppressed earned him the admiration and love of the peasants he served, a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, honorary degrees from abroad - and finally, an assassin's bullet on account of his outspokenness.” [ref] “Romero was martyred for his insistence that following Christ cannot be relegated to the spiritual realm. He was commited to human rights, to innovative implementation of the option for the poor, to the Church, and to the active role of the laity. He had a deep and abiding faith that seemingly insoluble problems can be resolved by following the Spirit He did not die in vain the people of Central America say his spirit lives on in them. As their struggle for justice and dignity intensifies, his words take on renewed urgency.” [ref] “Romero is honored by other religious denominations of Christendom, including the Church of England. He is one of the ten 20th century martyrs who are depicted in statues above the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey, London In 2008, he was chosen as one of the 15 Champions of World Democracy by the Europe-based magazine A Different View.” For book review refer to http://www.latinotheology.org/node/16 ITEM 4: Oscar Romero: Reflections on His Life and Writings As a biography, this book is a mere introduction – only 127 pp – but a good one of his life. “In describing Romero’s life the authors have culled some of his most poignant words of prophetic power from his homilies, diaries, letters, and public talks. An example: "Some want to keep a Gospel so disembodied that it doesn't get involved at all in the world it must save. Christ is now in history. Christ is in the womb of the people. Christ is now bringing about a new heaven and a new earth."” [ref] ITEM 5: Economics for the Common Good: Two Centuries of Economic Thought in the Humanistic Tradition
“An accessible introduction to economics in terms of human rather than material welfare. In the face of increasing marketisation, declining community and growing inequality, the author argues the case for a broader, more sensitive economic science. Building on a venerable social economics tradition the volume diverts away from mainstream neo-liberal economic thinking. It proposes a more rational economic order and develops new principles of economic policy. The issues covered include: the inadequacy of individualistic economics in guiding policy formation, a logical critique of economic rationality, rethinking of the modern business corporation, a critique of modern trade theory and unregulated international competition, and how standard economic theory encourages major ecological problems.” [ref] ITEM 6: Heaven is Not My Home: Learning to Live in God's Creation “This book encapsulates and summarizes many who struggle with Western Christianity. That is if one’s faith is true, then why is it that it seems only to speak of what is beyond this life? Is there not meaning to life here beyond mere sin management? Is there not inherent value in work itself, or in art, or even in play? This book finds God in even the simplest and "menial" of tasks – not just those so-called higher things associated with church and "spiritual" life. It lays to rest the dualist heresy many evangelicals live by.” [ref] Reviews of the book: “This book is one of the best introductions to Christian worldview thinking I have read and should prompt one to more robust reflection on the many ways one's commitment to Christ should form all of life. Marshall's treatment is thoroughly biblical, and he writes in an engaging style. He first explains the Reformed pattern of Creation-Fall-Redemption-Consummation and then explores its impact on our learning, our work, our rest, and our play, as well as its implications for how we think about the natural world, politics, the arts, and technology, among other topics. Throughout, he utilizes clear illustrations and helpful applications that make the biblical principles concrete. (For example, his discussion about how to think about the way we dress is alone worth the price of admission.) All told, Heaven Is Not My Home is an excellent catalyst for thinking Christianly about God's world.” Gregory Dunn Also refer to "Heaven Is Not Our Home: The bodily resurrection is the good news of the gospel – and thus our social and political mandate" http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/april/13.36.html ITEM 7: Books referredto in Regent College Capitalism Project: Beyond Growth: The Economics of Sustainable Development by Herman Daly Being Consumed: Economics and Christian Desire by William T. Cavanaugh Economics in Christian Perspective: Theory, Policy and Life Choices by Victor V. Claar and Robin J. Klay
ADVANCE NOTICE The Crypt, St Pauls, 28 Symonds St, Auckland City In response to the economic crisis the St Paul’s Marketplace Group is holding a SOAK style evening of praise and prayer for all, either in employment or seeking employment. The details are: Time: Gather at 7.00pm for a 7.30pm start, finishing 9.15pm Format : Coffee/Refreshments at 7.00pm | Reflections by the St Paul’s Marketplace Group | Thanksgiving, praise and prayer We look forward to seeing many there of all ages and circumstances.
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