The big lie at the heart of every budget it that it is a plan to manage the economy for the collective good of the nation, write Peter Boyle and Paul Oboohov.
profits
The Reserve Bank of Australia claims it is “fighting inflation” by hiking up interest rates. But, as Zane Alcorn argues, it has never been independent of the capitalist class and is dutifully carrying out its interests.
The IMF has debunked the myth that heightened inflation means workers should accept below-inflation wage rises — real wage cuts. Neville Spencer reports.
The Reserve Bank of Australia has made clear it would rather make life much harder for workers — even if it means tanking the economy — than touch record-high corporate profits. Fred Fuentes reports.
Workers are being told that a pay rise to match inflation will hurt the economy and “fuel” inflation. William Briggs takes issue with those arguments.
There are a whole lot of things that can be done to ease the cost of living pressures on households, argues Kamala Emanuel. It is a complete con to think that all we can possibly hope for is a tiny little one-off bonus.
Wage growth for workers is at an all-time low while the cost of living for ordinary people is steadily rising. Sue Bolton argues only way to lift wages is if unions go on the offensive and build confidence among workers to take industrial action — legal or illegal.
The share of the money value workers produce with our labour — calculated as gross domestic product — was just 50% in the June quarter of last year. By contrast, the profit share of GDP has been steadily rising. Paul Oboohov reports.
After three weeks on strike, General Mills workers have endorsed a deal that includes a wage rise and in which all their conditions are maintained, reports Jim McIlroy.
The government is crowing about the economic recovery. But when the pandemic supplement is cut at the end of March, people will be trying to survive on $43 a day. Graham Mathews reports.
Peter Boyle argues growing inequality is not just unfair, it increases the power of vested interests to ignore the climate emergency and seek bigger subsidies for a recession-recovery plan built around the expansion of fossil fuel exports.