The Green Party is proposing a steady-state economy for British Columbia, party leader Jane Sterk told The Hook this weekend.
In March, the Greens released their platform without a budget. Sterk asserted that "we would have had to do what the NDP did, which is to create unreal numbers with an unreal statement," and said her party is proposing a different way of accounting.
"We would be looking at the costs and benefits of the economy, the environment and the social fabric," she said. "Translating the budget as it is now into that triple bottom line thinking would be an extraordinarily resource-intensive exercise which would require economists and financial analysts and we simply don't have the resources to do that."
Sterk called the gross domestic product measure of the economy an additive measure that doesn't account for the negative effects of actions, as long as they generate revenue.
"We're proposing to add into our measure of our society the genuine progress indicator, which would say that if you have 13 per cent of your population living in poverty...it's not a healthy economy."
Sterk acknowledged that a model of limited economic growth might not be an easy sell, but added that it could also be difficult to convince a public to consume goods they don't really need in order to save the economy.
"We see strong regional economies with a lot of job development, a lot of green industry development. We're saying better, not bigger. I think that's a saleable model for most people."
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Frank
2 years ago
"Sterk called the gross
"Sterk called the gross domestic product measure of the economy an additive measure that doesn't account for the negative effects of actions, as long as they generate revenue."
Which is what Ed Deak has been saying for years.
Greens that hate the NDP should vote for the Greens, not for the Liberals.
freebear
2 years ago
Steady State requires a recipe
Ed Deak and others know this; but our 'leaders' are too afraid to 'hurt' the status quo!
YOu also need to flesh out the actual steady state economy to show what can be done; what kind of lives people would lead; the benefit and the consequences.
Where is the leadership?
Where are the centres of higher learning on this? Oh wait, who sponsors those centres of higher learning?????
Looks like its up to us!
Are we up for the challenge?
Are we up for the sacrifices?
Or do we continue our way of life, with no apologies, as Barrack Obama put it so recently; and only others sacrificing for our way of life on our behalf;
or do we shoulder some responsibility and get it done right (to steal a line from Holmes on Homes!)?