Praise be…all hail ‘The Economy’
What a roller coaster of emotion this election has been, and more is yet to come.
Pre-election anxiety made way for disappointment, outrage and varying levels of despair. At some point early on I suggested to my peeps we should maybe just up and go and transform into a family of blissful surfers. No previous experience required, right?
What really happened, however, was that I got on the bus the Tuesday morning after the election en-route to ActionStation headquarters to resume my role of office mum to the humble team of super-dedicated individuals for whom giving up the good fight is never an option. What else happened, was that I heard the same old tired tune everywhere I went. On the bus, in the gym, at the supermarket check-out –people keep uttering this sentiment: “Yes but they are good with the financials. Yes but they are good for the economy. Yes but they know about budgeting.”
Basically, these people are agreeing with all of the concerns caring people have with the current government but at the end of the day the economy always matters more.
The pale, male/Thatcher and stale crew really did an excellent job of getting the lyrics of the economy song stuck in our heads. What’s worse, here in New Zealand former ringleader Key has us dancing to the beat of a rock star economy.
But what is this economy so many of us are utterly held in sway by?
It is people. People working, producing, buying and selling. It is money changing hands. It is a human construct, we invented it, so we set the rules. It is not a force of nature like a storm that we have to wait out. Or an overlord that we have to bow down to or be careful not to upset. To me the state of the economy, and more specifically the budget surplus is also too narrow a measure of success. If our economy isn’t resulting in improved well-being for everyday people and the planet that we love, then it’s not doing its job.
Consider this thought experiment: A family of six, both parents are working. Two sons and two daughters. One of the daughters is Deaf, the middle son wants to study art. Dad runs a tight ship and he likes to have a good chunk of money left in the budget at the end of each month. To achieve this he chooses to spend on his strongest, brightest kids. He feeds them really well, gives them sunniest rooms in the house and has them attend good schools, etc. He feeds his Deaf daughter just enough to survive but is not worried about investing in her development. He kicks out the young aspiring artist for failure to comply. When mum has a nervous breakdown, he sends her to her elderly parents so as not to waste any time or money on treatment. And lo and behold the clever chap achieves his goal, dollars are saved at the end of each month.
If this was your neighbour would you be going around calling this man a fine householder? Would you rate him as a successful human being? Would you ever praise this person for being good with the financials? I think not, you would feel bad for his family. Yet when this pernicious way of achieving budget surplus is being practised on a national level, many of us believe this is the way to go.
The economy should serve the people, not the other way around. Let’s collectively change the words to the economy song. Let’s un-brainwash ourselves. So next time we head for the voting booths, we can vote wisely, compassionately and fearlessly.
