<
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jul/15/neoliberalism-lite-is-no-solution-to-australias-cost-of-living-and-productivity-crises-its-time-to-curb-wealth-concentration>
"With a national productivity roundtable on the horizon, Anthony Albanese is
seeking answers to flagging economic performance, cost-of-living pressures and
growing economic anxiety. But productivity debates rarely confront the elephant
in the room: four decades of rising wealth concentration has coincided with
Australia’s worst productivity performance in living memory.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, signalled his intent to “grasp the nettle” on tax
reform – a bold invitation to reckon with a structural driver of slowing
productivity.
The scale of the task is significant. The top 10% of households now control 44%
of all wealth in Australia. The collective wealth of the richest 200
Australians has nearly tripled over two decades, mostly from property and
resources – economic activities that extract value from existing assets rather
than new productive capacities; what economists call “rent-seeking”.
The relationship between wealth concentration and productivity warrants
examination. As economist Joseph Stiglitz argues, not all wealth represents
productive capital. Rent-seeking concentrates wealth away from
productivity-enhancing investments – in business innovation, public
infrastructure and worker wages. This leaves ordinary people paying ever-higher
proportions of their income for necessities."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
