Healthy Money Healthy Planet - library.uniteddiversity.coop

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Every day we hear politicians, commentators, business editors, political
reporters and economics reporters pondering over whether the growth figures
will be ‘strong’. In varying forms they speak of the ‘lack of economic growth’ or,
more fashionably, but quite missing the point about sustaining the ecosystem
on which we depend, the need for ‘sustainable strong economic growth’. It is
quite common for commentators even to advocate accelerating economic
growth. As former World Bank economist Herman Daly points out, ‘Not only
must we grow forever, we must accelerate forever.’ 3
Although economists have known for years the shortcomings of using a
single economic indicator and textbooks have warned of the practice for
decades, critics rarely speak up during these discussions. Talk of recovery, rates
of growth and expansion dominate media stories on economics. The word
‘economy’ is still used to mean the size of the economy and its rate of its
growth.
Ruth Richardson, Roger Douglas and David Caygill have all sung the
same song. Michael Cullen made 12 references to growth in his 2001 May
Budget speech. When he gave up his job as Governor of the Reserve Bank for a
place on the National Party
The emphasis is always on the single indicator, the GDP. Recessions, recoveries,
booms, downturns and economic growth all relate to GDP. As we stand
transfixed before the figure that represents the size of our money economy, no
one stops to ask the basic questions: is GDP a suitable primary scorecard for
our well­being? What has grown? Have our levels of success and happiness
really improved?