Jim Stanford Quotes
Growth can also involve producing services instead of goods. In particular, a major expansion of public and caring services (like child care, education, elder care, and other life-affirming programs) would generate huge increases in GDP and incomes, with virtually no impact on the environment.
Jim Stanford, Canadian Economist, Columnist, and Founder of the Progressive Economics, Economics For Everyone, 2008
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
What is also neglected very often is that America and the other developed nations exploited and destroyed much of their own environment in the process of developing yet they express concern that the lesser developed nations will do what they do.
This was an incredible prediction that few people thought was possible. This speech was given in the early days of WWII when it was far from clear that we would win.
The relationship of population increase economic growth is a critical one. If an underdeveloped country manages to have a 3% annual economic growth rate and also has a 3.2% population growth, at the end of the year, the average person is actually poorer than he was the previous year. South Korea, China, Thailand and India implemented successful population control and family planning programs before they were able to take advantage of economic development. To modernize, the country must be able to have a surplus of funds which can be invested in roads, schools, hospitals, and other facilities which can produce even more growth later. Too many new mouths to feed, clothe and care for can be a barrier to development even if the economy is reasonably good.
Although the Premier recognizes the importance of environmental protection it is difficult for China and other developing countries to make the necessary trade off’s at the expense of slower growth which means continued poverty. Even in the United States with all its affluence, slowing economic growth for environmental reasons is politically very difficult.
In any significant change of public policy including public investments, some will benefit more than others, and some interests will be harmed. Unless the politician is willing to face this reality there will be little or no progress. Bloomberg invested a great deal in improving air quality of the city, but there were some companies who had to pay more to reduce their pollution.
Jim Stanford is a Canadian economist and founder of the Progressive Economics Forum. He holds a master's degree in economics from Cambridge University and a doctorate from the New School for Social Research. He is author of a column for the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail. In 2016 Stanford relocated to Australia, where he is the founding director of the Centre for the Future of Work, a left wing research organisation funded by the public policy think tank, The Australia Institute. He is also a regular contributor on economics to Huffington Post Australia.
