The blog of the Morgan Foundation

Failure looks like social policy that makes life harder for people

Jess Berentson-ShawJuly 19, 2017Tax and Welfare1 Comment

With the discussion we are having about social policy at the moment I thought it would be good to discuss the science of what happens to anyone who lives on a low income, especially over any prolonged period of time, … Read More

It’s electrifying! Getting to zero carbon transport in New Zealand

Paul YoungJune 8, 2017Environment7 Comments

Transport is one of NZ’s biggest opportunities when it comes to cutting carbon pollution. Today, we rely almost entirely on oil to move people and stuff around the country. Together, all those cars, vans, trucks, motorbikes, airplanes, trains and ships … Read More

Trump pulls US out of Paris Agreement. Sad!

Paul YoungJune 2, 2017Environment, Politics4 Comments

This morning, Donald Trump announced the United States will withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change. This might go down in history as the ultimate dick move. The thing is, Trump is not only pulling the fingers to the … Read More

How charging for pollution can make NZ cleaner, fairer and more prosperous

Paul YoungMay 22, 2017Economics, Environment2 Comments

This article was published in Progressive Thinking: Ten Perspectives on Tax, launched today by PSA. You can read the full book online here. For as long as the world has been earnestly attempting to tackle climate change, economists have advocated … Read More

Children’s Mental Wellbeing is About Income, Wealth and Deprivation

Jess Berentson-ShawMay 18, 2017Uncategorized3 Comments

Today the Child Poverty Action Group and The New Zealand Psychological Society has released its new report (Child Poverty and mental health: A literature review ) into the connection between children’s mental health and being poor. It adds to the … Read More

Yes, a zero carbon New Zealand is possible. But it won’t be easy. Here’s how

Paul YoungMay 10, 2017Environment3 Comments

In the 2015 Paris Agreement, the world agreed on a key climate change goal: reducing greenhouse gas pollution to zero in the second half of the century. What does this mean for New Zealand, and what would it look like … Read More

When Good Intentions Are Not Enough: Smart Investment in Families Needs to Look To a Thriving Future for All.

Jess Berentson-ShawMay 4, 2017Tax and Welfare4 Comments

As part of the pre budget announcements the Government has allocated $321million to a “social investment package” for vulnerable families and children. There are 14 initiatives in the package, and $69 million over four years, will be for “a national … Read More

How much poo would you feel safe to swim in?

Paul YoungMay 2, 2017Environment5 Comments

That might strike you as a strange question, but it’s a very real one at the heart of the debate on the Government’s proposed targets for swimmable rivers and lakes in its Clean Water 2017 package. The proposal has generated … Read More

5 Steps to Developing Evidenced-Based Immigration Policy

Jess Berentson-ShawApril 27, 2017Uncategorized1 Comment

In the clear absence of reasoned discussion about New Zealand’s immigration policy of late, racism has reared its ugly head (though it is debatable whether it ever went away). Triggering the basest nature of humanity, fear, or ignorance never makes … Read More

Do we need a climate law to bring the future into focus?

Paul YoungApril 20, 2017Environment1 Comment

Last week saw the launch of a bold new idea for climate change action: a law to get New Zealand to zero carbon by 2050 or sooner. Youth-led organisation Generation Zero has published a blueprint for a Zero Carbon Act, … Read More