Gareth Morgan | Page 23 | The Morgan Foundation

The cat debate is over. What happens next?

Gareth MorganApril 21, 2015Environment

Two years after we first put the cat amongst the pigeons with the Cats to Go campaign, the NZ Vets Association (NZVA) yesterday finally released their definitive, evidence-based position on the issue. The evidence in the report should finally settle … Read More

How to Cope with Political Impotency on the Housing Problem

Gareth MorganApril 21, 2015Tax and Welfare

The Reserve Bank has reopened the debate on the housing crisis, and the responses from all three major parties have been notable for their impotency. Andrew Little appears to have ditched Labour’s brave but ultimately flawed capital gains tax, and … Read More

Can we improve water quality if we are converting more land to dairy?

Gareth MorganApril 17, 2015Environment

If we are serious about maintaining or improving the quality of our rivers, why are we still converting land to dairy farming? Most dairy farmers are doing a great job, but the problem facing some of our rivers is the … Read More

Frustrated Reserve Bank finally speaks out on rocketing house prices

Gareth MorganApril 16, 2015Property, Tax and Welfare

We’re almost starting to feel sorry for the Reserve Bank. They are caught between a rock and a hard place, with inflation tamed but house prices out of control. They have tried out some tools – the loan to value … Read More

Ten reasons why obesity isn’t just a matter of individual choice

Gareth MorganApril 15, 2015Health

The majority (90%) of Kiwis think that obesity is a matter of individual responsibility. They believe that being fat is the result of poor choices, or a lack of self-control. So the natural response to any suggestion to tax junk … Read More

How NZ’s immunisation rates are held back by poverty and objectors

Gareth MorganApril 12, 2015Health

In the second of our blogs on immunisation (the first asks whether you should get your child immunised – the answer being, for the good of all of us, a resounding yes!), Jess gives a brief overview of how immunisation … Read More

A review of fresh water standards in New Zealand – Whiteboard Friday

Gareth MorganApril 9, 2015Environment

In this video Geoff talks about fresh water standards in New Zealand. Last year we commissioned 16 scientists to look at our fresh water and what we need to do to protect it for the future. Watch Geoff’s video and … Read More

NZ should look to Latin America for welfare policy

Gareth MorganApril 9, 2015Tax and Welfare

It’s time New Zealand learned what the developing world knows. Having a lot of people living in severe poverty is a disaster, socially and economically. The good news is the developing world has found a solution to it – and … Read More

House prices – The driver of inequality

Gareth MorganApril 7, 2015Tax and Welfare

Thomas Piketty’s celebrated 2014 work suggested that in a capitalist economy wealth naturally accumulates and squeezes the share of national income that accrues to workers. Piketty’s ideas have struck a chord with those who believe that there has been a … Read More

How farmers can pay for irrigation without public money

Gareth MorganApril 1, 2015Environment

Irrigation New Zealand and Federated Farmers are calling for public subsidies for irrigation projects. In their view, this year’s drought, and the prospect of more in the future given a changing climate, has underlined the need for increased water storage. … Read More