Economic Policy Archives – Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy

Introducing the Commission on Economic Sustainability Act

April 25, 2024/2 Comments/in Daniel Wortel-London, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Gary Gardner

by Daniel Wortel-London

What U.S. federal agency is responsible for identifying and reducing the environmental and social costs of economic growth? None, really. The government has plenty of agencies and programs devoted to conservation, natural capital accounting, “green” industrial policy, and just transitions. But none address the elephant in the room: economic growth. Growth is what causes a nation’s ecological footprint to exceed its biocapacity.

Keeping the County Great: Rappahannock’s Steady State

March 21, 2024/1 Comment/in Dave Rollo, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Population, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Gary Gardner

by Dave Rollo

It would be difficult to match the pastoral majesty of northwest Virginia, with its rolling hills covered in forests and prime farmland at the northern foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The region boasts the Shenandoah Valley to the west and Shenandoah National Park (SNP). Sitting at the eastern doorstep of the Park is Rappahannock County, part of the Piedmont region of the state,

Debt, Deficits, and Warranted Money

March 14, 2024/3 Comments/in Brian Czech, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Food and Agriculture, Inflation, Monetary Policy, Money and Investments, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Gary Gardner

by Brian Czech

If you recognize the damages done by a bloating economy, you’ll be alarmed by the global GDP meter, which hit the existentially menacing threshold of $100 trillion in 2022. If that doesn’t give you a dose of distress, try the global debt clock. Then, for a dizzying dose indeed, check the casino-like combination of debt and GDP maintained by “US Debt Clock.”

Almost all readers,

Introducing the Salary Cap Act

March 7, 2024/12 Comments/in Daniel Wortel-London, Economic Policy, Environment, Inequality, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Wealth /by Gary Gardner

by Daniel Wortel-London

The daily news regularly features commentary about the outrageous and growing income inequality in the USA. The data support the outrage:

In 1965, the CEO-to-worker salary ratio at the average U.S. company was 21-to-1. Today that ratio is 344-to-1.
In 2022, CEO pay at 100 S&P 500 companies averaged $15.3 million, while median worker pay averaged only $31, 672, according to an Institute of Policy Studies analysis.

Defining “Economic Development” in Statutory Law: Content and Strategy

September 7, 2023/14 Comments/in Degrowth, Economic Policy, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Gary Gardner

by Brian Czech

The only way to arrive at a safe, sustainable, steady state economy is with substantial behavioral and political reform. Those two categories of reform correspond roughly with the demand side and supply side of the economy, respectively. In the simplest of terms, people must conscientiously demand less—wealthy people in particular—and policymakers must help ensure that the supply of goods and services is not in a state of overshoot.

My focus here is on the supply side.

Suing for the Steady State

August 17, 2023/1 Comment/in Climate Change, Daniel Wortel-London, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Gary Gardner

by Daniel Wortel-London

On August 14, Montana’s Supreme Court ruled that in light of Montanans’ constitutional right to a clean environment, the failure of state agencies to take climate change into account when considering new projects is illegal. This ruling, resulting from a lawsuit by 16 young people, is being followed up by a similar trial in Oregon—and another is pending in Hawaii. At a moment of legislative disappointment across the sustainability policy landscape,

Which Future?

August 10, 2023/21 Comments/in Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Gary Gardner, Materials use, Pollution, Postgrowth, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability, Technology, Wellbeing /by Gary Gardner

by Gary Gardner

One of the more puzzling features of modern life is the starkly contrasting visions of humanity’s near-term future. Watch thirty minutes of commercial-filled TV and you get a cheery sense that all is well in the world. A BMW, an anti-depressant, or a Caribbean vacation—these will ensure ever greater happiness.

At the same time, a 2021 poll in ten countries found that four in ten young people are hesitant to have children because of the climate crisis.

Cracking the Code: Finding “Economic Growth” in Statutory Law

July 20, 2023/8 Comments/in Daniel Wortel-London, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Governance, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Gary Gardner

by Daniel Wortel-London

A chapter in the U.S. Code entitled “Statements to accompany significant regulatory actions” contains a critical directive. It declares that any notice of proposed rulemaking by a federal agency that may result in expenditures of $100,000,000 or more must be accompanied by an estimate of that rule’s effect on economic growth.

Take out your editor’s pen. Imagine amending this code by replacing “economic growth” with “economic stability.” How might this simple change transform the purpose and operation of federal laws?

Who Tallies the Resources?

July 6, 2023/12 Comments/in Daniel Wortel-London, Economic Policy, Governance, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Gary Gardner

by Daniel Wortel-London

The economy of the USA, like that of any other nation, depends on natural resources—minerals, timber, fossil fuels, land, and a host of other renewable and nonrenewable assets. It couldn’t function without these resources any more than you or I could survive without air. So you’d think that determining whether our country’s demand for natural resources exceeds the environment’s supply would be of the greatest importance to politicians.

Limits to Wealth = Limits to Growth

June 8, 2023/8 Comments/in Daniel Wortel-London, Economic Policy, Environment, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Wealth /by Gary Gardner

by Daniel Wortel-London

Inequality threatens people and planet alike. Billions struggle to make ends meet while a tiny minority grows fabulously wealthy. At the same time, the conspicuous consumption of the wealthy and the waste they generate takes an enormous environmental toll. The intertwining of social and environmental damage suggests that standard fixes for inequality are inadequate.

Herman Daly thought that waste from the wealthy could not be ended through redistributive taxation alone.