Inspired by The Case for the Green New Deal by Ann Pettifor, I decided to buy three copies from my local bookstore, The Bookshelf, and send one book each to the MP, MPP, and Mayor of Guelph. I mailed the books accompanied by a letter introducing the book, outlining ideas from the book, and asking a related question. Below are the letters.
Lloyd Longfield, MP of Guelph
Dear Lloyd Longfield,
First, I want to thank you for your continued efforts to support Guelph and Canada through this difficult pandemic.
Covid-19 has illuminated and exacerbated deep inequalities in our country and around the world. Yet, climate change is set to dwarf Covid-19 in its detrimental effects on our communities.
Therefore, now is the time to build back better. We must put solving climate change and inequality at the heart of any recovery efforts. With this in mind, I wanted to share with you a profound book that outlines the economic case for a Green New Deal. The book, The Case for the Green New Deal by Ann Pettifor (a British political economist), starts from the premise outlined by John Maynard Keynes that “We can afford what we can do” and identifies how our economic systems can be changed to produce a Green New Deal and uplift people throughout the world.
Below, I summarise two key points from the book as applied to the federal level in Canada.
Public regulation of money creation
Our current global financial systems means that communities and countries are essentially beholden to, often foreign, market forces. Seeing little ability to shape their communities and countries, people are becoming disenchanted with our political insititutions. Instead, we must subordinate finance to the role of supporting the real economy by encouraging credit creation for productive uses and discouraging credit creation for speculative uses. Furthermore, the Canadian government (alongside other goverments) should institute capital flow controls and close tax loopholes.
From economic growth to human thriving
Across the world, we have an almost dogmatic devotion to economic growth as measured by Gross Domestic Product. Yet, in a world with finite resources, continual growth is impossible. Furthermore, GDP is completely inadequate to measure all that society values (e.g. GDP does not measure the incredible work that parents do each day). We need to deemphasise growth and focus on human thriving using other economic measurements than GDP. New Zealand has already started this process by aligning future budgets with wellbeing goals instead of purely GDP outputs.
I hope that you will find this book as useful and thoughtful as I did. I will leave you with a question.
Does the federal government have plans to apply funding to projects that improve human thriving (instead of just looking at GDP) similar to New Zealand?
Yours sincerely,
Christopher Greyson-Gaito
Mike Schreiner, MPP of Guelph
Dear Mike Schreiner,
First, I want to thank you for your continued efforts to support Guelph and Ontario through this difficult pandemic.
Covid-19 has illuminated and exacerbated deep inequalities in our country and around the world. Yet, climate change is set to dwarf Covid-19 in its detrimental effects on our communities.
Therefore, now is the time to build back better. We must put solving climate change and inequality at the heart of any recovery efforts. With this in mind, I wanted to share with you a profound book that outlines the economic case for a Green New Deal. The book, The Case for the Green New Deal by Ann Pettifor (a British political economist), starts from the premise outlined by John Maynard Keynes that “We can afford what we can do” and identifies how our economic systems can be changed to produce a Green New Deal and uplift people throughout the world.
Below, I summarise two key points from the book as applied to the provincial level of Ontario.
From economic growth to human thriving
Across the world, we have an almost dogmatic devotion to economic growth as measured by Gross Domestic Product. Yet, in a world with finite resources, continual growth is impossible. Furthermore, GDP is completely inadequate to measure all that society values (e.g. GDP does not measure the incredible work that parents do each day). We need to deemphasise growth and focus on human thriving using other economic measurements than GDP. New Zealand has already started this process by aligning future budgets with wellbeing goals instead of purely GDP outputs.
Universal basic services with a guaranteed basic income
Universal basic services including education, health care, and public transit have a massive potential to reduce inequality, increase human thriving, and help to mitigate climate change. A guaranteed basic income can provide security to everyone in the province. Overall, universal basic services with a guaranteed basic income will foster cooperation and solidarity, values sorely tested presently.
I hope that you will find this book as useful and thoughtful as I did. I will leave you with a question.
I know the Green Party of Ontario supports a guaranteed basic income and supports extending OHIP, has the Green Party of Ontario considered unifying the multiple different services we depend on into a universal basic services pledge?
Yours sincerely,
Christopher Greyson-Gaito
Cam Guthrie, Mayor of Guelph
Dear Cam Guthrie,
First, I want to thank you for your continued efforts to support Guelph through this difficult pandemic.
Covid-19 has illuminated and exacerbated deep inequalities in our country and around the world. Yet, climate change is set to dwarf Covid-19 in its detrimental effects on our communities.
Therefore, now is the time to build back better. We must put solving climate change and inequality at the heart of any recovery efforts. With this in mind, I wanted to share with you a profound book that outlines the economic case for a Green New Deal. The book, The Case for the Green New Deal by Ann Pettifor (a British political economist), starts from the premise outlined by John Maynard Keynes that “We can afford what we can do” and identifies how our economic systems can be changed to produce a Green New Deal and uplift people throughout the world.
Below, I take inspiration from the book and outline two Green New Deal possibilities for the municipal level of Guelph.
Increased self-sufficiency
Covid-19 has exposed the lack of resiliency in our global supply chain system. A lack of resiliency does not bode well for dealing with the future consequences of climate change. Therefore, increasing self-sufficiency within our communities is imperative for us to overcome the multiple future climate change caused shocks. More self-sufficiency will also be required in any climate change mitigation plans to reduce our carbon emissions. Finally, self-sufficiency can bring back to our local communities greater pride and solidarity.
Local currency
A local currency could be one policy to encourage self-sufficiency and to encourage greater cycling of money within local communities. Guelph residents could be encouraged to shop locally with a local currency. Even the city council could pay a fraction of contracts/salaries and receive a fraction of taxes in a local currency, thus encouraging retention of money within the city. A notable example, here in Canada, is the Calgary Dollar, originally started in 1996.
I hope that you will find this book as useful and thoughtful as I did. I will leave you with a question.
Could the City of Guelph consider creating a local currency to encourage retention of wealth and resources within Guelph and local areas?
Yours sincerely,
Christopher Greyson-Gaito