According to the Productivity Commission, wealth inequality declined during the COVID years due to boosted government support payments. And when those payments finished, predictably inequality went back up. The overwhelming majority of gains from economic growth since the GFC have gone to the wealthiest people. On this episode, Greg Jericho discusses inequality, poverty, and government

A series of recent high-profile incidents has thrust the national crisis of domestic violence into the spotlight. Clearly the current approach to violence against women isn’t working, so what can be done? 1800RESPECT is the national domestic, family and sexual violence counselling, information and support service. Call 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732, chat online or video

The pandemic and runaway inflation reversed more than a decade of progress on living standards in just two years – and it’s going to be a long wait for them to inch back, says Greg Jericho.

Budget 2024 had a little bit for a lot of people, but in trying to please everyone, has the government disappointed everyone instead?

Calling for a ‘short recession’ as an economist is like calling for a ‘small war’ knowing you’ll never be on the frontlines, says Greg Jericho.

Millions of Australians are struggling to make ends meet, yet when it comes to the federal budget, too often we hear that governments ‘can’t afford’ additional spending.

Budgets are about choices – and successive governments have chosen to punish jobseekers, says Greg Jericho.

It’s going to be difficult to tackle bogus environmental claims from the private sector until the government itself stops greenwashing, argues Polly Hemming on this episode of Follow the Money.

Annual inflation is on the way down, but rents remain high and many people’s higher education loans are growing, even after repayments, says Greg Jericho.

As the government shelves important reform to the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, the Knitting Nannas are getting out into their communities and demanding an end to fossil fuel projects.

The government is under fire for trying to ‘pick winners’, but green manufacturing could be the pony to get behind, says Greg Jericho.

Freedom of Information laws have helped the public uncover information governments would prefer to keep secret, but the system is failing.

Greg Jericho discusses the decisions facing the Reserve Bank in coming months and a new report showing that rate rises hurt Australians more than anyone in the world.

Rather than delivering on their election promise to create a Great Koala National Park, the New South Wales Government is sitting on its hands until it can earn carbon credits from forests.

The budget balance usually steals the headlines on budget night, but it’s not that important, says Greg Jericho.

The major parties claim that minority and coalition governments are chaotic and unworkable, but are they actually more effective?

Despite claims by some business groups and commentators, a modest wage increase for workers isn’t going to send inflation skyrocketing, says Greg Jericho.

After scarcely mentioning it for nearly a decade while in government, the Coalition are now hot to trot on nuclear power – but why?

Unemployment dropped in a big way in February, so is the Australian economy now out of the woods?

Capitalism is dying, but not in the way you might think.

Housing prices have risen so much in Australia that 2020 prices look almost reasonable.

The Albanese government came to power with big expectations around climate action, but are the government’s actions falling short of their rhetoric?

Australia’s recent gross domestic product (GDP) figures show that the economy is weak and people are struggling to keep up. So what can the federal government – and the Reserve Bank – do to help? Greg Jericho is Chief Economist at the Australia Institute and the Centre for Future Work and popular columnist of Grogonomics

The ‘robodebt’ debacle was a shameful episode for the federal government, but was it an anomaly? Our guest today says the same behaviours that enabled robodebt have been playing out for decades in our climate policymaking and questions whether the government has appetite to implement its proposed integrity reforms. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Guest: Polly Hemming, Director,

The gas industry likes to tell us it’s vital to the Australian economy. But when people are paying more in GST for Taylor Swift merch than many companies are paying in company income tax per year, and the government collects more from HECS than the PRRT, you know something is seriously wrong. Greg Jericho is

Independent MP Helen Haines has introduced a bill to Parliament designed to prevent pork-barreling, where taxpayer money is allocated according to where it is needed to win votes, not where the public needs it most. This was recorded on Tuesday 27th February 2024 and things may have changed since recording. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Guest: Bill Browne,

Wages are up over the past year, for the first time since 2021! Which means your real wage has increased as well, but by a small amount. Also this week, the Bureau of Statistics looked at restraint clauses, or non-compete clauses. So what do they mean for workers, and the economy as a whole? Lower

Tasmania is heading to an election – 14 months early. Tasmania is retuning the size of its lower house from 25 seats to 35 seats at this election and multiple polls have predicted the result will be a minority government, so this is shaping up be a particularly interesting contest. This was recorded on Tuesday

The Right to Disconnect is attracting criticism from business groups and others, saying it will reduce productivity. Well, it won’t. And do they mean productivity, or profits? Also, how negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount delivered massive tax breaks to the rich at the expense of affordable housing for the rest of Australia.

Federal Parliament is set to pass new industrial relations laws, including the ‘right to disconnect.’ This means that workers will legally be able to ignore calls outside of work hours. This was recorded on Tuesday 13th February 2024 and things may have changed since recording. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Guest: Dr Jim Stanford, Director, the Centre for