Happier New Year, it’s 2023 Aotearoa.
It will be happier than 2022, but not nearly blissful; with inflationary pain and job losses lying in wait, and the economic and social reset needed to make Godzone Great Again.
At least, that’s how economist Cameron Bagrie sees 2023 unfolding with 2024 likely to be the 12 months when a “sticky” recession fully arrives with its unwelcome baggage.
“What we are going through is a reset, and resets involve some economic distress but resets offer wonderful opportunities that come out a lot stronger on the other side.”
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Both he and sociologist Paul Spoonley point to a socially divided country, at a time when a united vision is required. The health of both economy and society are linked.
Bagrie points to the current account deficit, declining educational attainment and achievement, crime and poor infrastructure – “the roads, the potholes” – as signs of trouble.
“All these things are telling us that the trajectory we were on was not a sustainable one, we need to reconnect… both economically and socially.
“That’s not gonna be easy because I’ve never seen New Zealand so divided. When you have got a divided society, it’s not just socially unhealthy, it’s economically unhealthy.
supplied
Cameron Bagrie, of Bagrie…
