https://www.scmp.com/rss/503243/feed Isabel Ortiz, director of the Global Social Justice Programme at the Initiative for Policy Dialogue at Columbia University, was director of the International Labour Organisation and Unicef, and a senior official at the UN and the Asian Development Bank. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com The world is confronting multiple, compounding crises, from Covid-19, energy, inflation, debt and climate shocks to unaffordable living costs and political instability. The need for ambitious action cannot be greater. However, the return of failed policies such as austerity, now called “fiscal restraint” or “fiscal consolidation”, and a lack of effective taxation and debt-reduction initiatives threaten to exacerbate the macroeconomic instability and daily hardships that billions of people are... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3202657/pandemic-austerity-plans-benefit-few-expense-many-must-go?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3202657/pandemic-austerity-plans-benefit-few-expense-many-must-go?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Dec 2022 04:23:22 +0000 The year 2019 ended with widespread demonstrations, rising inequality and a crisis of representation in many countries. The world is sleepwalking towards recession and a new crisis, while depleting the environment. Governments, and ultimately people, can reverse these alarming trends in 2020. Sixty-one countries will have presidential or parliamentary elections in 2020. Many citizens want change, and they will choose new parties as a way to achieve this. This is an important opportunity to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3044268/2020-voters-everywhere-must-reject-policies-cut-public-spending?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3044268/2020-voters-everywhere-must-reject-policies-cut-public-spending?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Jan 2020 14:00:16 +0000