Ministry of Imagination Manifesto released as the world goes to the polls
By Rob Hopkins, originally published by Rob Hopkins blog April 17, 2024
"This year, 49% of the world goes to the polls in 64 countries. As Time magazine puts it, “2024 is not just AN election year. It’s perhaps THE election year”. The outcomes of these elections will hugely shape the world & our future, most importantly of all is the US Presidential election which could see Donald Trump returned as President, which would unleash what The Economist recently described as “the biggest danger to the world”. In most cases, voters are being asked to choose between deeply unimaginative manifestos, all firmly wedded to a business-as-usual economic model that is clearly & dangerously failing around the world...
"We have identified three key findings from the research described here: (a) safe parking programs bolster upward cycles for those with the capacity to work, draw on social ties, or access housing assistance; (b) safe parking programs prevent downward spirals for those with fewer resources by acting as safety net, are preferred as a safety net by clients who have used both safe parking programs and emergency shelters over the latter, and provide greater access to resources than is possible through street outreach efforts; and (c) expanded access to lots, case management, and showers would benefit all clients of safe parking programs." #SafeParking#homelessness#unhoused#policy
“Even if evidence indicated #theFed capable of such precision (evidence does not), Joseph C. Sternberg’s question in the WSJ is apposite: ‘Who elected these folks to aim for a 50% loss in purchasing power of a #dollar every 35yrs?’
“In a recent rpt, the Manhattan Inst’s Dan Katz & Stephen Miran argue that ‘the Fed’s current governance has facilitated #groupthink that has led to significant #monetary#policy errors
“‘while allowing #theFed the flexibility to unwisely expand its remit into inherently #political areas such as #credit rationing & #banking#regulation.’ Here is #groupthink: ‘Despite the biggest #monetary errors in 4 decades,’ Katz & Miran write, none of the 9 recent appointees to the Board of Governors was on record as having made accurate predictions about #inflation’s path.
“#MissionCreep: #TheFed has moved beyond its traditional technocratic role & ‘pursued a much more expansive #monetary & #regulatory agenda that is more consistent w/an explicitly #political institution.’”