Jane Kelsey was making essentially the same point a decade ago in her 2015 book The FIRE Economy;

https://www.bwb.co.nz/books/the-fire-economy

FIRE here stands for Finance, Insurance and Real Estate. Kelsey argued that the vast majority of economic activity in post-Rogernomics Aotearoa consists of financing purchases people can't really afford, insuring the assets of those lucky enough to have any, and playing a game of Monopoly with the housing stock, and commercial property.

#books #JaneKelsey #FIREEconomy

"Four core pieces of legislation set the neoliberal norms and disciplines to guide the project: the State Sector Act 1988, the Reserve Bank Act 1989, the Public Finance Act 1989, and the Fiscal Responsibility Act 1994. These were complemented by binding and enforceable international trade and investment agreements that expanded to diverse areas of policy."

#JaneKelsey, 2025

https://e-tangata.co.nz/comment-and-analysis/proposed-bill-an-ideological-project-that-must-be-stopped/

#neoliberalism #Rogernomics #Ruthenasia #RSB