HARVIE BACKS OXFAM REPORT CALLING FOR NEW ECONOMIC FOCUS
Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, is urging the Scottish Government to act upon the findings of a major report by Oxfam Scotland.
The report, Our Economy, shows Scotland’s wealthiest households are 273 times better off than the most deprived, with the gap between rich and poor widening.
Patrick said:
“This is an excellent report by Oxfam. It demonstrates the need for urgent action to stop successive governments allowing a handful of people to get filthy rich.
“There is a growing demand for ministers both at Holyrood and Westminster to stop chasing the myth that is everlasting growth, and instead focus on what really matters to people – the distribution of wealth and quality of life.
“I urge ministers at Holyrood to act quickly on Oxfam’s idea of a Poverty Commissioner, and to replace their ludicrous mantra of sustainable economic growth with a social duty.
“Scottish Greens will continue to press for the living wage, participatory budgeting and credit unions. While independence would give us complete control to tackle aspects of poverty and inequality the Scottish Government must acknowledge it already has some power to make progress now.”