Date: 10 October 2023
Counter Balance’s webinar, The Foundational Economy: Putting public liveability at the heart of EU public finance explored how European public finance and the EIB are fixating on using public money to support new Clean Tech fixes under a technocratic and profit-driven agenda to sustain the status quo.
Instead, bottom-up innovations which increase residual income for households and provide quality public services and social infrastructure are needed – all of which jointly determine foundational liveability. The cost of living crisis is depriving especially low and middle income households from these basic necessities to live a decent life.
The webinar featured a presentation on Counter Balance’s recent report Things Have to Change, and a discussion with both academic experts and on-the-ground politicians on how a foundational economy can be best implemented.
The webinar concluded that social movements should realise and better understand that capital needs public money, especially in times of crisis. The market wants access to it, but it is our money. We as citizens have the right to demand that public money puts our needs first – and is a point which we could make better.
- Actors have to have €25m to access EIB financing
- Social movement should understand that capital needs this public money especially during crises. Market wants access, we have right as citizens to demand it puts our needs first – a point we can make better.
22 participants from 11 EU countries took part in this 90-minutes-long webinar.
You can view the webinar online here.
