THE economy came under the scrutiny at the fourth Conversations About Tomorrow evening.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The resource person for the evening was Daniel Jeffares who spent years as an economist before making the transition to high school economics teacher.
The consensus from the group was the current economic system isn't working for all Australians and the measure of gross domestic product (GDP) shouldn't be our main measure of progress as it only measures financial progress.
The fact the gap between the rich and poor is growing was of great concern; however, the point was made that Australians earning $36,000 per year or more fall into the top 2.7 per cent of wealthiest people in the world.
Despite this, the majority of the population has little to no control over the direction of the economy.
Conversation attendee James Saville said part of the problem was how hard it was to find actual solutions.
"We're saying society has a very seriously problem," he said.
"There's no motivation to change anything for the people in power.
"There's a growing body of people who are aware that we're facing a massive problem."
The final Conversations About Tomorrow evening will be held on Wednesday night and will ask the question of what is in a footprint.