During the course of last week, two major events unfolded on the North American continent. Pope Francis visited the United States of America for the first time in his life and took the starstruck country by storm. Concurrently, the United Nations launched a new set of development goals aimed at promoting sustainable growth.

Both events gravitated towards one central message: life on earth has to be treated with all the dignity it deserves. Economic growth cannot happen and should not happen at the expense of environmental or social degradation. On the contrary, economic growth should be the motor that drives our efforts to protect our environment and deliver dignity for all.

The inseparable link between the economic, social and environmental components of life around us was not discovered last week.

However, last week’s events served as a timely reminder that we cannot and should not measure success simply by looking at GDP growth, unemployment statistics or industrial production data. We need to look at the bigger picture to see how the economy is serving humankind.

Action is needed to avoid a situation where humankind and nature become slaves to the economy. Such a situation did not exist only in Charles Dickens’s time. It exists today. It does not exist only in some faraway sweatshops. It exists now, today, in our country.

Economic growth should be the motor that drives our efforts to protect the environment and deliver dignity for all

The Nationalist Party this week launched its reaction to the government’s pre-Budget document. Our document, entitled ‘Sustainable growth and dignity for all’, contains an analysis of the key economic, financial and social data. The document asks pertinent questions to the government and also puts forward proposals covering different aspects of the economy and society.

This is the first time the party in Opposition in our country produced such an extensive document in reaction to the pre-Budget document.

The PN in government had introduced the concept of the pre-Budget document as a means of instigating discussion and promoting consultation in the run-up to the Budget. We are now extending this process, enforcing it by producing a similar document from the Opposition’s benches.

By asking questions now, we are giving the opportunity to the government to come up with answers during the Budget debates. By coming forward with proposals now, we are giving the opportunity to the government to consider them before finalising its Budget plans.

We are also sharing with the electorate our views, our concerns, our solutions, not on the eve of an election, not in the heat of a campaign but halfway through the legislature. This is, in my opinion, a new and better way of doing politics.

The document, as the title suggests, is built on the premise that economic growth has to be sustainable. Our arguments, questions and proposals are based on sound data analysis. More importantly, they are based on our conviction, on our creed, that the economy is there to be of service to humanity. Our definition of humanity encompasses also future generations.

One of the longest chapters in the document tackles the issue of poverty, which, unfortunately, has become more acute in our country over the past years.

Despite being one of the countries with the highest GDP growth in the EU for the past eight years, we are losing the fight against poverty. We are also losing the fight against environmental degradation, more so now when we have a government that is unfortunately adopting a development-at-all-costs mentality.

The document also looks at how our society is changing, becoming ever more cosmopolitan and diverse. We need to use this phenomenon to our advantage.

We considered some of the threats we are facing, not least the issue of the pension time bomb. We cannot leave that situation to be diffused like as they do in films, with a 10-second countdown. We need to take corrective action now.

We see this document as a starting point, not an end point. We want this document to be a launch pad for more ideas that are conceived from different sectors of society. We want it to stimulate discussion and provoke thought. We want this document to put more pressure on the government, to stimulate the government to give replies to questions that have remained unanswered for far too long.

The PN is formally presenting this document to the government, to the constituted bodies and various organisations. It is also presenting it to the public.

We would like to hear your thoughts about it. We want to know whether you agree or do not agree. We want to know whether you think we are saying enough or not enough.

This document is not about numbers. It is not about graphs. It is about you. Because you matter. Because your dignity matters.

Mario de Marco is deputy leader of the Nationalist Party

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