Supply-side economic tweaks are a joke, at least in practice.  I've been saying it all along here and I'm sure you, fair readers, are tired of hearing about it.  But today, I read essentially the most succinct distillation of the point I have made with respect to socialising certain, targeted goods (the basic needs for human life and social success ( Read more... )

The Portland Tribune, who I believe to be a conservative paper whose purpose was to out-Right-wing the Oregonian (steep task), wrote an interesting article on trade today.  I'm not sure what to think of it or how to read all the subtexts.

The angle that they took on A Crumpling Paper Industry is this odd free-market/protectionist cake-and-eat-it-too ( Read more... )

Quote of the decade: "Representative Stephen Lynch, Democrat of Massachusetts, warned: 'You think regulation is costly? How about the $7trillion we just lost from not regulating the derivatives markets?'"
-http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/02/2011218151257526294.html#

Dear America:

After 30 years of nearly Rightist economic policy, our systems are breaking down at an unprecedented rate.  The neoliberal economic model has messed up a slew of things, including:

• Healthcare
• Airlines (deregulation), both in profit and in service
• Our underfunded school system and the labour backlash that has created (entrenched unions ( Read more... )

The general dialogue according to the Republicans is that we can't raise taxes in a recession.  What does this mean?  Those who can control or manipulate markets (because they are too big to fail?) have a vested interest in making sure the economy never recovers so that they don't have to pay their share into the society that gives them everything ( Read more... )

I don't think that's the result Shell was really looking for.

Wow, Ireland.  You done fucked up good.

But I have to say, this bailout sickness is starting to wear on me. It isn't because of the bailouts, per se, but it is who is funding them and where the money is going.  In short, the working class is funding the banking class with their blood, sweat, tears, pension funds, retirement accounts, houses, and ( Read more... )

The McChrystal dismissal over the Rolling Stone article that created a media furor a couple weeks ago was completely overblown.  And, like the media does, they missed the point.

Within the article, they showed that McChrystal, despite his lack of taste in beer, is sort of a trailblazer in a very respectable way.  Examples:
When it comes to ( Read more... )

Businesses complain about 'unnecessary' regulations that protect workers, people, and add cost.  Building codes are constantly at play in our local area, as is the debate about the Urban Growth Boundary.  These are two of the best things that make Portland the community that it is.  Building codes mean energy efficiency, market transformation, ( Read more... )

For a long time, it was just roguish leaders like Hussein and Ahmadinejad who wanted to delink themselves from the US dollar's hegemony.  And when they do it one at a time, the US can react in a predictable, hegemonic military way ( Read more... )