Political Economy category archive
Misdiagnosis 0
Atrios reminds us that not all price increases result from inflation.
Given the who-shot-john about recent price increases, most of which result from concrete supply-chain and production issues, his post and the article it links to are worth your while.
Supply Change 0
Sam and his crew talks with professor Laleh Khalili about the global supply chain backups.
Supply Change 0
Thom and Professor Steve Keen explore the true causes of the recent inflation and find it is related to the long-term supply chain change.
Afterthought:
Remember, China did not “take” American jobs.
American businesses moved them there so as to avoid paying American wages to American workers.
Opportunity Cost 0
Gabriel Young points to news reports that the two decades the United States spent accomplishing almost nothing in Afghanistan (aside from the capture of Bin Laden) suggests that, as a society and a government, the United States is incapable of rational cost-benefit analysis. Here’s a bit; follow the link for his ideas about what might have been more effective use of those trillions.
(snip)
In addition to the immeasurable human toll, the Associated Press reports that the US spent over 2 trillion dollars on direct costs of the Afghanistan war alone (Knickmeyer, 2021). The AP points out that because the funds for the war were borrowed, the total cost of merely the war itself could easily exceed 6.5 trillion dollars, in addition to 2 trillion more on future care for veterans and 6 trillion on top of that already spent on other aspects of the War on Terror, which will also incur spectacular interest if not paid off. All told, the cost of the Afghanistan war and related efforts could easily add up to between 10 and 20 trillion dollars.
Budget Buster Blather 0
PoliticalProf runs the numbersEx.
Exports 0
At The Roanoke Times, Nancy Liebrecht reminds us that American manufacturing jobs didn’t go overseas on their own.
American companies moved them there.
The Galt and the Lamers 0
Sam and his crew skewer the glibertarian gibberish of Elon “Drivers Can Play Video Game on Their Touch Screens” Musk.
Words fail me.
A Consumerist Economy 0
Werner Herzog’s Bear makes a convincing argument that our society is suffering from a case of consumption. A snippet:
We are a broken society.
Misdirection Play, Supply Change Dept. 0
At the Idaho State Journal, Nick Gier cuts through the caterwauling and continues to the crux. A nugget:
Follow the link for the complete article.
Monster Mash-Up 0
At The Roanoke Times, Robert F. Boyd muses on what led our polity to its present state, which he refers to as a “Trumpenstein” monster. Here’s a bit:
Follow the link to see how he answer that question.
Overblown 0
Methinks Jason330 has a point.
Calling It Quits 0
Thom and Professor Richard Wolff discuss what’s behind the shortage of workers.
The Galt and the Lamers 0
A self-proclaimed “ex-objectivist” tries to differentiate between Randian “objectivism” and “libertarianism.” Sam suggests that that’s a distinction without a difference.
“The Pedagogy of Repression” 0
David and Professor Henry Giroux discuss the destruction of the concept of the common good.