Political Economy category archive
The Inversion of Scarcity 0
Lee Camp explores how our contemporary robber barons create artificial scarcity so as to make themselves richer and the rest of us poorer.
Warning: Language
Do the Math 0
The Portland Press Herald carries a Washington Post story that does the math and the answer to the equation ain’t pretty. A snippet:
Image via Job’s Anger.
Old Wine In Neo Bottles 0
Thom summarizes the history and failure of Neo-Liberalism, in particular its role in molding oligarchies.
Puerto Ripped-Off 0
Warning: Language.
Responsible Fiscals 0
Warning: Language.
The Price of Civilization 0
In the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Eliot Seide reflects on preparing his tax returns. A snippet:
My tax day anxiety was swept away by thoughts of things I’m truly grateful for.
I started my day with a warm shower. That reminded me how thankful I am for clean water and indoor plumbing. For much of the world, that’s a luxury. But not here, where we pay taxes.
I enjoy driving on smooth highways. The lines and lights keep me and other drivers safe. I sometimes like to leave the car in the garage and ride the train to a ballgame. I love the sense of community that comes with riding public transit.
Public services and the common good aren’t free, my friends, though some would like to con you into thinking that they are.
Theft of Labor 0
Thom discusses Donald Trump’s recent executive order nullifying President Obama’s workplace safety initiative and how it facilitates theft of labor.
The Snaring Economy 0
Josh Marshall points out that there is nothing new about the “gig” economy. It has happened before, and it wasn’t pretty then, either.
Billions for Bullets 0
At the Boston Review, takes a look at arguments for increasing defense spending not just wanting, but spectacularly specious. He makes some points that are commonly absent from the discussion and deserve consideration. Here’s a snippet:
A larger flaw in McCain’s argument, however, is that, by historical standards, not much is actually burning. And, more importantly, the United States does not need to go looking for fires to extinguish. The world remains far more peaceful by various measures than at almost any other point, and the United States still enjoys a privileged position: militarily powerful and distant from trouble. U.S. enemies are historically few and weak; U.S. defense spending is more than double what Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea collectively spend on their militaries; and U.S. forces remain vastly superior. North Korea and Iran are troublesome, but incapable of posing much direct threat to their neighbors, let alone the United States, especially considering nuclear deterrence. Russia threatens its neighbors, but with an oil-dependent economy now about the size of Italy’s, it poses little danger to more economically stable nations further west.
Be Careful What You Wish for 0
Thom tangles with a glibertarian.
Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0
Still well under 300k.
(snip)
The four-week average of claims, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figure, declined to 245,500, the lowest since 1973, from 247,500 in the prior week.
The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits increased by 41,000 to 2.1 million in the week ended Jan. 14. The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits held at 1.5 percent. These data are reported with a one-week lag.