Political Economy category archive

Republicans, abetted by a complicit news media that values furor over fact, want to blame President Biden for the current hike in prices in the United States. (Of course, Republicans want to blame everything on President Biden, because blame and fear are their only weapons.)

University of Nebraska Omaha Professor Christopher Decker points out that this recent inflation is a world-wide phenomenon influenced by events well beyond the control of any one person, regardless of what office he or she might hold. Here’s a bit of his article; I commend the rest of it to your attention.

Meanwhile, annual inflation in Germany and the U.K. — countries with comparable economies — ran nearly as high: 7.5% and 8.2%, respectively, for the 12 months ending in June 2022. In Spain, inflation has hit 10%.

It might seem like U.S. policies brought on this predicament, but economists like me doubt it because inflation is spiking everywhere, with few exceptions. Rates averaged 9.65% in the 38 largely wealthy countries that belong to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development through May 2022.

At Psychology Today Blogs, Nuala Walsh explores the much over-hyped not-so-great resignation. She makes three main points:

• Many reports of the “Great Resignation” have circulated, panicking employers and fueling employees.
• This has not materialized at the scale expected, with momentum and motivation now slowing.
• Employers can stop panicking, as most employees are unlikely to resign in mass volumes.

Follow the link for a detailed exporation of each one.

The writer of a letter to the editor of the Kansas City Star talks cents.

(Broken link fixed.)

Thom discusses news that doesn’t seem to be in the news.

Via Yellowdoggranny.

Michael in Norfolk, who happens to be a real estate lawyer, sees signs of a nascent housing bubble.

I remember during the housing bubble of the early 2000’s reading a column in the Inky by a business columnist named, I think, Alan Heavens in which he posited that one of the first signs of a bubble was persons starting to ask, “Are we in a bubble?”

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.

Sam and his crew talks with professor Laleh Khalili about the global supply chain backups.

PoliticalProf runs the numbersEx.

Werner Herzog’s Bear makes a convincing argument that our society is suffering from a case of consumption. A snippet:

Once upon a time the social contract may have revolved around a social safety net or human rights but those things are pretty immaterial to most Americans. What makes a successful polity in their eyes is maintaining the flow of cheap consumer goods and services. For at least the past forty years this has been at the heart of everything. Workers’ wages have been stagnant, postindustrial and farming communities are falling apart, but you can still get almost anything you want for cheap at the local Wal-Mart. You might not have much, but you can still afford to go to a fast food restaurant and afford a hot meal made by others who have to serve you. The rise of globalization and consumer credit that accompanied the onset of neo-liberalism have made it possible for massive wealth and income inequalities to not lead to revolutionary change.

We are a broken society.