Political Economy category archive
Why Did Trump Win? 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Nilanjana Dasgupta tries offers some thoughts. I don’t know that I agree with everything she says, but I do think her piece is a worth-while read. Keep in mind that she is discussing voters’ perceptions of reality, not reality itself.
Here’s a bit of her piece:
The social class gap in opportunity isn’t recent. It has been widening since neoliberalism became the dominant ideology in the 1980s, shaping political and economic policies. A good society, according to neoliberalism, is one that privatizes public resources and property, privileges free market and trade, reduces government spending on social safety nets, and minimizes regulation of businesses (Harvey, 2005). Decades of neoliberal policies have been associated with yawning inequalities in income, health, and education, crushing middle- and working-class people whose pent-up despair and rage was recognized and used by Trump.
Missing from the analysis and, indeed, from Trump voters’ perspectives, is another crucial fact. Donald Trump’s track record of keeping his wor–oh, never mind.
Aside:
The irony is that the neoliberalism she refers to leans to the right and, indeed, has served as cover for Republicans’ gutting many of the programs instituted by Democrats from FDR to LBJ.
This New Gilded Age 0
Via the Majority Report, a business professor argues that “income inequality is out of control,” then Sam and the crew discuss his remarks.
Afterthought:
We are reaping the harvest of Reagan’s trickle-on economics.
This New Gilded Age 0
Thom follows the money.
Meet the Swamp King . . . 0
. . . and his swamp things.
A Tune for the Times 0
Mangy sings a paean to this New Gilded Age.
The Recycle Heap 0
David argues that Donald Trump’s proposed policies, such as tariffs, deregulation, trickle on economics, etc., amount to recycling failed policies from the past and will fail again.
The Privatization Scam 0
The Arizona Republic’s E. J. Montini makes a strong case that, in Arizona, the privatization scam just got scammier.
The Crypto Con 0
Sam and the crew talk with Jacob Silverman, author of Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud, about the crypto con and how the crypto con artists are infiltrating politics courtesy of Donald Trump and the Trumpettes.
Infiltration Nation 0
Jim Hightower follows the moneybags.
The Fee Hand of the Market 0
Thom looks at why the middle class is dwindling.
It’s the Stupid, Economy 0
Chris Hayes argues we’ve seen this before.
“Economic Arson” 0
David sees a pattern. (Warning: Short commercial at the end.)
Misdirection Play 0
Robert Reich theorizes that Donald Trump by what I would call a misdirection play. Here’s a bit of his article (emphasis added). Follow the link for context; it’s a worthwhile read.
Wrong. Trump has been able to channel the intensifying anger of the white working class away from the real causes of working-class distress — away from the big corporations, wealthy individuals, and denizens of Wall Street whose money has rigged the game against average working people.
It was not the first time in history that a demagogue has used scapegoats to deflect public attention from the real causes of their distress, and it won’t be the last.
Aside:
Where Reich says “wrong” in the bit I quoted, I might have said “right.” The elements cited in the first paragraph above were not irrelevancies.
They were the bait.
It’s the Stupid, Economy 0
Der Spiegel interviews economist Barry Eichengreen on the like effect of Donald Trump’s election. Eichengreen is not sanguine.
Here’s a tiny bit.
Eichengreen: The Silicon Valley gods will live to regret their support for Trump. Eventually, they will come to understand that tariffs hurt the economy as a whole and that their business models depend on globalization. But I’ve given up trying to understand these guys and their motives. You have to be a psychologist, not an economist, to do that.
The Party of Tax and Spin 0
Michael in Norfolk finds it somewhat–er–disquieting that many persons cited prices as their reason for voting for Donald Trump, while ignoring his plans to impose tariffs, which will lead to even higher prices. In a longer article detailing the likely consequences of Trump’s “policy,” sums up its likely effects quite succinctly:
Aside:
Methinks “little benefit” an understatement.
How Stuff Works: Thom Explains the “Recession Racket” 0
Thom explains how the morbidly rich can benefit from recessions. A quote:
Recessions help billionaires. They hurt you and me, but they become buying opportunities for billionaires.
