Political Economy category archive
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.
That Trumpled Economy 0
Mrs. Betty Bowers reminds us of the reality of the “Trump economy.” A quote:
Four years ago, thousands of Americans were dying every day, and there was no toilet paper.
It’s the Stupid, Economy, Reprise 0
At the Portland Press-Herald, Jody Telfair Richards runs the numbers and concludes
Follow the link for said numbers.
It’s the Stupid, Economy 0
At the Las Vegas Sun, Richard L. Strikland follows the money.
Medicare Disadvantage 0
Medicare “Advantage” plans aren’t. A snippet from Truthout’s report:
Methinks they should be renamed “Medicare Take Advantage.”
From the git-go, “Medicare Advantage” was a con and a scam to allow private companies to suckle at the public teat.
“We’re Trying To Have a Society Here” 0
At the Portland Press-Herald, Victoria Hugo-Nadal uses examples from her own life to remind us that, despite what Republicans would have you think, there is, indeed, such a thing as “the common good.”