Yearly Archives: 2023

Links 8/22/2023

The Moment of Truth Arrives for Mexico’s Anti-GM Corn Laws

This may be an important battle for Big Ag lobbies and biotech companies but it is an existential one for Mexico, for whom corn is the cornerstone not only of its cuisine and diet but also its culture.

Fed Ponders How Quickly to Try to Inflict More Pain on the Economy to Get Inflation to 2%

Debates inside and outside the Fed as to what it should do next about inflation pick up as its annual Jackson Hole conference approaches.

China And Russia Execute A Pincer Movement Around Iraq’s Biggest Oil Assets

China and Russia oil plays in and around Iraq provide further evidence that the US has lost its touch in the hegemony game.

2:00PM Water Cooler 8/21/2023

~ Today’s Water Cooler ~

Links 8/21/2023

Is Erdogan’s High-Wire Act Running Out of Rope?

Sweden’s NATO accession remains at a standstill as Turkiye confronts headaches in every direction.

Even Plutocrats Can’t Escape the Coming Heat

There’s no refuge from material facts.

A Russian Paper on New Currency/International Reserve Options Finds No Magic Bullets

A recent paper in a Russian economics journal confirms that there is no simple way out of the dollar hegemony box.

Stigler Center/ProMarket Hypocrisy: Published, Then Removed Post That Justified Anti-Trust; Bogus Excuses Demonstrate University of Chicago Failed Econowashing of Hard Core Neoclassical Stance

ProMarket and the Consumer Welfare Standard: Output increase is not sufficient to increase welfare. Allocation, aka distribution, matters.

Links 8/20/2023

How German Foreign Minister’s Cancelled Trip Due to Plane Problems Is Symbolic of Country’s Decline

The fact FM Baerbock had to cancel trip and fly home commercial is a useful metaphor for Berlin’s recent rash of self-inflicted wounds.

Memes About Animal Resistance Are Everywhere — Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Laugh off Rebellious Orcas and Sea Otters Too Quickly

Are human and nonhuman animals’ struggles against oppression intertwined?

Links 8/19/2023

A Peek at Big Pharma’s Playbook That Leaves Many Americans Unable to Afford Their Drugs

The Biden Adminstration has implemented some modest curbs on drug prices. Big Pharma is fighting a rearguard action in court.