Author Archives: Yves Smith

Michael Hudson: Why Frances Coppola’s “The Case for the People’s Quantitative Easing” Is for Banks, Not the People

A dubious proposal to continue over-reliance on monetary policy, this time with a quantitative easing scheme, instead of fiscal spending.

What Plunging Global Semiconductor Sales Says About Autos, IT & How the Economy Reacts to Uncertainties

Should you worry about the biggest fall in semiconductor sales since the Financial Crisis?

Mr. Market Swoons as Trump Administration Escalates Trade War with China With “Currency Manipulator” Charge

Markets are in a tizzy over the US-China trade row. But what might come next?

Mark Blyth’s Incisive Post-Crisis Takedown: “A Brief History of How We Got Here and Why”

Mark Blyth gives a pithy talk on the economic regimes of the modern period and what is likely to be in store.

Money Is Still King of the Hill And We Are All the Poorer for It: A Glance Back, and Forward

A personal retrospective on money in US politics.

The Military-Industrial Jobs Scam

Military contractors have used the threat of US job cuts to extract more dough from American taxpayers….and then cut US jobs.

Links 8/3/19

The Trump White House Is Upending Decades of Policy-Making Procedures

The Trump Administration really is making things up as it goes along.

Why We Need Publicly Owned Energy for a Green New Deal

Moving to zero carbon output requires a decentralized, publicly-owned energy system.

Families Drowning in Debt to Stay in the Middle Class

Young people with pretty high incomes are sinking under debt.

CalPERS in Bed With Jeffrey Epstein Client and Co-Investor, Apollo’s Leon Black Even After Apollo Pay-to-Play Scandal Led to Conviction and Jail Term for Former CalPERS CEO

CalPERS is worried about being tainted by its association with Leon Black of Apollo. CalPERS should be a lot more worried about its wallet.

Why Consumers Aren’t Buying Electric Cars

Press and affluenza enthusiasm for electric vehicles is ahead of mass consumer appetite.

Climate Equity: What Is It?

Why the AOC-Kamala Harris climate equity scheme fails as climate and economic policy.