Author Archives: Yves Smith

Facebook Now Out to Squish Even Newbie Potential Competitors

The Wall Street Journal gives a case study on how Facebook hounds even small fry competitors.

Flagging Productivity Growth – How Much Is Due to Bad Management?

Have management fads contributed to the fall in productivity growth?

Wall Street Journal Deigns to Notice Costly Indiana Toll Road Failure, Depicts It as Isolated When Toll Roads “Consistently” Go Bust

Toll road projects have consistently failed over the last decade and a half, but you never hear that in the mainstream press.

Nurses: Paul Krugman Gives ‘Shallow Political Advice’ On Health Care Reform

While the National Nurses Union back national health care, they are cautiously calling only for Medicare for All, not a more robust system.

Neoliberalism’s “Die Faster” Is Helping Pension Funds…But Not Doing Enough for Young Homebuyers

Cognitive dissonance at Bloomberg in the contrast between a story on pension funds and one on the dearth of homes for sale.

Trump as “Consequence, Not Cause” of the Collapse in the Post Cold War Consensus

How press and pundit fixation on Trump diverts public attention from power structures that work against ordinary Americans.

Public Pension Funds Regain Some Lost Ground in a Good Year, But CalPERS Lags Peers

CalPERS again falls short for its beneficiaries and California taxpayers.

GOP and Democrats Push Trump on Tax Reform

Both parties only have sketches of tax reform plans, and each has basic deficiencies.

Links 8/8/17

Private Equity Flouts State Regulations by Buying Medical Practices

State regulators have ignored private equity firms buying medical practices when many states bar non-MDs from owing them.

More Brexit Confusion: UK Judges Can Use New ECJ Precedents Post Brexit

The UK is trying to have it both ways on ECJ rulings post Brexit in a manner that seems destined to create a mess.

Quelle Surprise! Financial Firm Fines Are Way Down Under Trump

The latest sighting on how financial firms are getting off easy, yet have the bad taste to complain about their paltry punishments.

Democrats Pushing the “Compete” Word to Justify Doubling Down on Failed, Middle-Class Destroying Neoliberal Policies

Democrats are now telling voters they only need to compete better…and offer policies that have repeatedly failed to “help”.