Category Archives: Economic fundamentals

Book Review: “Mine! How the Hidden Rules of Ownership Control Our Lives”

Maxims for ownership, because markets.

Wolf Richter: Oh Lordy, Yellen Comes Out for Higher Interest Rates: “A Plus for Society’s Point of View and the Fed’s Point of View”

“We want them to go back to” a normal interest rate environment.

Food Insecurity: A Potentially Underrated Collateral Damage of the Pandemic

Increases in hunger and food insecurity under Covid are significant, yet have gone largely under the radar.

Rethinking Unemployment: From Adam Smith to Marx “Reserve Army of the Unemployed” to the Neoliberal War on Full Employment

Unemployment as a balancing act between workers ‘fearing the sack’ and employers ‘fearing the quit,” with employers usually winning out.

How Third-Party Auditors Make Oil Industry Fraud Possible

Oil companies hire accountants to legitmate inflated financial claims. Investors and regulators are targeting these auditors for fraud.

How Is Your Economy?

One of our periodic reader queries as to what they make of the state of the economy based on local sightings.

Bob Pollin: Modest Inflation Is Good for Workers

If inflation is linked to higher wages, that’s not bad for workers, says Bob Pollin of the Political Economy Research Institute in Amherst.

What if Large Businesses Are Really Macroeconomic Entities?

Mega businesses are a huuge problem. But what to do?

Larry Summers Doubles Down On His Inflation Prediction

Unfortunately, Larry Summers still gets attention, most recently for inflation hawkery. Fortunately, it’s not hard to see through him.

Michael Hudson: Why Biden Won’t Cancel Student Debt

Michael Hudson gives a hard look at the typical excuses for not cancelling student debt and finds them wanting.

Slack in the Economy, Not Inflation, Should Be Bigger Worry

Despite fear-mongering about inflation, unemployment remains elevated and stimulus is needed to prevent a collapse in demand.

Why Biden’s Carbon Pricing and Electric Vehicle Plans Won’t Avert Climate Crisis

Unfortunately, central Biden Administration climate change policies, like carbon taxes/pricing, fall well short of the level of action needed

Michael Hudson on American as Absentee Landlord on The Greyzone: Biden Administration, New Cold War, Super Imperialism, Dollar Weaponization

Michael Hudson discusses geopolitics including currency power plays, global institutions like the IMF, the new Cold War, and Bill Gates