Category Archives: Free markets and their discontents

Misunderstanding Volcker

A reappraisal of Volcker, who was more hostile to workers and less hard on financiers than the press would have you believe.

Estuaries, Climate Change, and “Blue Carbon”

Estuaries defined, whether they are carbon sources or carbon sinks, and an excursion into the world of climate NGOs through “blue carbon.”

The Geography of EU Discontent

The EU’s flyover, meaning areas in economic decline, are also its hotbeds of discontent and anti-EU sentiment.

Financialization of the U.S. Pharmaceutical Industry

A takedown of the pharmaceutical industry’s assertion that it need to price gouge so it can invest in R&D. Profits go almost entirely to various forms of looting.

US Targets Wage-Repression Model in Mexico, Demands Inspections, Industry Has a Cow

A proposed provision in the so-called “NAFTA 2.0” to increase autoworker wages in Mexico is raising hackles south of the border.

Why Hospitals Never Have Enough Nurses: The Explanatory Power of “Prasad’s Law” of Wealth Concentration

Nurses, or more accurately, nurse staffing levels demonstrate a central bad incentive in American medicine.

Tucker Carlson Tears into Vulture Capitalist Paul Singer for Strip Mining American Towns

Tucker Carlson takes on the feared vulture capitalist Paul Singer as an examplar of how hedge funds are destroying American communities.

The Debt Delusion

A short take on John Week’s new book, The Debt Delusion, and why it matters.

Why the UK Needs a Financial Transaction Tax

Claims that a financial transaction tax would be difficult to implement and raise little revenue are fake news.

What This Election Proves Is the Need for Epoch Making Change

The upcoming UK election will usher in major change. But will it be change that benefits ordinary people?

Neoliberalism and Climate Change

How economists have contributed to climate change inaction.

The Privatized Internet — Entire .ORG Domain Registry Sold to Investment Equity Firm “Ethos Capital”; Registration Fee Restrictions Removed

Private equity grifting meets internet domain names.

Financing a Global Green New Deal: System Change Needed

Discussion of a contested topic: How to pay for a Green New Deal.

Making Sense of Bolivia’s Discontent

Unpacking the many political and policy contradictions in Bolivia over the past decade.