Category Archives: Free markets and their discontents

Drug Watchdog Finds $5.1 Billion in Price Gouging on 9 Drugs

Another indictment of drug pricing.

Marshall Auerback: Will the GOP Become the Party of Blue-Collar Conservatism?

Is the GOP willing to embrace a historical political realignment to become an ally of laborers, or at least manufacturing workers?

Facebook’s Libra Faceplant: Beware of CEO Bright Ideas

Libra is going nowhere fast.

Trump’s Border Wall is a Multi-Billion Dollar Corporate Handout

How Trump made the long-standing border boondoggle even bigger.

Making Profit Should Not Now Be the Primary Goal of a Business: Being Net-Zero Carbon Should Be

Central banker Mark Carney argues for green economy gradual transition, Can’t get too much in the way of almighty profit.

California’s New Transparency Law Reveals Steep Rise In Wholesale Drug Prices

Drug price data in Califorinia shows mind-boggling increases in wholesale prices since 2019. Of course, the industry claims that that information is misleading.

The IMF Convenes in Washington, Deaf to the Suffering It Causes Across the Planet

A brief reminder of the IMF record of failure and harm.

Thomas Piketty’s New Book: Impressive Research, Problematic Solutions

Capital and Ideology is a quantitative history of inequality, a largely noneconomic theory of social stratification, an investigation into the social roots of current populism, and a political manifesto for the European left.

Post-Capitalists Must Understand the Role of Migration in Global Capitalism

Why the left needs to stop being naive about the economic uses of migration.

Old Toryism, Risen from the Crypt

A deeper explanation of Brexit, contemporary UK events and how it inherits an old tradition of conventional Toryism.

Unsustainable California: No Easy Remedy for PG&E Blackouts, Fire Risks

California prototypically lead the US. It’s PG&E infrastructure failure and lack of good remedies to escalating wildfire risks are the latest example.

Marketers Want Even More Control Over Hospitals

Another distubing example of MBA infestation at hospitals.

Herd Behaviour in Asset Markets: The Role of Monetary Policy

Data supports the idea that lax monetary policy contributes to bubbles. Yes, Virginia, some regard that claim as controversial.