Category Archives: Free markets and their discontents

Hard-Brexit Lobbyists Demand UK Roll-Back Environmental Standards to Strike Free Trade Deals with India, China and US

Another ugly but far-from-secret element of what was in store with a Glorious Brexit.

The Spider’s Web: Britain’s Second Empire

How Britain’s system of offshore finance and tax havens developed and preserved the UK’s role as the largest player in international finance.

Why the Public Debt Should Be Treated as an Asset

Debunking the misconceptions about the role of debt of a currency issuer like the US or UK.

Why the “Green New Deal” Is a Headfake

How “Green New Deal” proponents repeat the intellectual errors made by the critics of the 1970s Limits to Growth studies.

Michael Hudson: 10 Years Since Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy – Did the Economy Really Recover?

Michael Hudson discusses the economic impact of not writing down debts in the wake of the crisis.

Here’s Why Setting a Maximum Wage for CEOs Would be Good for Everyone

CEO pay needs to be curbed, and a maximum wage is one way to do it.

Senators Unveil Legislation To Protect Patients Against Surprise Medical Bills

Medical bills are so out of hand that despite the power of the health industry lobbyists, some Senators are taking on the worst abuses.

Chevron Arbitration Ruling Against Ecuador ‘Completely Off Base’

A secret corporate arbitration panel in the Hague ruled that Ecuadorean courts’ $9.5 billion judgement against Chevron for environmental damages is illegal and should not be enforced. An expert argues that the decision is a travesty.

Michael Hudson: The Lehman 10th Anniversary Spin as a Teachable Moment

Why you should take conventional wisdom about the Lehman collapse and the crisis with a fistful of salt.

J.D. Alt: Paying for Hurricanes

A reminder that the budgetary “paying for things” framing is a way to deny resources to citizens.

Double Whammy: Implicit Subsidies and the Great Financial Crisis

Follow the subsidies, and you will understand why we had the crisis and why not enough has been done to prevent a recurrence.

Jumping the Abyss: Marriner S. Eccles and the New Deal, 1933-1940

An in-depth look at Marriner Eccles’ ideas and policies, and how well they have withstood the test of time.

Victorian Central Banks and the Myth of Independence

Central banks have not always been independent, inflation targeting bodies, and to treat them as such is to obscure their complex histories and alternative institutional constellations.

Revolving Doors and Regulatory Capture

Looking at the costs of and some possible responses to regulatory capture.