Category Archives: Free markets and their discontents

Central Banks and Income Distribution: Does the Taylor Rule Push Up Rentier Incomes?

An explanation of how a favorite Fed rate setting tool, the Taylor Rule, promotes inequality by shifting income away from workers.

‘Time for Congress to Act’: Sanders, Scott Unveil $17 Federal Minimum Wage Bill

Another push for a minimum wage boost. The gap between the $17 target and the current level of $7.25 an hour is a yawning chasm.

James Galbraith: How Central Bank Myths and Practices Support Financiers and Dollar Hegemony

Sadly, some bank-serving fables are very durable, so James Galbraith has (yet another) go at them.

Rage, Neoliberalism, and Phone Trees

How neoliberalism is contributing to the collective sour mood.

The Looming War Against China: Economic Logic Has Been Replaced by National Security Overrides

Michael Hudson provides a deep dive on the US’ and now its Western allies’ obsessive campaign against China.

Colonialism or Sovereignty? How the Global Financial System Traps Countries in Debt

A deep dive on developing country debt crisis and how they reveal the workings of international finance.

The United States’ Financial Quandary: ZIRP’s Only Exit Path Is a Crash

Michael Hudson takes a long, hard look at the origins and costs of the Fed’s ZIRP policy.

Economics v. the Earth: New Book Explores the History of a Tense Relationship

Fredrik Albritton Jonsson and Carl Wennerlind discuss how belief in infinite growth came to seem reasonable in philosophy and economics.

It’s Hard for Americans to Engage in China-Bashing Without Tripping on Contradictions

There are no doubt good reasons for Americans to be concerned about China, but our official justificaitons don’t stand up to scrutiny.