Category Archives: Free markets and their discontents

New Zealand’s Feeble Attempt to Curb Sky-High Housing Prices

New Zealand, awfully late in the game, is trying to Do Something about insane housing prices.

Nomi Prins: To Build or Not to Build? The Infrastructure Question

For all sorts of bad reasons, American has a huge infrastructure spending backlog. But can we even do the job well?

Brazil’s Catastrophic Management of COVID-19 Threatens the Entire World

Bolosonaro is responsible for Brasil’s botched Covid response. But the consequences extent far beyond the country’s borders.

Failed COVID Strategy Leaves Sweden Deeply Divided

Sweden became a symbol for anti-lockdown and no-mask movements across the world. But it’s no longer a source of consensus at home.

Why the U.S. Manufacturing Renaissance Is Essential for U.S. Survival

Maintaining and reviving manufacturing capacity in key insutries is vital to preserving jobs and ensuring U.S. survival.

Yes, Export Bans on Vaccines Are a Problem, But Why Is the Supply of Vaccines so Limited in the First Place?

Italy has blocked vaccine exports to Australia, which now must reconsider its opposition to proposed global solutions to unblock supply.

Pointless Pain Is What We’re Enduring. And All for the Sake of Accepting That Money is Not a Constraint on Our Potential, and Never Will Be

Defitic hysteria, UK style, and why misunderstanding what government money is about persists.

Economists’ Rx: “Sick? Stay Home!”

Economists endorse sick day mandates. Pass the word.

Covid Baby Bust Has Governments Rattled

A falloff in baby production has capitalists very worried.

Bad Stimulus: Government Payments to Individuals Are a Terrible Way to Solve America’s Structural Economic Problems

Why the Biden stimulus program is fundamentally wrongheaded.

How the NATO Alliance Is Fighting Russia’s Sputnik V Vaccine With Subsidies From State Budgets and the Gates Foundation, Hidden by bhe Financial Times

The Financial Times runs dodgy numbers to claim that Russia is vaccine price gouging to poor countries, when that’s Big Pharma’s gig.

The Bullshit Economy: Homebuying “Help”

Introducing “The Bullshit Economy” from Jared Hoist, on products and companies that exist solely to exploit policy failures, in a bad way.

“I’m Sorry,” Says Ro Khanna, “An Unelected Parliamentarian Does Not Get to Deprive 32 Million Americans the Wage Raise They Deserve.”

The Biden Administration proves it cares only about the donor classes by standing pat as its own $15 minimum wage proposal founders.