Victory Gardens in the World Wars (and in the Neoliberal Era)
A random walk through Victory Garden posters, with commentary, and a recommendation that the government mobilize to recreate them.
Read more...Category Archives: Infrastructure
Public-Private Partnerships Fad Fails
After the failure and abuses of privatization became apparent, public-private partnerships have since been promoted to mobilize private finance for the public purpose. PPPs have socialized costs and losses while ensuring private financial gains.
Read more...Climate Research Must Change to Help Communities Plan for the Future
Climate scientist Robert Koop argues for national investment in universities analogous to that of long-standing cooperative extension programs but applied to scientific climate risk management.
Read more...The New Deal, the Green New Deal, and Flood Control
Review of the Midwest flooding, history of the New Deal and flood control, and the Green New Deal and flood control.
Read more...Clean Water: UNICEF Shows More Children Die from Diarrhea than Direct Violence in Conflict Zones
Unicef reports diarrhea causes more childhood deaths in conflict zones than outright violence. Bangladesh’s recent history shows even the poorest countries can reduce fatalities from diarrheal disease.
Read more...Climate Change: Hurricanes to Deliver a Bigger Punch to Coasts
Tropical cyclone Idai may be a harbinger of further catastrophic coastal storms; climate change projections suggest the number of intense hurricanes will rise.
Read more...China’s Belt and Road Initiative vs Washington Consensus
An update by Jomo Kwame Sundaram on how China and the US are faring in their use of trade and development policy to foster growth and project power.
Read more...Bezos Admits His Fortune Is Due to Public Infrastructure….Even as He Fought Paying a Homeless Tax in Seattle, Shakes Down Cities for Subsidies
Bezos admits he and other squillionaires didn’t do the “heavy lifting” of building the infrastructure on which tech enterprises depend….yet tries to depict a space venture as a greenfield project. Help me.
Read more...Senators Press for Expanded Probe of FEMA Hurricane Maria Puerto Rico Relief Efforts
Senators Warren, Sanders, Blumenthal, and Durbin, has asked the DHS IG to expand an investigation into misallocation of funds budgeted for repair of hurricane-damaged homes and profit-skimming in Puerto Rico
Read more...Post Office Privatization Thrust Awaits (Stalled) Publication of Trump Task Force Report
The Post Office, its Universal Service Obligation, privatization efforts, how (and possibly why) those efforts are stalled.
Read more...Jackpot? A Round-Up of This Season’s California Wildfires (So Far)
By Lambert Strether of Corrente. Last week, there were three (major) California wildfires in the news: The Camp Fire, which destroyed the town of Paradise in Northern California, and the Hill and Woolsey fires in Southern California, which are still burning, not entirely contained. Here is a map: And here is a shot of the […]
Read more...JFK Sucks, and Cuomo Plan Won’t Fix It
Passing through JFK is a necessary purgatory for passengers; the Cuomo plan doesn’t address many problems.
Read more...Futuristic Nostalgia: Maine’s Two-Footer Railroads
The Maine two-footers were great. Why not revive them?
Read more...Revisiting Privatization’s Claims
Advocates exaggerate claims that privatization would reduce governments’ fiscal problems while ensuring more efficient, productive, and competitive economies by promoting private entrepreneurship, innovation, and investments.
Read more...Puerto Rico: 1427 Hurricane Maria Deaths
Government of Puerto Rico presents report to Congress acknowledging 1427 Hurricane Maria details– more than twenty times the previous estimate it had given. Meanwhile, prospects for meaningful debt relief remain slight.
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