Category Archives: Politics

Russia Cuts Off Gas Supplies to the Ukraine

the Russian move to stop supplying gas to the Ukraine unless it pays upfront is an important, if expected, development, But how is this standoff likely to play out?

North Carolina Treasurer, Accused of Malfeasance , Defends Secrecy of Private Equity Investments

The Treasurer of North Carolina has reacted to pending legislation designed to shed more light on the murky world of private equity investments by having allies sponsor their own “transparency” bill that is a big step backwards.

Anat Admati Discusses the Still-Too-Big-to-Fail Banks on Bill Moyers

Anat Admati, deemed by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the US, debunks the idea that the too-big-to-fail problem has been fixed. And she takes some swipes at Timothy Geithner.

SEC Commissioner Kara Stein Declares War on SEC Chair Mary Jo White

In demanding tougher regulations, SEC commissioner Kara Stein is taking the unheard-of step of crossing swords with Mary Jo White, a chairman from the same party.

Cantor’s Loss a Triumph for Anti-Corporate Right-Wing Populism

Cantor’s loss probably had many fathers. It may be as simple as this: polls always show that voters hate Congress but love their Congressmember, and Cantor, who had a whole mess of new, more conservative voters in his district after the 2010 gerrymander, symbolized the former rather than the latter. To the engaged sliver of voters participating, Cantor was the city slicker (even the Jewish city slicker, some suggest) who strove for institutional power and lost touch with the people he represented. The fact that Cantor won the areas closest to D.C. and lost the ones furthest away fits that theory.

But there’s no question that conservative economics professor David Brat succeeded in channeling a strain of right-wing populism to target Cantor, and plausibly so, as a corporate stooge and progenitor of crony capitalism. Lee Fang at Republic Report did the most thorough work on this…

Hard Choices Are Hard Only When They Exist in The First Place

Even though I want to claw out my eyeballs when I even think about the 2016 Presidential election, let alone write about it, if not now, when? Hillary Clinton and the next Presidential race.

Yanis Varoufakis: Europe’s Crisis –The Rise of the Ultra-Right is the Left’s Fault

The recent European elections were a decisive victory for the right, and the craven, co-opted left has no one but itself to blame.

Larry Summers’ Contradictory and Dishonest Defense of Administration’s Bank-Focused Crisis Response

Larry Summers, like Tim Geithner, wants the public to believe that rescuing banks and leaving citizens to rot was the right crisis response. But neither experts, nor people who followed the crisis, nor voters at large are buying what Team Obama is trying to sell.

Greenspace, Gardeners, Parents, Property, and Common Pool Resources

“With community property, you all have equal say, but with kids, the parents get the last word, so who’s rightest, safest, greenest, volunteeriest, or best validated by property values is trumped by the parents’ prerogative. If they want their kids to play on the island, there’s not much you can do about it but complain your way to a rift.” Hmm…….

David Cay Johnston on the Perils of Our Growing Inequality

David Cay Johnston is a clear and lively conversationalist, and I anticipate readers will enjoy his discussion of his work over the last 20 years on inequality.

Another Day, Another Bad Incentive Deal

A pending economic incentive deal in Alabama is a case study of why these proposals need hard, skeptical reviews.

Gaius Publius: Obama’s Flawed Cap-and-Trade, Um, Pay-to-Pollute, Emissions Plan

There’s little force in most market-based systems for carbon emissions. Cap-and-trade works better (depending on the implementation) if the goal is to reduce pollution (like sulphur) by an industry you want to preserve (like coal-burning energy facilities). Cap-and-trade works terribly for an industry you want to destroy — like coal-burning energy facilities. But Obama wants the public to believe that this sort of “market-based approach” is a great solution.

A Reflection on Piketty’s “Rentiers Always Win” or r > g

The Piketty postulate that r > g, meaning the return on wealth exceeds overall economic growth, is simply not a universal truth. This post provides a tidy and accessible debunking.

Mathew D. Rose: When European Politicians Cannot Read the Handwriting on the Wall

Despite the alarming results of the European elections last week, Angela Merkel remained unflinching. That is a cause for concern. European politicians believe the solution to voter ire is better messaging, as opposed to a change in policy.