Category Archives: Politics

Yanis Varoufakis: Intransigent Bundesbank – Mr. Jens Weidmann’s Surreptitious Campaign to Bring Back the (Greater) Deutsch Mark

By Yanis Varoufakis, Professor of Economics at the University of Athens. Cross posted from his blog

Any fair minded reading of the Bundesbank’s latest Constitutional Court deposition must lead to one of two conclusions: Either the Bundesbank has failed to recognise the existentialist threat to the Eurozone (that was placed in suspended animation during the past eight months or so), or the Bundesbank has intentionally opted for a strategy that will, sooner or later, see the disbanding of the current Eurozone. Loath to assume naiveté on the Bundesbank’s part, I opt for the latter. Here is why:

Wolf Richter: Luxembourg Is Not The Next Cyprus, Not Yet, But….

Yves here. This article if anything underplays how much a one-trick pony Luxembourg is and what a fix it is in if Germany and/or the EU continues its campaign against tax avoidance and evasion. Luxembourg hope to come to an understanding with the Eurozone and slowly reach accommodations, which would still shrink its banks, but in a less brutal manner than Cyprus. But with such a large financial sector, any action is still going to cause a fair number of customers to flee. It’s hard to see how any gradual path can be found, which then raises the question of whether a series of bank failures in Luxembourg would have broader ramifications.

Bank “Zombie Title” Rises, Hurting Communities and Borrowers, as OCC and Fed Sit Pat

We’ve written before about the perverse phenomenon known as “zombie title.” Kate Berry of American Banker provides an update.

Congress Scheming to Avoid Eating its Own Cooking on Obamacare

You cannot make this stuff up.

Stephanie Kelton: Making The Case Against Austerity

By Stephanie Kelton, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Cross posted from New Economic Perspectives

Neil Irwin at Wonkblog has a new post up: The Deficit is Falling Fast. Can Washington Accept Victory?

He quotes John Makin of the American Enterprise Institute, who says, approvingly, that the U.S. has probably imposed enough austerity “for now.” Then he shows us the, erm, evidence.

“Manufacturing Consent” 25 Years Later

If you haven’t read “Manufacturing Consent” by Noam Chomsky and Edward S. Herman, you really should. That book plus Walter Lippmann’s “Public Opinion” and Alex Carey’s “Taking the Risk Out of Democracy” are three essential reads on propaganda in the US.

This Edward Herman interview on the Real News Network gives a sense of the book’s thesis and impact.

Independent Foreclosure Review Fiasco: OCC and Fed Decided Not to Find Harm

The last few days have had more and more ugly revelations emerge about the botched OCC and Fed Independent Foreclosure Review settlement, with some particularly important ones coming out of the hearings in Robert Menendez’s Senate Banking subcommittee today.

What Drives US North Korea Policy?

This Real News Network interview with Peter Lee, an Asia Times Online columnist who has been covering China for 30 year, is a welcome antidote to some of the superficial, stereotype-laden coverage of North Korea, not just what its posturing means for the US but other major players in East Asia.

War on Whistleblowers: How the Obama Administration Destroyed Thomas Drake For Exposing Government Waste

By Marcy Wheeler. Cross posted from Alternet

When Thomas Drake, then an official at the National Security Agency, realized that the agency’s decision to shut down an internal data analysis program and instead outsource the project to a private contractor provided the government with less effective analysis at much higher cost, he tried to do something about it. Drake’s decision to join three other whistleblowers in asking the agency’s inspector general to investigate ultimately made him the target of a leak investigation that tore his life apart.

More Washington Sleaze: Lobbyist Tip Stoked Health Care Stock Jump

Yesterday, we featured an important article by Noam Scheiber on how Obama insiders cash out on their connections once they leave the fold. Today, in the Wall Street Journal, we read of the Congressional version in terms of how a tip by a lobbyist (and former Congressional aide) connected to an investment research firm led to a Congressional decision being leaked to investors before it was announced officially.