Category Archives: Ridiculously obvious scams

Book Review: Game of Mates

A new book. Game of Mates, documents how rentier capitalism and soft corruption operate in Australia. Many of its findings apply to the US.

NY Times Lets a Charter School Propagandist Distort the Facts on Its Op-Ed Page

Quelle surprise! Card carrying neoliberal David Leonhardt of the New York Times twists facts to try to make a case for charter schools.

Uber Under Federal Criminal Investigation for “Greyball” Software

Uber is in hot water and has hired a big name white shoe firm, Shearman & Sterling, to conduct an internal investigation.

CalPERS and Board Come Out Losers Over Kangaroo Court Against Its Most Effective Board Member (Updated)

CalPERS and its board seem incapable of understanding that when you are in a hole, you need to stop digging.

CalPERS Hides Bogus Persecution: Promised Public Hearing for Lone Effective Director Held in Secret

CalPERS doubles down on a bogus scheme to neuter its one effective board member reneging on its promise to have a public hearing of charges.

5 Times Charter School Founders Used Shady Real Estate Deals to Shamelessly Enrich Themselves

A trio of academics compare charter school tactics to Wall Street’s raiders.

Wall Street Journal Reports on Appearance of Private Equity Self-Dealing at Blackstone and Other Firms Nearly Four Years After We Broke the Story

So why is the Wall Street Journal years late in reporting on private equity self-dealng, and underplays its seriousness to boot?

Mark Ames: Credit Suisse Decries Russian Inequality After Playing Leading Role in Creating It

Credit Suisse criticizes Russian inequality after having profited handsomely from playing a big role in creating it.

Wolf Richter: Private Equity in the Thick of Bricks and Mortar Retail Implosion

The distress at traditional retailers has been made much worse by private equity asset stripping rendering them fragile.

Fintech Puts Payday Lending Old Wine in New Bottles

“Fintech” provider Lyric Financial is out to take advantage of financially unsophisticated musicians. Hipness is part of the ruse.

Health Care “Reform” by Insiders Who Benefit from the Status Quo: Media Fails to Report Conflicts of Interest

Quelle surprise! The press regularly presents highly paid, well-connected health care insiders as independent voices on “reform”.

13 Questions That Expose Charter School Falsehoods

The sales pitch made by charter school boosters does not hold up to scrutiny.

Against False Arrogance of Economic Knowledge

The shortcomings of economic reasoning are well known, yet mainstream practitioners embrace and defend them.

It’s Time to Regulate the Gig Economy

Depicting the gig economy as ‘sharing favours’ creates a parallel dimension, where chores are form of leisure, with no relation to ‘work’.