As we cruise into Labor Day, the state of permanent U.S. unemployment is dire; and with no end in sight to the pandemic, will only worsen.
Recent Items
Thursday, November 6, 2025
‘The Situation Is Dire’: As Trump Takes Victory Lap, New Jobs Report Reveals Alarming Surge in Permanent Unemployment
Topics: Doomsday scenarios, Dubious statistics, Guest Post, Income disparity, Pandemic, Politics, The destruction of the middle class
Posted by Jerri-Lynn Scofield at 6:50 am | 29 Comments »
Links 9/5/2020
Topics: Links
Posted by Yves Smith at 6:55 am | 220 Comments »
Michael Hudson: Debt, Land and Money, From Polanyi to the New Economic Archaeology
Tracing key influences on Karl Polanyi as welll as some of his important initiatives after The Great Transformation.
Topics: Credit markets, Economic fundamentals, Free markets and their discontents, Guest Post, Income disparity, Politics, Social values, The dismal science
Posted by Yves Smith at 4:52 am | 66 Comments »
Robert Pollin: Biden Not Phasing Out Fossil Fuel, Relies on Carbon Capture
Robert Pollin critiques the Biden climate plan for over-relying on unproven carbon capture, investing too little in solar and wind, and treating China as a rival.
Topics: China, Doomsday scenarios, Economic fundamentals, Energy markets, Global warming, Globalization, Guest Post, Permaculture, Politics, Social policy, Technology and innovation
Posted by Yves Smith at 3:06 am | 24 Comments »
2:00PM Water Cooler 9/4/2020
~ Today’s Water Cooler ~
Topics: Guest Post, Water Cooler
Posted by Lambert Strether at 2:00 pm | 142 Comments »
State Controller Betty Yee Calls for Public Discussion of CalPERS Governance Reforms Following Sudden Departure of CIO Ben Meng
Controller Betty Yee forcefully slapped down CalPERS’ CEO Frost’s claim that Yee was satisfied with the burial of Yee’s governance issues.
Topics: Banana republic, CalPERS, Corporate governance, Investment management, Politics
Posted by Yves Smith at 12:15 pm | 25 Comments »
COVID: Where Science Goes To Die
A forceful critique of Covid-19 research.
Topics: Dubious statistics, Guest Post, Media watch, Pandemic, Science and the scientific method
Posted by Yves Smith at 9:55 am | 41 Comments »
Links 9/4/2020
Topics: Guest Post, Links
Posted by Lambert Strether at 6:55 am | 183 Comments »
Charter Schools Find Gold in Federal Government Aid to Small Businesses While Black-Owned Firms Get the Shaft
Due to the economic fallout of Covid-19, charter schools added to systemic inequities that afflict black communities.
Topics: Free markets and their discontents, Guest Post, Income disparity, Pandemic, Privatization
Posted by Yves Smith at 12:02 am | 9 Comments »
Steve Keen: Eulogy to David Graeber
A personal remembrance of the scholar and activist David Graeber.
Topics: Free markets and their discontents, Guest Post, Income disparity, Social values, The dismal science
Posted by Yves Smith at 12:01 am | 45 Comments »
Labor Day Weekend Posting and Comments Schedule
We’ll be on a somewhat lighter schedule this Labor Day weekend, back to our normal drill on Tuesday. Hope you get at least a mini-break too!
Topics: Notices
Posted by Yves Smith at 7:38 pm | 13 Comments »
2:00PM Water Cooler 9/3/2020
~ R.I.P David Graeber ~
Topics: Guest Post, Water Cooler
Posted by Lambert Strether at 2:00 pm | 176 Comments »
US Tax Dollars Funded Every New Drug in the Last Decade
Amid debates over costs—and profits—from a coronavirus vaccine, a new study shows that taxpayers footed the bill for every new drug approved from 2010 to 2019
Topics: Banana republic, Free markets and their discontents, Guest Post, Health care, Pandemic, Privatization, Regulations and regulators, Ridiculously obvious scams, Science and the scientific method, Social policy
Posted by Yves Smith at 9:55 am | 10 Comments »
Links 9/3/2020
Topics: Guest Post, Links
Posted by Lambert Strether at 6:55 am | 202 Comments »
Preserve the People’s Post Office: Let Us Do Meaningful Postal Reform
A rallying cry for the Post Office.
Topics: Banana republic, Free markets and their discontents, Guest Post, Infrastructure, Privatization, Real estate, Ridiculously obvious scams, Social policy
Posted by Yves Smith at 4:19 am | 21 Comments »



