Archive for August, 2008
We're Not All Friedmanites Now
From Thomas Frank’s WSJ column last week, unrest at the University of Chicago over the soon-to-be unveiled Milton Friedman Institute: We’re Not All Friedmanites Now By Thomas Frank Once upon a time there was a master narrative, and a neater little theory-of-everything you never did see. In its 19th century heyday it rationalized the having ...Read more.
Obama Tilt Toward Rubinomics
This is from Bloomberg.com; hat-tip to Doug Henwood of Left Business Observer. Obama Tilt Toward Rubinomics Stirs Warning From Organized Labor By Kristin Jensen and Matthew Benjamin Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) — AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka delivers a slap at former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin in a slide show exhorting union members to back Democrat Barack ...Read more.
Bill Black on McCain on Fox News
William K. Black, who wrote the cover story of our November/December issue, (Mis)Understanding a Banking Industry in Transition, was interviewed for a Fox News special on John McCain’s role in the “Keating Five” scandal, which was the major political fallout of the savings & loan scandal. The special will air at 8pm on Tuesday, August ...Read more.
The Great Crash of 2008, by Mason Gaffney
This crash is The Big One; it has signs of becoming a Category 5. How do we know? We’ve “been there and done that” so many times before, roughly every 18 years over the last 800 or more. Major wars and, rarely, plagues have broken the rhythm, along with the little ice age, reformation and ...Read more.
John Miller on the Radio
Economist and Dollars & Sense columnist John Miller is on the radio–on the program Justice or Just Us? on KUCI in Irvine, Calif. He’s talking about the recent GAO report showing that many corporations pay no taxes at all in the United States. John’s latest Up Against the Wall Street Journal column, just posted to ...Read more.
Economists' Letter on Offshore Drilling
See below for information about how to add your signature to this letter. Senate Majority Leader Harry ReidSenate Minority Leader Mitch McConnellHouse Speaker Nancy PelosiHouse Minority Leader John Boehner Dear Senators Reid and McConnell and Representatives Pelosi and Boehner, As economists, we write out of concern that you are being pressured to lift the Congressional ...Read more.
The Beijing Olympics by the Numbers
We just posted a web-only article on the Beijing Olympics that explains why global corporations are salivating while more than 1.5 million people have been displaced. The Geneva-based Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions has documented the massive displacement that “mega-events” like the Olympic Games regularly cause, but the Beijing games have far outpaced its ...Read more.
Now Wall Street Wants Your Pension, Too
JPMorganChase, Citi, Cerberus, and Morgan Stanley are among the firms lobbying Washington to let them take over and run corporate pension funds. [Hat-tip to Ira Glazer on lbo-talk for alerting us to this article.] by Matthew Goldstein | BusinessWeek | August 8, 2008 The folks who brought you the mortgage mess and the ensuing hedge ...Read more.
Economists' Letter on Offshore Drilling
Senate Majority Leader Harry ReidSenate Minority Leader Mitch McConnellHouse Speaker Nancy PelosiHouse Minority Leader John Boehner Dear Senators Reid and McConnell and Representatives Pelosi and Boehner, As economists, we write out of concern that you are being pressured tolift the Congressional ban on most oil drilling off our coasts,despite the fact that this would do ...Read more.
A Tale of Two Polls
Poll: Nearly half hearing too much about Obama Wed Aug 6, 10:47 AM ET WASHINGTON – Barack Obama may be the fresh face in this year’s presidential election, but nearly half say they’re already tired of hearing about him, a poll says. With Election Day still three months away, 48 percent said they’re hearing too ...Read more.
