“Privatizing gains and socializing losses” could be the motto for the neoliberal era. Alongside this and “there is no alternative”, few slogans better capture the ideology that has been so successfully diffused throughout the world over the past several decades. Five years after latest financial crisis, this motto rings true
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Progressive Proselytizing: The Great Conservative Lie
Virtually all incidences of modern Conservatism – Canada and the US, federally, state/provincially and municipally, from politician to politician – has a consistent central theme. Campaign planks comes and go, but this is the frame of the Conservative movement. It is also a lie, known by all who say it
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: How the Occupy Movement is Enriching People’s Lives
Imagine an eco-community of micro-homes designed as a first step out of homelessness. Housing, easy to get into, if people care. Occupy Madison in Wisconsin has come up with an innovative first step of a solution [see below]. These 96 square foot homes are no long term solution, at all.
Continue readingPolitical Eh-conomy: Austerity and the profitability puzzle: government gives profits a helping hand
This is the third and final post in what has become a three-part series on the puzzle of high profitability and low investment in the Canadian economy. In the first part, I looked at some data that shows the existence of the puzzle and explored a few of the factors
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The rise of Bitcoin: and the challenge to the global domination of big money
The following article was written on October 25. I wanted to read it over once more before publishing it, then got busy with other things and forgot about it. In the roughly six weeks that have passed since the writing of this article, the Bitcoin prices have gone from roughly
Continue readingPolitical Eh-conomy: A Canadian housing bubble? Evidence from capital inflows
Warning: A wonky, but thankfully short, post follows. Yesterday, the Naked Capitalism blog reposted some recent research by OECD economist Eduardo Olaberria that looks at the effect of capital inflows on bubbles in assets, particularly housing. With so many other signs of a housing bubble forming in Canada, I decided
Continue readingParchment in the Fire: Debt and Deficit as Shock Therapy » CounterPunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names
Debt and Deficit as Shock Therapy » CounterPunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names. When Naomi Klein published her ground-breaking book The Shock Doctrine (2007), which compellingly demonstrated how neoliberal policy makers take advantage of overwhelming crisis times to privatize public property and carry out austerity programs, most economists and media pundits
Continue readingArt Threat: Video: Max Haiven on The Debt of Creativity
Activist and art professor Max Haiven recently delivered a TED talk at TEDxNovaScotia titled “>The Debt of Creativity, in which he elaborates on the ideas he discussed in his essay Privatizing Creativity. It’s worth 15 minutes of your time to tune in. Image: A Debtors’ Prison — William Hogarth.
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Debt is debt, except when it’s hope
Sometimes Question Period is downright funny. Witness this exchange on the provincial debt between Opposition Leader Danielle Smith and Premier Redford.* Ms Smith: In Medicine Hat earlier this month the Premier said this about debt: it’s not debt; it’s hope. So let’s take some of the Premier’s other quotes and
Continue readingArt Threat: 169 credit cards + $12.50 in change = Indebted States of America
Indebted States of America by Maine artist Eric Leppanen is created with 169 of his own credit cards, collected over the past 23 years, adorned with the 50 U.S. state quarters and framed in gold leaf. “It speaks to the marketing of ‘Big Banks’ to indebt Americans with bait and
Continue readingParchment in the Fire: Debt and Democracy
While this was written by Cicero in 44 BCE, after the assassination of Caesar and a year before Antony had Cicero murdered, the sentiment can be heard in today republicans–particularly those associated with the Tea Party. Any attempt at redistribution, according to Cicero, threatens the very foundation of the republic,
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: US government shutdown, and other fairy tales and political theatre
I’m not sure what to make of the hoopla going on in the US right now. I’m inclined to think it’s all just political theatre, as Gerald Celente calls it, designed to distract the people from the real issues – the central one being, who controls the government and the
Continue readingmark a rayner | scribblings, squibs & sundry monkey joys: Know your branches of economics
This comic does in one cartoon what the first chapter of Debt, the First 5000 Years does (pretty well) in one chapter. Alltop is a macro-humor generator.
Continue reading350 or bust: Sell Your Crap. Pay Your Debts. Do What You Love.
This week’s TED Talk features Adam Baker, founder of ManVsDebt, a blog which focuses on a simple message: The first step to living a life of passion and purpose is to remove the barriers that hold you back. It sounds like good advice to me! * ManVsDebt.com
Continue readingThings Are Good: Brazil Restructures Debt With African Countries
Brazil has announced that they will essentially “write off” about $90 million in debt from African nations. This is for helping the countries alleviate their huge levels of debt while helping create stronger economic ties between Brazil and their indebted partner nations. “To maintain a special relationship with Africa is
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Beating Back the Ghosts: Be Gone Appeals to Reinhart and Rogoff Authority. Welcome the Triumph of Reason.
They’ve haunted me. Incessantly. The ghosts of Reinhart and Rogoff. Their research here, there, everywhere. Bank of Canada speeches? Yes. Finance Department talking points? Check. House of Commons debates? Yup. Globe editorials? Ditto. Discussions with fellow progressives? Sadly, yes. Results? Arguments conjured in their name. Reason decapitated. Modern Monetary Theorists
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: Vancouver Sun Letter
Please see today’s Vancouver Sun — or click here — for my latest letter to the editor. This one is about BC Premier Christy Clark’s efforts to raise government revenue via liquefied natural gas production. As regular readers might expect, I am not exactly on board.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
Assorted content for your Sunday reading. – Joseph Stiglitz discusses how the U.S.’ extreme inequality is limiting its prospects for economic recovery: There are all kinds of excuses for inequality. Some say it’s beyond our control, pointing to market forces like globalization, trade liberalization, the technological revolution, the “rise of
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: Your Country’s Finances Are Exactly Like Yours
Many scoff at the conservative analogy that the American government should manage its finances like a household, but little do they realize the idea doesn’t strengthen conservativism, it weakens it. After a fiscal cliff deal that only increased taxes, many right-leaning politicians are preparing for a fight in order to
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Wednesday reading. – Pat Atkinson highlights what should probably be the story of the year for 2012: the continued degradation of Canadian democracy under a government which views Parliament and the public with an alarming degree of contempt: Harper’s Conservatives see Parliament as a nuisance.
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