Nobel laureate and former World Bank chief economist, Joe Stiglitz, contends we urgently need to replace neoliberalism with progressive capitalism. Three years ago, President Donald Trump’s election and the United Kingdom’s Brexit referendum confirmed what those of us who have long studied income statistics already knew: in most advanced countries,
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The Disaffected Lib: Joe Stiglitz Channels Teddy Roosevelt, Calls for a Renewal of Progressive Capitalism.
Capitalism sucks. The neoliberal order, to which all of our mainstream parties subscribe, has lost sight of how capitalism is supposed to work in a progressive democracy. That was never more horrifically clear than when Trudeau’s finance minister, Morneau, told Canadians they would have to get used to a future
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Stiglitz Throws Down the Gauntlet to America’s President-Elect
Donald Trump has promised to “make America great again.” That was his whole schtick and he rode it to an upset win over the odds-on favourite, Hillary Clinton. Unfortunately Trump was feeding his Gullibillies a diet rich in horseshit. Now that they’re used to the taste he has to deliver.
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: We’re All Neoliberals Now. Let’s Change That.
One thing that struck home during our extended election campaign was how our mainstream political parties have become deeply invested in neoliberalism. While it has several descriptions, reflective of its insidious vagueness, neoliberalism is the merger of political and economic ideology most often called “free market fundamentalism.” It is a
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: A Couple of Thoughts About the Precariat.
We should all read Brian Stewart’s essay yesterday on “the rise of the precariat.” Everything he reports has been thoroughly analyzed and disclosed over the past few years. Most of us with 30-something children know the losing struggle that many of them face – lousy jobs, lousy pay, dubious benefits,
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Weak Economy? ‘They’ Wouldn’t Have It Any Other Way.
Take it from Joe. Nobel laureate economist Joe Stiglitz to be precise. The near-global stagnation witnessed in 2014 is man-made. It is the result of politics and policies in several major economies — politics and policies that choked off demand. In the absence of demand, investment and jobs will fail
Continue readingCuriosityCat: The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade treaty: Evil fruit from Secret talks
It is worth reading the article by Joseph Stiglitz on the problems posed by the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade treaty. Our government is one of those negotiating in confidence a treaty that will substantially effect the livelihood of all Canadians. Stiglitz highlights the problems posed for democracies by the one-sided secrecy
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Stiglitz Casts the Bones and Reads the Entrails of Detroit,
Nobel laureate economist Joe Stiglitz argues that it’s vital not to get misled about the real significance of the bankruptcy of Detroit. Detroit’s most serious problems are confined to the city limits. Elsewhere in the metropolitan area, there is ample economic activity. In suburbs like Bloomfield Hills, Mich., the median
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: After the Fiscal Cliff – The Joe Stiglitz Recipe for American Recovery
In a recent op-ed in The Guardian, Nobel laureate economist Joe Stiglitz lays out his recipe for America’s economic rehabilitation. “…here is what Americans should hope for: a strong “jobs” bill – based on investments in education, health care, technology, and infrastructure – that would stimulate the economy, restore growth,
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Mitt Romney – Class Warrior
Mitt Romney wouldn’t be the first really rich man to enter the White House. But, as Robert Reich points out, he’d certainly be a lot different. America has had hugely wealthy presidents before — think of Teddy Roosevelt and his distant cousin, Franklin D. Roosevelt; or John F. Kennedy, beneficiary
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: For Liberals, the Way Forward is the Way Back
If the Liberals are ever coming back, and that’s a lot more iffy than many of them want to admit, it will be under a leader determined to reverse the party’s corrosive slide to the right. That would mean a leader willing to take up the cause of malignant inequality
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