Lonesome Hobo Economics: The Bar Tab Will Have To Be Paid
The Congressional Budget Office announcement of a nearly $10 Trillion price tag on government borrowing for the next decade has sent a shiver up the spine of the most committed liberals. Some time ago economist pundits were debating the 'multiplier' effect of the stimulus.
Lenin and Marxist Economics
All Lenin’s theoretical contributions to Marxist economics were meant as interventions in the struggle for correct revolutionary practice; they were not dissertations developing Marxist economics as such. The contributions are far-ranging, but are located within a common perspective that characterized Lenin, namely his view of the revolution as a concrete project.
In Support of Public Options
The capitalist crisis is worldwide engulfing every capitalist country on every continent. While the crisis impacts in some ways on the economies of the socialist countries, it is not the same as a capitalist crisis. The main impact comes from the fact that the socialist countries are part of international trade relations and therefore imbalances in trade may occur.
Lonesome Hobo Economics: The 'Recovery Cocktail'?
The job news is confusing. Headlines are announcing 'stabilization,' 'unemployment rate falls,' 'recession is over this month.' But step into your neighborhood bar – or coffee shop if you're on the wagon – and a truer picture emerges, even if its under the influence of alcohol or caffeine. People there agree – there's 'way too much blood in the system.'
Global Trade in a Time of Crisis
With the world well into the second year of a recession whose intensity is unprecedented in the period since the Second World War, two questions are receiving considerable attention.
As the Crisis Grows Deeper, the Wealth Gap Gets Wider
One of capitalism’s unquestionable rules is that, in times of crisis, it’s the poor who suffer the effects of each major budget cut. So even if crises spare no one, the gap gets wider rather than narrower.
Light at the End of the Unemployment Line? (Aug 6th)
Put simply, the President's economic policy works. The bad news is that the necessary politics that made the economic package smaller than it needed to be, i.e. compromise with Republicans, has meant that while it has generated new economic activity and may indeed turn GDP statistics around more quickly than the doomsayers predicted and Republicans hoped, so far the jobs picture remains the 'lagging economic indicator.'
Is the World Capitalist Crisis Over?
On the real economy itself, the most optimistic position is that we may be nearing the bottom of the crisis, that things are unlikely to get worse, which is very different of course from saying that things are back to “normal.”
Cash for Clunkers Program Works
After a wildly successful start, the federal government's 'cash for clunkers' program appears to be on track for renewal this week. An upcoming Senate vote is expected to inject $2 billion more into the program, which sources say has already helped to sell some 180,000 new cars since its implementation late last month.
Book Review: When China Rules the World
“When you’re alone and life is making you lonely, you can always go: downtown.” So warbled the British singer, Petula Clark in the 1960s. However, today if solitude is your constant companion, I would suggest that you purchase a copy of this riveting book and read it on the bus and in airports.
