Category Archives: Economic fundamentals

Did Canada’s Middle Class Just Get More Affluent Than the US’s, or Did that Happen Long Ago?

The media understates how much the prosperity of the US middle class has fallen on a relative basis.

MMT Does Do Policy

Randy Wray clears up some of the “bizarre” claims that have been made about Modern Monetary Theory

Pettis: 11 Reasons China Can’t Escape from Its Debt Overhang

China’s increasing debt level has goosed the economy. What form might the hangover take?

Philip Pilkington: Unemployment and Wages in the US – A Tale of Institutional Change

A fresh look at historical data shows how the relationship between unemployment and wage growth changed radically starting in 1981.

Richard Alford: Has the Fed Learned Monetary Policy Lessons from the Financial Crisis?

Yves here. This post is a devastating critique of current Fed policy. But Alford sets his stage carefully before delivering his conclusions, so don’t be deceived by the tone of the early sections.

Wolf Richter: America’s Structural Unemployment Crisis in Two Charts

The enormous number of people who work only part-time for economic reasons is one the tragedies of the unemployment crisis in this country. And that started before the financial crisis.

How the West Looks to Carve Up the Ukraine

Michael Hudson gives an update on the West’s resource grab in the Ukraine

The Jobs Report For March 2014: After A Long Winter, The Economy Plays Some Catchup

Mr. Market was not happy with today’s jobs report. While it was not that bad, the ADP report earlier in the week had led investors to hope for better details.

IMF Imposing Even Tougher Austerity Conditions on New Loans

How the IMF has been devising even nastier versions of its austerity hairshirt in recent years.

Satyajit Das: The New Colonialism – Businesses Refuse Spend a Few Cents More Per Garment to End Labor Exploitation in Emerging Markets

Yves here. Das wrote this post to commemorate the anniversary of the collapse of Rana Plaza in Bangladesh, which killed over 1100 garment workers.

Bill Black: Deflation Dementia

Yves here. This piece by Bill Black not only does a great job of kneecapping some typically poor MSM reporting, but it’s also valuable as a high-level overview of the insanity of European economic policies.

Michael Hudson on the Real Logic of the $14+ Billion Ukraine Rescue Package

Yves here. Michael Hudson gives a short, persuasive explanation of the real reason the US and the IMF are bailing out the Ukraine. Hint: it’s not the reason you read in the American press.

Philip Pilkington: How Krugman’s Addiction to the ISLM Model Has Led to Repeated Bad Forecasts

Some people often ask why I complain about Krugman. “Hey Phil, Krugman is a good guy. He likes government spending. You like government spending. Therefore you must like Krugman,” says our budding young Socrates. Well, I’ll tell you why….

A U.S.-Saudi Move to Lower Oil Prices to Hurt Russia?

Could the U.S. unleash a flood of oil from the strategic petroleum reserve that would drive down prices in order to punish Russia?