Category Archives: Social policy

When “Job Creators” Create Lousy Jobs

On the increased reliance on short term, out of state labor.

What the Modern World Owes Slavery (It’s More Than Back Wages)

It’s tempting to turn our eyes from how the economics of slavery operated, but that system represented a huge amount of what one would now call the capital assets of that era, and some of the ways in which slaves were exploited are not often recognized in modern accounts.

This entry was posted in Guest Post, Social policy, Social values, The dismal science on February 24, 2014 by Yves Smith.

Yanis Varoufakis: Can the Internet Democratize Capitalism?

Yves here. Trust me, you must read this post. In its entirety. Varoufakis discusses the operation of “liberal democracy” as opposed to “classical democracy,”. and argues that voter apathy is a feature, not a bug. But the real meat is in his discussion of how the economic rights of laborers has changed over time and how that has had profound implications for democracy.

Will a $10 Minimum Wage Get All Working Americans Out of Poverty?

Yves here. This Real News Network segment discusses what many readers know all too well, that even a $10 minimum wage fails to provide an adequate standard of living, particularly for parents.

Correcting the Poor: The Civilizing Impulses of Homo Corporatus and Private Charities

Yves here. Lordie, anyone who has ever been on a limited income will recognize this charity as yet another version of “let them eat cake.”

This entry was posted in Guest Post, Income disparity, Social policy, Social values on February 21, 2014 by Yves Smith.

Yes, Virginia, You Pay Subsidies Not Just to Banks but to Flood-Prone Homes of the Rich

You are supporting the habits of the rich in more ways than you know, including their love of water views.

This entry was posted in Global warming, Income disparity, Social policy, Social values on February 19, 2014 by Yves Smith.

Matt Stoller: Greta Krippner’s “Capitalizing on Crisis” Describes Real Origins of Financial Deregulation

ves here. Having lived through some of these developments, I concur with Krippner’s observation that financial deregulation was well underway prior to the Reagan era and the most important driver was interest rate volatility, which wreaked havoc with interest rate caps and other policies that made sense only if inflation stayed within a limited and not all that high range. But similar deregulatory forces were underway in the securities industry side as well.

This entry was posted in Banking industry, Guest Post, Regulations and regulators, Social policy on February 18, 2014 by Yves Smith.

Ireland, Europe, and the U.S. and the Financial Crooks: Interview with Michael Hudson

Michael Hudson discusses austerity in Ireland, how US economic policy has affected Ireland, Europe and the rest of the world as well as how the various political parties in Ireland have mishandled the economic crisis.

How To Make Higher Education Free Without New Taxes Or More Government Spending

The headline sounds too good to be true, right?

This entry was posted in Politics, Social policy, Social values on February 15, 2014 by Yves Smith.

Economics is Applied Morality

The ignorance of many highly experienced economists to the moral foundations of their work is quite alarming.

This entry was posted in Guest Post, Social policy, Social values, The dismal science on February 13, 2014 by Yves Smith.

Over 1 in 6 Men in Prime Working Years Don’t Have a Job

A new Wall Street Journal story on how many men aged 25 to 54 can’t find work, fails to mention but nevertheless shellacks an embarrassing New York Fed paper released earlier this week.

Ignacio Portes: How the Left Underestimates Chile’s Right-Wing Keynesians

Yves here. Please welcome Igancio Portes to NC. He’s a sophisticated young writer who has a sharp eye for power dynamics and is keenly interested in why the left (the genuine left as opposed to the fake version we have in the US) so often fails to achieve its intended results when it gets control of a government. He’ll be providing posts from time to time on Latin America, which is too often covered in a cursory and propagandized manner in the mainstream English language press.

Are the Davos Men Getting a Bit Nervous?

Normally I try not to pay much attention to Davos because it is meant to reinforce the idea that plutocracy is simply a manifestation of natural aristocracy.

Gar Alperovitz on Mondragon and the Potential of Worker Owned Co-ops Economy

Gar Alperovitz, professor of economics at the University of Maryland, speaks on Real News Network about the potential and limits of worker cooperatives like Mondragon.

This entry was posted in Social policy, Social values on January 27, 2014 by Yves Smith.