Cheapflation and the Rise of Inflation Inequality in 2021-2023
Big companies victimized poor consumers via cheapflation: imposing greater price increases on low price goods than higher priced items
Read more...Category Archives: The destruction of the middle class
Local Decline and Populism
Would prettying up small city high streets in decline ward off dreaded right wing populism?
Read more...Boeing Faces Cash Crunch and Ratings Downgrade as Machinists Union Goes on Strike
Boeing is in a staredown with its machinists’ union over pay and other issues. With downgrade possible, what are the odds of a bailout?
Read more...The EU Retreats Further into a World of Self-Delusion
Mario Draghi calls for Europe, decimated by self-inflicted energy crisis and social austerity, to go on borrowing spree to pay for endless fight against Russia.
Read more...Is US Policy Saving the Dollar or Destroying It?
How the global economy is being restructured, in no small measure due to inept, self-destructive policy moves that undermine dollar use in trade.
Read more...The First Year of Georgia’s Medicaid Work Requirement Is Mired in Red Tape
How Georgia’s Medicaid work rules are operating as planned.
Read more...Can We Afford the Welfare State?
Unpacking why the obstacle to preserving the welfare state is not national income or demographics but rentiers increasing their take.
Read more...Official US Poverty Rate Declined in 2023, but More People Faced Economic Hardship
The arguably better official measure of US poverty says the poor are getting poorer.
Read more...The Persistent Human Costs of Deindustrialization: Lessons from the Collapse of the British Coal Industry
Deindustrialization has terrible consequences to the communities suffering from shut-downs, including future generations.
Read more...Wall Street Journal Tries to Analyze Not-Great Data on US Immigration, Generating Reader Pushback
An attempt by the Wall Street Journal to mine data on immigration falls short by not providing strong enough caveats.
Read more...Naked Capitalism’s Skunk Party Manifesto Finds a Home in the New Kentucky Party
The Skunk Party Manifesto explained how the best political system money can buy is great for its customers and lousy for the rest of us
Read more...This Labor Day, Working Families’ Earned Social Security Benefits Are at Risk
A reminder that it would not be hard to “save” and even expand Social Security, save the reluctance to tax the rich a smidge more.
Read more...Will There Be a General Strike on May Day, 2028?
UAW President Shawn Fain’s call for a general strike: Background, critique, and possibilities
Read more...How Responsible Is the Rental Housing Cartel for the Explosion in Homelessness?
Since collusion in pricing and vacancy hit critical mass in 2016, homelessness has soared.
Read more...The Problem with AI
Why AI is likely to have more limited use than boosters anticipate, particularly in replacing professionals like teachers and accountants.
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