Tag Archives: the economy

The Greece and Italy Crash and Burn

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Santi Tafarella

Greece appears to be going down, and now the Italians are panicking. This is in London’s Telegraph today (written by its international business editor, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard): Italy’s former premier Romano Prodi said the EU risks instant contagion to Spain, Italy, … Continue reading →

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On the Road to Weimar: Pat Buchanan’s New Book

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Santi Tafarella

Pat Buchanan thinks America’s headed for Weimar-era levels of inflation. At least, this is what Jeffrey Kuhner claims in a favorable review of Buchanan’s new book, Suicide of a Superpower (2011), for the Washington Times: Mr. Buchanan states that the exploding debt threatens … Continue reading →

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Larry Summers on the Debt Ceiling Debate

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Santi Tafarella

I’m not a fan of Larry Summers. He’s part of the reason the banking crisis turned out as bad as it did. He supported, for example, deregulation of the banking industry throughout the Clinton and Bush years, and, when he had the … Continue reading →

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Max Keiser on the “Blind Cult of America”

Posted on April 28, 2011 by Santi Tafarella

Max Keiser’s money program is uneven in quality and alarmist catnip for gold bugs, but this recent episode is mildly entertaining (though I don’t like his anti-intellectual populist posturing against Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman). Max Keiser presents himself as a truth-teller bravely … Continue reading →

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Deconstructing Barack Obama (the Brand) and America (the Plutocracy)

Posted on March 13, 2011 by Santi Tafarella

Lifting the Veil is an unusually well done compilation documentary. Though long, I ended up watching the whole thing at YouTube, and found it so compelling I’m posting it here. You might find yourself unable to stop watching it as well. I can’t … Continue reading →

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John Boehner: If jobs are lost “so be it.”

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Santi Tafarella

The Los Angeles Times reports that the Repubican Speaker of the House, John Boehner, made the following retort to job losses from recently proposed federal budget cuts: “so be it.” Here’s the Los Angeles Times: House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) dismissed concerns that the spending cuts … Continue reading →

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America + Rule By and For the Rich = Democratic Plutocracy

Posted on January 2, 2011 by Santi Tafarella

Over the past decade in the United States, why hasn’t income-based resentment politics been a broader cultural phenomenon? In other words, why don’t the working and middle classes hate the rich in more obvious ways than they do? Is it that they have … Continue reading →

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For Whom the Bell Tolls: Is Spain Too Big to Fail? Are We?

Posted on November 25, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

The following was in the New York Times on the day before Thanksgiving, 2010. It describes with stark clarity the vicious debt whirlpool that Spain is in the grips of. I wonder what Paul Krugman would say about this. I suppose that, someday, the United States could find … Continue reading →

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Think Mind Wells, Not Oil Wells: Is Where You Live a Brain Drain or a Brain Collector?

Posted on November 23, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

If you want to be hopeful about the human future (including America’s), think about this: free minds and strong exchange economies are positively correlated. It’s not that there is a one-to-one relationship between them, but wherever you have free minds the odds are good, … Continue reading →

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Paul Krugman 101: Paul Krugman Explains America’s Catch-22 Economy

Posted on November 5, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

Now that the Republicans have won the House of Representatives, Paul Krugman predicts their next moves: They’ll refuse to do anything to boost the economy now, claiming to be worried about the deficit, while simultaneously increasing long-run deficits with irresponsible … Continue reading →

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Blue Skies?

Posted on December 4, 2009 by Santi Tafarella

The New York Times today on the surprisingly good jobs numbers: The sudden and unexpected improvement surprised even the most optimistic forecasters. Instead of yet another six-figure job loss, only 11,000 jobs disappeared last month and instead of another rise in … Continue reading →

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