To really appreciate what a travesty the TPP is, and the scandal of the failure of our Congress to reject it, and the “Fast Track Authority“ sought for it, out of hand, I’m going to list 23 negative consequences.
New Economic Perspectives - MMT
Consent of the Governed: Stop the Emerging TPP Tyranny!
by Joe Firestone • • 0 Comments
Consent of the Governed: Stop the Emerging Tyranny!
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments … Continue reading →
New Economic Perspectives - MMT
Prosecutorial Discretion: Plenty for Me; But None for Thee
by Joe Firestone • • 0 Comments
It’s plain to any sentient observer that both this Administration, and any others you care to name, have habitually targeted certain crimes and criminals and let others off the hook.
New Economic Perspectives - MMT
Is US An Oligarchy Yet?
by Joe Firestone • • 0 Comments
In the United States, our findings indicate, the majority does not rule — at least not in the causal sense of actually determining policy outcomes. When a majority of citizens disagrees with economic elites and/or with organized interests, they generally lose. Moreover, because of the strong status quo bias built into the U.S. political system, even when fairly large majorities of Americans favor policy change, they generally do not get it.
New Economic Perspectives - MMT
Did Canada’s Middle Class Just Get More Affluent Than the US’s, or Did that Happen Long Ago?
by Joe Firestone • • 0 Comments
Since the United States has lower taxes than most comparable nations, but delivers much less in safety net and entitlement benefits, it’s pretty clear that the measure used in the study reported on by The Times overestimates the real median income of the US middle class in comparison with the middle classes of other comparable nations
Contributors- Economic and Financial, Must Read, William Black
What Now? Joe Firestone – New Economic Perspectives
by Joe Firestone • • 0 Comments
Today, John Boehner bowed to the inevitable logic of the impending political season and placed a “clean” debt ceiling increase bill on the floor of the House. At this writing, the bill passed with 28 Republican and 193 Democratic votes. Now it moves on to the Senate, where it is expected to pass in time to allow the Treasury to keep issuing debt instruments.
Contributors- Economic and Financial, Must Read, William Black
Professor Krugman’s Nervous Tic? Joe Firestone – New Economic Perspectives
by Joe Firestone • • 0 Comments
Professor Krugman’s Nervous Tic?
Paul Krugman’s recent post makes some good points about the myth of the undeserving poor. But does he have a nervous tic? When criticizing conservative economic views, doesn’t he always seem to genuflect slightly to conservative opinion in order to … Continue reading →
Contributors- Economic and Financial, Must Read
Are Deaths Due to Lack of Health Insurance Seriously Underestimated? Update – New Economic Perspectives
by Joe Firestone • • 0 Comments
Lately, I’ve had the feeling that “progressive” journalists and commentators too often pull their punches in calling attention to social problems, by underestimating the magnitude of problem-related statistics such as the unemployment rate and the number of fatalities due to lack of health insurance in the United States. My theory about this is that “progressives” are being defensive in their approach and bending over backwards to give the right wing the benefit of the doubt by understating numbers out of an abundance of caution.
Contributors- Economic and Financial, Must Read, William Black
Are Deaths Due to Lack of Health Insurance Seriously Underestimated? New Economic Perspectives
by Joe Firestone • • 0 Comments
Since 2010, those consequences have included anywhere from approximately 150,000 to 187,000 fatalities due to lack of health insurance. That’s unconscionable and immoral,
Contributors- Economic and Financial, Must Read, William Black
Bernie Sanders: Self-shackled Champion of the People – New Economic Perspectives
by Joe Firestone • • 0 Comments
I gotta love Bernie Sanders, because he seems so much like people I grew up with and like myself too, and he also seems to have that passion for equality and democracy that is so important for the future of America. Sometimes I think Bernie is one of the few champions of the people left in Congress. But I also think that along with other progressives he has constructed chains for himself that prevent him from being as effective a champion of the people as he otherwise might be.
