Some ways to occupy our future...and our economy BAD ADVICE AND THE FINANCIAL CRASH FORECLOSURE
& HOUSING NEWS WHY NOT A PUBLIC OPTION IN BANKING? NUMBER BUNCHING: WHAT THINGS COST BAD ADVICE & THE FINANCIAL CRASH BORN
AGAIN ECONOMICS WHAT A REAL STIMULUS MIGHT LOOK LIKE ALL PUBLIC WORKS ARE NOT THE SAME HOW BUSINESS SCHOOLS HURT AMERICA'S ECONOMY SHORT HISTORY OF THE ECONOMIC AMERICAN
Six good movies about the financial crisis Inside Job: Dissecting the 2008 fiscal disaster A video that every boss should be required to watch
11 telling economic charts from 2011 CHART OF FEDERAL DEBT RELATIVE TO GDP FROM 1900 ON HOW THE FISCAL CRISIS CAME ABOUT SOME FACTS ABOUT ASSISTED HOUSING A FEW FACTS ABOUT AUTO WORKERS GOVERNMENT CONTRACTORS WITH THE WORST RECORD OF MISCONDUCT, 1995 TO PRESENT EVEN CORRECTING FOR INFLATION, BAILOUT BIGGER THAN MARSHALL PLAN, LOUISIANA PURCHASE, RACE TO THE MOON, S&L CRISIS, KOREAN WAR, NEW DEAL, INVASION OF IRAQ, VIETNAM WAR & NASA COMBINED EVERY SOUTHERN STATE EXCEPT FLORIDA & VIRGINIA ARE AMONG THE 15 POOREST STATES FOOD STAMP USE APPROACHING RECORD HIGH U.S. INCOME GAP SETS POSTWAR RECORD INDICATORS: ROBBER BARONS STILL DOING WELL AMERICAN INCOMES DECLINED DURING BUSH REGIME PERCENTAGE OF POOR AMERICANS IN SEVERE POVERTY REACHES 32 YEAR HIGH REAGAN-BUSH-CLINTON-BUSH YEARS: BRINGING INEQUALITY TO PRE-DEPRESSION LEVELS A SHORT HISTORY OF THE ECONOMIC AMERICAN
COMMUNITY CURRENCY CONSUMERS THE CONSUMERIST GUIDE TO FIGHTING BACK HOW TO ESCAPE CORPORATE PHONE HELL & SPEAK TO A LIVE PERSON OTHER WAYS TO REACH A LIVE PERSON STILL
MORE HUMAN CODES SPY
CHIPS WHO'S OUTSOURCING IN YOUR STATE COOPERATIVES NATIONAL
COOPERATIVE BUSINESS ASSOCIATION CORPORATE
PERSONHOOD CREDIT UNIONS ECONOMICS  EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP DATA FOOD INFO LIVING WAGE MEDIA MONEY SMALL BUSINESS STEADY STATE
ECONOMICS TAXES TIME BANKS USURY WEALTH WORK People Helping People: A History of the Maine Credit Union Movement The End of Loser Liberalism: Making Markets Progressive is a new book by Dean Baker, one of the wisest voices in poitical journalism today. You can get a free download here Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future. Robert Reich explains what's really happened to the American economy There's No Such Thing as a Free Market Plunder: The Crime of Our Times - Investigative film by Danny Schechter explores how the financial crisis was built on a foundation of criminal activity. Schechter speaks with bankers involved in these activities, respected economists, insider experts, top journalists including Paul Krugman, and onvicted white-collar criminal, Sam Antar, who blows the whistle on intentionally dishonest practices. Zombie Economics: How Dead Ideas Still Walk Among Us by John Quiggin. "In “Zombie Economics”, Professor Quiggin takes aim at a number of “dead” ideas – the Great Moderation; Efficient Markets Hypotheses; Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium; Trickle Down Economics; Privatisation. The central thesis underlying “Zombie Economics” is that the global financial crisis exposed the weaknesses of these ideas, which underpin free market or neo-liberal economics. Five books on the Mondragon cooperatives: A review Winner Take All Politics: How the super rich got so much richer Mugging Main Street by Robert Scheer All the Devils are Here: the housing market and Wall Street and what happened
The reality is that the deficit was caused by two wars — unpaid for. It was caused by huge tax breaks for the wealthiest people in this country. It was caused by a recession as result of the greed, recklessness and illegal behavior on Wall Street. And if those are the causes of the deficit, I will be damned if we’re going to balance the budget on backs of the elderly, the sick, the children, and the poor. -Bernie Sanders There is an evil which ought to be guarded against in the indefinite accumulation of property from the capacity of holding it in perpetuity by…corporations. The power of all corporations ought to be limited in this respect. The growing wealth acquired by them never fails to be a source of abuses. - James Madison |
Six good movies about the financial crisis Report: 5.6 million have switched banks in past 90 days Why conservative economics kills the economy Some facts about food stamps the Republicans won't tell you The bonuses you subsidized for the six largest banks were last year the second largest in history How the media fouls up budget reporting Washington legislators considering state bank 11 telling economic charts from 2011 The remarkable public service depression How not to get the economy moving Beyond capitalism: what's possible Two ignored truths about public debt
 CENTER ON BUDGET & POLICY PRIORITIES  Bookshelf: People Helping People: A History of the Maine Credit Union Movement How Germany builds twice as many cars as U.S. and pays its workers twice as much Why people don't trust the Fed The military is a lousy way to create jobs
Some ways to occupy our future...and our economy
Workers with college degrees have indeed, on average, done better than workers without, and the gap has generally widened over time. But highly educated Americans have by no means been immune to income stagnation and growing economic insecurity. Wage gains for most college-educated workers have been unimpressive (and nonexistent since 2000), while even the well-educated can no longer count on getting jobs with good benefits. In particular, these days workers with a college degree but no further degrees are less likely to get workplace health coverage than workers with only a high school degree were in 1979. - Paul Krugman A more equal economy would produce big gains for the middle class Study: Income equality spurs economic growth The party's over. What happens now? Why Harvard should claim 1/5th of the blame for the mess we're in Obama's new economic advisor wants still more corporate subsidies The secret the politicians and media won’t tell you: Government is legally required to create jobs How FDR learned to hate what the GOP & Obama are doing to the economy Medicare payments likely to be cut thanks to deficit debacle How the GOP screws you for their rich buddies
Why the NY attorney general's bank probe is important Republicans so bad, even the Economist has turned against them Budget crunch: NYC limiting toilet paper at Cony Island Robert Reich explains the economy in two minutes and fifteen seconds What we could learn about business from the Germans Stocks Of Socialized Countries Have Outperformed U.S. Since Reagan Era Mayors say jobs won't return until 2020. . . How to reform our money system Most Americans have less than $25,000 saved up for retirement. Study: Wal Mart hurts local communities This chart shows every Democratic president between Roosevelt & Obama lowering the fedral debt as a percent of GDP. Every Republican president since Reagan, on the other hand, has raised it.  Another GOP & embedded media lie: 'the government doesn't create jobs' Microcredit: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Union membership drops again.. . and what to do about it Republicans launch war on unions 51 million Americans will do worse under Obama tax bill 2010 Black DC councilmembers agree with Bill Clinton: you can only be poor for five years The wealth of the top 1 percent of households rose, on average, 103 percent (to $18.5 million per household) from 1983 to 2007. The poorest 40 percent of households experienced a 63 percent decline in wealth during the same period (to $2,200 per household). Inflation: the next thing to worry about JOB GROWTH IN U.S. DRIVEN BY STARTUPS SPY SWAP COMPARED WITH WALL STREET CRIMES BUESINESS INSIDER  NEW FINANCIAL BILL EXEMPTS SEC FROM FREEDOM OF INFORMATION LAW PRIVATE BUSINESS PAY CHECKS THE LOWEST PERCENT OF AMERICANS' INCOME EVER CHECKING OUT WHAT BIG CORPORATIONS HAVE DONE TO THE OLD 'HOOD CONGRESS & OBAMA SCREW SMALL BUSINESS WITH AN AVALANCHE OF NEW PAPERWORK TAX AUDITS OF LARGEST CORPORATIONS DECLINE 43% OF WORKERS HAVE LESS THAN $10K IN RETIREMENT FUNDS TOWARDS A STEADY STATE ECONOMY MASSACHUSETTS TO REMOVE FUNDS FROM 3 BANKS TO PROTEST USURY CIA AGENTS HELPED HEDGE FUNDS PLAY THE MARKETS THE THREE HORSEMAN OF THE FISCAL CRISIS COMMODITIES WHISTLEBLOWER VICTIM OF BIZARRE HIT AND RUN  POVERTY REDEFINED BY OBAMA ADMINISTRATION SOCIAL SECURITY SCARE SQUAD MISSTATES FUTURE COLLEGE-HIGH SCHOOL GRAD PAY GAP NOT AS GREAT AS CLAIMED BRITISH CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION SAYS WORKERS SHOULD NOT BE FORCED TO RETIRE INCOME INEQUALITY SOARED OVER PAST 30 YEARS ANOTHER OBAMA CAMPAIGN PROMISE DOWN THE DRAIN BILL AIMS TO CUT TECH FIRMS' BIAS AGAINST AMERICAN WORKERS TOUGH TIMES FOR ENGINEERS: OVER-REPRESENTED IN AL QAEDA; UNDERREPRESENTED IN SEX BRITISH AIRLINES TO CHARGE YOU TO SIT NEXT TO YOUR CHILDREN PAST DECADE HAD WORST ECONOMY IN MODERN TIMES GEITHNER'S NY FEDERAL RESERVE BANK FIDDLED WITH AIG'S GOVERNMENT REPORT TO MAKE IT LOOK BETTER STOP BANKING WITH THE BAD GUYS  THE CAUSES OF RISING INEQUALITY IN AMERICA  HOW TO MAKE AN EASY ONE BILLION DOLLARS FACING OUR HIDDEN WELFARE PROBLEM STUDY: NEARLY HALF OF ALL U.S. CHILDREN WILL USE FOOD STAMPS 2009 BERNANKE SAYS SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE NOT MANDATORY FOUR THINGS THAT WOULD TRULY HELP THE ECONOMY WHY HELPING LOWER INCOME PEOPLE HELPS REVIVE THE ECONOMY WHAT WOULD A ROUT OF THE DOLLAR LOOK LIKE? HUNGER IN AMERICA HITS NEW LEVELS ADMINISTRATION REPORTS STIMULUS BENEFITS IN NON-EXISTENT PLACES CELEBRITY MEDIA BUBBLE JOINS THE RECESSION TORN TARP: TAXPAYERS ABOUT TO LOSE $2.3 BILLION FROM FAILED BAILOUT BOSTON GLOBE FINDS MAJOR MISTAKES, MISSTEPS & MANIPULATION IN STIMULUS JOB COUNT GLEANINGS FROM THE STIMULUS PACKAGE: $9 MILLION FOR A BOSTON FOOTBRIDGE TEN YEARS AGO: CLINTON, SUMMERS, SCHUMER BLOW IT SEVEN QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FINANCIAL INDUSTRY THAT AREN'T BEING ASKED OBAMA'S PROGRAMS FOR WORKERS: ANOTHER STUDY IN NOTHINGNESS THE ECONOMIC MODEL MENTIONED BY NEITHER FOX NOR MSNBC BEN BERNANKE GOES TO COSTLY RESORTS TO PREACH LOWER FEDERAL DEFICITS JAMES GALBRAITH ON THE VIRTUES OF DEFICITS CONGRESSIONAL WATCHDOG CRITICAL OF FORECLOSURE EFFORTS JOSEPH STIGLITZ: WE ARE NOT OUR GDP YOU'RE NOT UNEMPLOYED, YOU'RE JUST A LAGGING INDICATOR ANOTHER HUD SCANDAL: DEPARTMENT TURNED FORECLOSURE WORKOUTS OVER TO WALL STREET PREDATORS LAGGING INDICATORS: 67 BODIES IN DETROIT MORGUE REMAIN UNCLAIMED SOTOMAYOR CHALLENGES MYTH THAT CORPORATIONS ARE PERSONS CREDIT CARD USURERS COME UP WITH NEW WAYS TO HIS CLIENTS INCOMES OF YOUNG IN 8-YEAR NOSE DIVE 27 PERCENT OF NEW YORK BLACKS UNEMPLOYED OR UNDEREMPLOYED TOP EXECS CASH IN ON HUGE STOCK OPTIONS HOMEOWNERS FORCED INTO BEING LANDLORDS BARTERING SOARS IN BAD ECONOMY MIDDLE CLASS JOINING THE POOR ON FOOD STAMPS MADOFF AIDE EXPLAINS HOW IT WAS DONE WHY IS THE MEDIA DOWNPLAYING THE JOB CRISIS? AFL-CIO PUSHING STOCK TRANSFER TAX LOCAL HEROES: SOMEONE IN GOVERNMENT WHO ACTUALLY CARES ABOUT FORECLOSURES WHAT UNDERWEAR TELLS YOU ABOUT THE ECONOMY OBAMA'S FORECLOSURE PROGRAM SUBSIDIZING SUBPRIME LENDERS OBAMA'S PLAN TO HELP HOMEOWNERS IS A BUST UNDERSTANDING THE UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURES UNEMPLOYMENT CHECKS RUNNING OUT FOR 1.5 MILLION AMERICANS HOW JOB LOSS AFFECTS YOUR LIFE EXPECTANCY BOOKSELF: INEQUALITY IS BAD EVEN FOR THOSE AT THE TOP AVOID SOCIALISM OR YOU COULD END UP LIKE NORWAY REAL UNEMPLOYMENT HIGHEST SINCE DEPRESSION 7-11 GROWING DESPITE RECESSION BAILOUT WATCHDOG SAYS TREASURY REJECTS 'COMMON SENSE' WHAT CALIFORNIA COULD HAVE DONE WITH ITS IOUs OBAMITES FINALLY DISCOVER SMALL BUSINESS AN INSTRUCTIVE - IF DEPRESSING - COLLECTION OF CHARTS ON THE ECONOMY BAD ADVICE AND THE FINANCIAL CRASH OBAMA'S FINANCIAL PLAN ISN'T CLOSE TO WHAT THE NEW DEAL DID HOW MUCH SHOULD THE FED BE FED? RENTERS' PLIGHT IGNORED BY CONGRESS THE GOOD & THE BAD IN OBAMA'S FINANCIAL REGULATORY PLAN THREE ESSENTIALS OF FINANCIAL REFORM END OF AN AFFAIR WITH CHRYSLER THE ULTIMATE FORECLOSURE: CITY BOARDS MAN UP IN HOUSE HE LOST DEMOCRATS REFUSE TO END USURY BY BANKS GETTING BAILOUTS DEMOCRATS EXPRESS CONCERN OVER DEALERSHIP CLOSINGS STATE UNEMPLOYMENT FUNDS IN DEEP TROUBLE STATE BUDGET WOES TO GET WORSE THE BANKRUPT APPROACH TO GENERAL MOTORS SIX WAYS THE BAILOUT IS A SCAM OBAMA BACKED AUTO DEALER SLASHING IS NEW BLOW TO STATES WHY ARE CHRYSLER & GM DESTROYING THEIR CUSTOMERS, THE DEALERS? BILLIONS FOR BANKERS; NOT ONE DIME FOR SUNSHINE DODGE COURT OKAYS FORECLOSURE ON GOTTI
ESTATE . . . HOW OFFSHORE TAX HAVENS HELPED CREATE THE CRISIS  AIG BONUSES 2.5 TIMES MORE THAN STATED EARLIER AS AMERICA SHRINKS, CHINA GROWS CAN SBA HANDLE SMALL BUSINESS STIMULUS PACKAGE? CREDIT CARD COMPANIES ABUSE BUSINESSES AND CUSTOMERS WITH HIGH TRANSACTION FEES THE COLLAPSE OF THE MIDDLE CLASS CREDIT CARD COMPANIES ILLEGALLY BLOCKING SOCIAL SECURITY OF DEBTORS UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH TIM GEITHNER WORKERS OF MIXED ETHNICITY PAID LESS THAN WHITES OR BLACKS THE LAW THEY JUST WANT TO FORGET ABOUT, NOT REPEAL THE NEW DEAL WORKED; THE GOP'S DISMANTLING OF IT IS WHAT GOT US INTO THIS TROUBLE WHY IS ONCE CRIMINAL USURY NOW COMMON PRACTICE? THE HUGE FRAUD BEHIND THE FISCAL CRISIS LARRY SUMMERS: A WALKING, TALKING CONFLICT OF INTEREST WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM ITALY ABOUT ECONOMIC COOPERATION HOW THE GEITHNER TOXIC ASSET SCHEME IS ANOTHER BANK SCAM WHAT'S REALLY BEHIND THE AIG BAILOUT HIDDEN PENSION FIASCO MAY FOMENT ANOTHER $1 TRILLION BAILOUT GROWTH IN PRISON SPENDING TOPS ALL BUT MEDICAID INTERVIEW WITH DEAN BAKER, WHO SAW IT COMING ELIMINATING EARMARKS, WEAKENS CONGRESS, STRENGTHENS WHITE HOUSE HOW WRONG YOU CAN BE IN WASHINGTON AND STILL NOT SAY YOU'RE SORRY  TMZ FINDS $1.6 BILLION FOR THE GOVERNMENT THE MEDIA'S ROLE IN THE FISCAL CRISIS FBI WARNED OF MORTGAGE FRAUD EPIDEMIC FIVE YEARS AGO BANK NATIONALIZATION ATTRACTS OBAMA, GOP, ECONOMISTS COMMODITY MARKET PONZI SCHEMES ON THE RISE WHY THE STIMULUS MAY LEAVE THE ECONOMY SOMEWHAT FLAT LOOK WHO PLANS TO MAKE BIG BUCKS OUT OF THE BAILOUT. . . WITH TAXPAYERS SUBSIDIZING IT THINGS THEY DON'T TELL YOU ABOUT THE BAILOUT HOW MUCH YOU'LL GET FROM THE BAILOUT HOW MUCH DID THE BI-PARTY KNOCK OUT OF YOUR SCHOOL SYSTEM'S CONSTRUCTION BUDGET? HOW CLOSE THE WORLD ECONOMY CAME TO COLLAPSING CALVIN & HOBBES GOT IT DOWN YEARS AGO TWO OUT OF FIVE DEMOCRATS BUY INTO GOP TAX CUT MYTH THE CASE FOR NATIONALIZING BANKS BUSH'S APPROACH TO SOCIAL SECURITY PROVED A DISASTER. . .IN ITALY SAVING THE GLOBE VS. GROWING THE ECONOMY WHO'S ON FIRST? AN EXPLORATORY CALCULATION UN CRIME WATCHDOG SAYS DRUG MONEY HELPED IN FISCAL CRISIS THE GOOD AND THE BAD IN OBAMA'S ECONOMIC PLAN BRITS PROVE BAILOUTS DANGEROUS TO THOSE IN POWER AUTO BAILOUT INCLUDES WORKER STRIKE BAN LAUNDERING ILLEGAL FUNDS THROUGH THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM NEARLY TWO THIRDS OF AMERICANS DON'T AGREE WITH OBAMA ON TARP RECESSION GIVES BOOST TO LIBRARIES THE BUDGET SWAMP NOBODY MENTIONS WHAT SORT OF ECONOMISTS DO WE GET? ECONOMY TRASHER GREENSPAN GOT HIS START WITH AYN RAND WAL-MART: NATION'S LEADING UNION BUSTED RAIL TAKES BACK SEAT IN OBAMA STIMULUS PLAN THE PRICE OF FOLLOWING JIM CRAMER'S ADVICE STIMULUS IS FOR SUCKERS: WHAT WE REALLY NEED WHAT A REAL STIMULUS MIGHT LOOK LIKE Sam Smith - Reduce credit card interest. As one politician once put it, "I'd frankly like to see credit cards rates down. I believe that would help stimulate the consumer and get consumer confidence moving again.'' Another politician responded by offering a bill in the Senate to cap credit card interest at 14%. The Senate voted for it 74-19. The first politician was that radical president, George Bush, in 1991. The other politician was that well known progressive, Alfonze D'Amato. Why are Obama and the Democrats more conservative than Daddy Bush and D'Amato? - Start a movement to nationalize banks. Progressives led by Robert LaFollette did this in the 1930s, giving FDR cover for his more moderate solutions. Today, all the political pressure is coming from Wall Street, which tilts policies in that direction. - All measures must put the interest of the ordinary citizen first. Neither the GOP nor the Democrats are doing that. - Deemphasize tax cuts. They are far less effective than many think. - Emphasize programs that will cheer people up and where they can see things changing for the better. Among the Wall Street bailout scam's many faults was that no one could tell what was happening as a result. Good economies need optimism. - Use revenue sharing. It's a quick way to get money down to the states and cities and to the people who live there. Sure, some of it will get corrupted but far less than is already happening with the phony stimulus packages. The upside is that citizens have a better idea of what is being done on their behalf and have some say in how it is done. - Fund public works project that have large spin-off benefits and which will be heavy in blue collar employment. These would include new mass transit service and a massive growth of America's rail system. It would deemphasize fixing up existing systems because the spin off benefits are far less. Would it include the much discussed new energy projects? We haven't seen any serious discussion of this. What is the blue collar employment potential of such projects? - Institute a shared equity program for homeowners in distress under which the federal government buys a portion of the mortgage, renegotiates interest rates with the lenders and then gets its part of the equity back when the house is sold. A similar program could be used for building new homes. - Decentralize decisions and negotiations on foreclosures and real estate interest rates, using local courts and similar bodies as was done in the 1930s. - Give the government preferred stock in companies it aids. At one point in the New Deal, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation owned bank shares that would be worth at least $20 billion today. NADER: TIME TO CHALLENGE CORPORATE PERSONHOOD IN COURT THE MYTH OF AMERICAN CAPITALISM 2008 FED REFUSES TO REVEAL RECIPIENTS OF BAILOUT THE CRASH OF AMERICAN IMAGINATION WHAT'S HAPPENING TO THE MIDDLE CLASS? CHINESE BARGAIN HUNTERS CHECKING OUT U.S. REAL ESTATE HOW CHINA AND HONG KONG HAVE HANDLED THE FINANCIAL CRISIS WHAT BANKS, ACADEMICS, THE MEDIA AND POLITICIANS DON'T TELL YOU ABOUT MONEY THE SUB PRIME CASE FOR BLAMING IT ALL ON SUB PRIMES THE BANKING SYSTEM IS REALLY BROKEN SMALL BANKS ANGRY WITH BAILOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING TO THE MIDDLE CLASS  Divided by the CPI (which has been understated for decades) the "adjusted" Median Household Income has barely grown at all since 1973. . Do you think the strapped middle-class family feels better when hearing that inflation is "only" 4%, instead of 11.6%, as measured prior to 1983? Not likely. Understated inflation does not help remove the sting of declining purchasing power. It just adds to the confusion and desperation. . .  Americans have been slowly transferring ownership of their homes to the banking system over the last 50+ years. These figures would look much worse if the roughly 1/3 of homes owned "free and clear" (mostly by seniors) were removed from the data, but you can see the trend is toward less equity and more debt. This is not a sign of a prospering middle-class. WHY WASHINGTON CAN'T HANDLE DETROIT'S PROBLEM PAULSON THREATENED CONGRESS WITH MARTIAL LAW IF IT DIDN'T PASS BANK SWEETHEART DEAL THREE CITIES SEEKING FEDERAL FUNDS LANGUAGE: THE BAILOUT IS FAR MORE FASCIST THAN SOCIALIST BILL CLINTON'S ROLE IN THE FINANCIAL COLLAPSE TWO WOMEN WHO TOOK ON THE WALL STREET TOUGH GUYS THE BAILOUT: WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? WHAT ECONOMISTS DON'T UNDERSTAND THE PROFANITY OF CASINO CAPITALISM BANKERS ALREADY RIPPING OFF A TENTH OF THE BAILOUT FOR THEMSELVES THE ESTABLISHMENT THAT DESTROYED AMERICA'S FIRST REPUBLIC DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN: THE S&L BAILOUT REVISITED BANKS PRINT MONEY; WHY CAN'T THE GOVERNMENT? HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL IS FAR WORSE THAN YOU THOUGHT SHIPPING COSTS CUTTING GLOBALIZATION CORPORATE EXECS ABUSING PENSION PLANS FOR OWN BENEFIT LAS VEGAS ON THE HUDSON. . . AND WHAT WE PAID FOR IT THE MYTH OF AMERICAN CAPITALISM WHY YOU CAN'T BLAME THE HOUSING CRISIS ON POOR HOMEOWNERS OBAMA FINALLY COMES UP WITH SOME IDEAS FOR THE CRISIS NINE WAYS A DEPRESSION WILL HELP NEW YORKERS AN ECONOMIC HITMAN EXPLAINS HOW THE NSA & US POLICY TOWARDS POOR COUNTRIES REALLY WORKS LATIN LEFT HAVING FUN WITH 'COMRADE BUSH' CUSTOMERS FLOCK TO NATIONALIZED BANK; FREE MARKETEERS CRY THAT'S NOT FAIR  FANNIE MAE FORGIVES LOAN AFTER 90 YEAR OLD WOMAN SHOOTS HERSELF REPRESENTATIVE SAYS MEMBERS WERE THREATENED WITH MARTIAL LAW IF THEY DIDN'T PASS BILL PAULSON PRIVATIZING BAILOUT OPERATION TRASHING OUT ON FORECLOSURE ALLEY SICKEST BAILOUT STORY OF THE DAY. STATES ACT TO CUSHION WALL STREET MELTDOWN $700 BILLION FIGURE PULLED OUT OF THIN AIR HOUSE TOSSES $25 BILLION TO CAR MAKERS; STILL NOTHING FOR HOMEOWNERS UNDER PLAN, PAULSON COULD PAY OFFENDERS TO SOLVE THE CRISIS THE GREEN VIEW OF THE FISCAL CRISIS LIVE ON IMAGINARY MONEY; DIE BY IMAGINARY MONEY YOU GOT SOME BAD ASSETS? ADD THEM TO THE FEDERAL SHITPILE
THE LIST: WHAT A TRILLION DOLLARS WILL BUY BUSH PROPOSES COUP BY EMERGENCY LEGISLATION  BUSH WANTS TO BAIL OUT FOREIGN BANKS, TOO CLINTON-BUSH HOUSING BUBBLE BIGGEST IN A CENTURY  HUGE BONUSES PROMISED TO SOME LEHMAN STAFF, OTHERS LEFT WITHOUT PAY BUSH OFFERS GAMBLING INSURANCE
TO THE RICH THE INVISIBLE & UNAIDED VICTIMS OF THE FISCAL CRISIS DEJA VU: NO FAULT CAPITALISM MEETS LEMON SOCIALISM AL CRISIS WHY THE DEMOCRATS HAVEN'T BEEN MORE HELPFUL WHAT THE BRITISH LEFT THINKS ABOUT THE FISCAL CRISIS REAGAN GAVE BIRTH TO TODAY'S FISCAL CRISES 47% OF WORKERS UNABLE TO SAVE ANYTHING NEARLY ONE THIRD OF HOME OWNERS OWE MORE THAN HOUSE IS WORTH DEALING WITH THE ECONOMIC FREE FALL THE LIST: RECENT STORE CLOSINGS VOLUNTARY FORECLOSURES RAISES NEW BANKING THREAT LIVE ON IMAGINARY MONEY; DIE BY IMAGINARY MONEY One of the important things not being discussed about the financial crisis is that the money that is gone was not real in the first place, something we have mentioned from time to time. . . Sam Smith's Great American Political Repair Manual, 1994 - The total federal state, local and private debt in this country in 1996 was around $14 trillion. The actual money supply was just under $6 trillion. So what happened to the rest of the money? Most of it doesn't exist and never did. We call this imaginary money debt. This debt is money that we (as individuals, companies and government) have borrowed, primarily from private sources. As Bob Blain, a professor at Southern Illinois University, put it: "Most debt is not the result of people borrowing money; it is the result of people not being able to repay what they owed [to banks or individuals] at some earlier time. Instead of declaring them bankrupt, creditors just add more to their debt." This new debt is called interest. Many people think the idea of the government printing money is shameful, yet our laws permit private financial institutions to create money all the time. Every time you fail to pay off your credit card, you're letting a banker print some more money. You're not the first, of course. For example, when the Congress met in February 1790 to figure out how to pay off the Revolutionary War debt of $75 million, Alexander Hamilton strongly advocated issuing debt certificates and using them as money. Congressman James Jackson of Georgia warned that this would "settle upon our posterity a burden which [citizens] can neither bear nor relieve themselves from. . . Though our present debt be but a few millions, in the course of a single century it may be multiplied to an extent we dare not think of." An alternative to Congress borrowing money to pay off its debt would have been to have created the $75 million, using Congress's constitutional power to "coin money and regulate the value thereof." Instead Congress began a long tradition of borrowing the money that -- five trillion dollars of debt later -- many believe we can neither bear nor relieve ourselves from. In the early 19th century, the little British Channel island of Guernsey faced a smaller but similar problem. Its sea walls were crumbling. its roads were too narrow, and it was already heavily in debt. There was little employment and people were leaving for elsewhere. Instead of going still further into debt, the island government simply issued 4,000 pounds in state notes to start repairs on the sea walls as well as for other needed public works. More issues followed and twenty years later the island had, in effect, printed nearly 50,000 pounds. Guernsey had more than doubled its money supply without inflation. A report of the island's States Office in June 1946 notes that island leaders frequently commented that these public works could not have been carried out without the issues, that they had been accomplished without interest costs, and that as a result "the influx of visitors was increased, commerce was stimulated, and the prosperity of the Island vastly improved." By 1943, nearly a half million pounds worth of notes belonged to the public and was so valued that much of it was being hoarded in people's homes, awaiting the island's liberation from the Germans. About the same time that Guernsey started to fix its sea walls, the town of Glasgow, Scotland, borrowed 60,000 pounds to build a fruit market. The Guernsey sea walls were repaid in ten years, the fruit market loan took 139. In the first part of the 20th century, Glasgow paid over a quarter million pounds in interest alone on this ancient project. How did Guernsey avoid
the fiscal disaster that conventional economics prescribed for
it? First and foremost by understanding that when you build roads
or sea walls or colleges or houses, you are not reducing your
society's wealth. In fact, if you do it right, you are creating
something that will add to its wealth. The money that was created
was simply backed by public works rather than gold or "full
faith and credit." It was, in fact, based on something more
solid than the dollar bills in our wallets today. In contrast,
tacking on an interest charge to public works -- as we do in
the US -- creates no new wealth, but merely transfers claims
on existing wealth from debtors to creditors. CLINTON-BUSH HOUSING BUBBLE BIGGEST IN A CENTURY Sam Smith, Progressive Review - According to a study by Yale economist Robert J Shiller cited in his book, "Irrational Exuberance," between 1890 and 1990 the sale of the average existing house (not new construction) rose no more that 25% over the inflation corrected value for 1890. In the 1990s, beginning in the Clinton years, that changed dramatically. Between 1997 and 2006 the typical house doubled in value of over the 1890 average. In other words, the Clinton-Bush housing bubble was greatest in over a hundred years. The bright side is that if the average house drops by 50% we'll be right back where we were in 1997. Throughout the preceding century, houses varied from 85-125 percent of the 1890 average value with the exception of the depression, which for housing actually began during World War I. By 1920,housing prices were down to about 65% of 1890 levels and then began to slowly rise. By 1940 they were back to the 1890 figure. In other words, housing devaluation can be a harbinger of worse to come WEST COAST FOOD BANK SEES DEMAND RISE 80% THIS SPRING HOW SUBPRIME POLITICIANS, LOBBYISTS AND BANKERS CAUSED CRISIS AIRLINES THINKING ABOUT PASSENGERS AS FREIGHT NOT CUSTOMERS TEN WAYS AMERICANS ARE HURTING, NOT WHINING CORPORADOS PACKING LESS IN SAME SIZE BOXES HOUSING CRASH DISASTROUS FOR RETIREMENT SAVINGS SHOPPING CENTER CONSTRUCTION BOOMS AS STORES CLOSE EXPANDING FREE TRADE MAY BE NEARING END HOME ELECTRICITY PRICES SOARING NUMBER OF MARRIED MOTHERS IN WORK FORCE DROPS THE ROLE OF SPECULATION IN CURRENT PRICE INCREASES TIP DEPENDANT WORKERS FEELING THE SLUMP CALIFORNIA FORECLOSURES UP 327% WASHINGTON & BANKS USING FISCAL CRISIS TO LIMIT STATE REGULATORY ROLE FEARS MOUNTING OVER BANKS' USE OF FED'S LOANS  IMF SAYS MORTGAGE CRISIS IS LARGEST FINANCIAL SHOCK SINCE THE GREAT DEPRESSION OREGONIAN FINDS JPMORGAN CHASE MEMO ON HOW TO SNEAK IN SUBPRIME LOANS HOME EQUITY LOANS NEXT CRISIS? HUD WARNS LANDLORDS IT MAY RUN OUT OF HOUSING ASSISTANCE FUNDS BY FALL SOARING FOOD PRICES CAUSING CROP THEFTS, FOOD TRUCK HIJACKINGS FED'S RESCUE HALTED A DERIVATIVES CHERNOBYL THE FED'S VERSION OF LEMON SOCIALISM THE FISCAL CRISIS: AMERICANS HAVE BEEN CONNED ILLEGAL DISCRIMINATION HELPED FUEL SUBPRIME CRISIS AMERICA'S DISINTEREST IN POVERTY BEN BERNANKE THREE YEARS AGO: HOUSING MARKET NO PROBLEM HEDGE FUNDS GOOD FOR LAUNDERING DRUG MONEY WHAT A REAL ECONOMIC RECOVERY PROGRAM WOULD LOOK LIKE SUBPRIME SCANDAL AN OLD STORY IN STOCKTON, CA SUBPRIME LENDERS TARGETED BLACKS & LATINOS SUBPRIME CRISIS HELPED BY SUBPRIME POLITICS. . . AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT SOROS CALLS IT'S THE WORST FINANCIAL CRISIS SINCE WORLD WAR II BUSH'S WAR ON TERROR HAS COST AMERICA $94 BILLION IN TOURIST DOLLARS MORTGAGE LENDERS PREFER FORECLOSURE TO HELPING HOME BUYERS PAY OFF LOAN WHAT'S REALLY HAPPENING IN MANUFACTURING    COMPARING FINANCIAL CRISES: WE'VE BEEN THROUGH THIS BEFORE In 1990, the Progressive Review ran an article, "No-Fault Capitalism Meets Lemon Socialism" in which we examined the second great savings & loan scandal: the bailout of the S&L industry. The article won an Utne Reader award for one of the ten most undercovered stories of the decade. In it, we compared the government's reaction to the S&L crisis to its reaction to the banking crisis that culminated in the banking holiday and emergency legislation of 1933. Although the causes of the two crises were quite different, so were other factors. Some may ring a bell in today's financial crisis. 1933 Underlying financial problem involved shortage of deposits. Fraud was not a major factor Single bi-partisan goal: to save the banking system Protection of average citizens' interest central to decisions. Long-range implications of actions thought through Majority party not beholden to major financial interests Pressure for nationalization of banking industry by progressives such as Sen. Robert LaFollette, creating a political middle for FDR to work within. Administration and Congress moved decisively. Within five days of FDR's inauguration, emergency banking legislation was passed with only 40 minutes of House debate. From introduction to president's signature it took only eight hours. Problem affected 18,390 banks Administration handled specific cases quickly. About two thirds of all banks were opened under government license four days after bank holiday was declared. Another 1300 banks were reopened a month later and within nine months another 1200 banks were reopened and the remaining 2000 would be reopened as soon as financing from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation could be arranged. Specific situations handled by small bureaucracy in decentralized fashion with banks placed under conservatorships. Emphasis on recapitalization and low interest loans. Government allowed to participate in recovery by holding preferred stock in commercial bank. At one point, the RFC held $1.3 billion in commercial bank stock. Heavy White House pressure on banking industry to cooperate. Appeal to patriotism, implicit threat of nationalization. 1990 Underlying financial problem involved failure of loan repayments Fraud is a major factor Multiple and conflicting bi-partisan goals including changing the financial system (even to extent of eliminating S&L industry), avoiding blame, escaping political and criminal liability. Protection of major financial institution's interest central to decisions. Decisions driven by fire-sale mentality Both parties beholden to major financial interests. No significant progressive pressure for radical solutions, hence politics of situation skewed heavily toward rightwing assumptions. Administration and Congress moved indecisively. Early actions were driven by attempt to conceal from public the true extent of the problem. When situation got out of hand, legislation was passed hastily with inadequate forethought. Problem affected 2600 savings & loans Administration handles specific situations at snail's pace. The Resolution Trust Corporation dealt with only 200 out of 450 failed thrifts in its first eleven months, with another 260 S&Ls expected to go under in the next year. Specific situations handled by large centralized bureaucracy in Washington, adding the inefficiency of scale to other problems. Emphasis on government subsidies and lemon socialism. Rightwing paradigm prevents government from engaging in self-supporting solutions. No political or financial burden placed on S&L industry as a whole. Political leverage of White House lies fallow. RECOVERED HISTORY: THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF 'THE AFFLUENT SOCIETY' STIMULUS PACKAGE A SURPRISE BUST FOR 36 STATES PRIMING THE SUBPRIME CRISIS JAMES MCCUSKER, EVERETT HERALD, WA - In the wake of the 1929 stock market crash and the subsequent global economic depression, Congress, among other actions, passed the Glass-Steagall Act which prohibited banks from engaging in securities underwriting. There was money to be made in securities, though, and after a suitable period of penance for their contributions to the crash and depression banks began to agitate for relief from this restrictive law. The banking industry's whining about Glass-Steagall eventually paid off. . . Few people spoke out against the idea, which was endorsed by America's top banking regulator, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. It is tempting to say that his enthusiasm for the idea, and Congress' action, made sense at the time, but that was not so. In fact, it made no sense then, and makes none now. . . Banks eagerly bought up low-quality mortgage loans, packaged them up and sold them as securities -- all the while using "three-card Monte" accounting constructs to keep the transactions off their balance sheets. . . The Federal Reserve, the president and Congress have their hands full at this time. Their first priority is damage control, and that is as it should be. Eventually, though, the economy will right itself, with or without Washington's help, and the president, the Federal Reserve and Congress will have time to consider what got us into this fix in the first place. If we had to pick a single event that set off this economic stink bomb, it would have to be Alan Greenspan's decision to support the expansion of bank activities into securities underwriting. While the Congress has a mind of its own, it is extremely doubtful that they would have approved this expansion in the face of his objections. He was at the height of his powers then, and his support for the idea made it bullet-proof, politically. As soon as possible, Congress should extend its damage control operations to put banking back on solid ground, and reconstruct the wall between banking and stock-market gaming. WALL STREET REWARDED ITSELF WITH $39 BILLION IN BONUSES AS MARKET WAS TANKING WORLD SOCIALIST - The five largest Wall Street banks doled out a record $39 billion in bonuses last year, according to data collected by the Bloomberg news service. After driving hundreds of thousands of families into foreclosure, causing a financial crisis affecting hundreds of millions, and pushing the US and world economies closer to recession, it appears Wall Street is rewarding itself for a job well done. The banks announced record losses in the fourth quarter, wrapping up the financial industry's worst year since 2002. All in all, Wall Street wrote off more than $90 billion in bad debt for the year, and the five largest banks saw their profits drop more than 60 percent. Three of the five firms posted losses in the fourth quarter. While the $39 billion was divided among 186,000 workers at the five firms -averaging $211,849 - the lion's share was reserved for a few thousand high-level managers, traders, and senior executives, who took in multimillion-dollar bonuses in addition to their salaries. Rank-and-file clerical workers took home a few hundred dollars. Bonuses for traders in subprime-related securities are reported to be about 30 percent lower this year in comparison to other sectors. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/jan2008/bonu-j21.shtml HOW TO SIMULATE AN ECONOMY ECONOMIC POLICY INSTITUTE - An effective, appropriate stimulus package should meet the following five criteria: 1. A stimulus package should generate growth and jobs to offset rising unemployment. . . The two feasible ways to boost demand are to increase consumer spending (for example through tax or monetary policy) or to increase government spending (at the federal, state, or local level). Any stimulus aimed at spurring more business investment will not be effective at this point, because business investment will remain sluggish until consumer and government demand picks up. For example, a recent study estimated that business investment write-offs and the dividend-capital gain tax reductions included in Bush's tax packages had a small "bang-for-the-buck. . . Government spending is more effective than tax cuts in stimulating domestic demand for two reasons: a portion of the tax cut will be saved rather than spent immediately, and consumers are more likely than the government to spend on imports (rather than domestically produced goods). Approximately 10 cents per dollar of consumer expenditures will be spent abroad, while virtually every penny of investments in public infrastructure will be spent domestically. Especially problematic would be more tax cuts directed at the wealthy, which would not be as effective as tax cuts directed at the low- and middle-income households who would spend (rather than save) a larger share of any extra income. 2. A stimulus package should take effect quickly. . . Ideally, an effective package would have some components that have immediate effect and others that might have impact in six months to a year, thus ensuring a solid foundation for the recovery. . . 3. A stimulus package should raise current deficits but not affect the long-term budget outlook. The purpose of any good stimulus package is to boost immediate job growth. For this purpose we need one-time measures that, if the recession deepens, can be extended as necessary. Permanent, ongoing measures that will affect the budget two or three years from now are, in most cases, inappropriate. . . 4. A stimulus package should target unmet needs. Another goal of any good stimulus plan should be to meet, where possible, unmet social needs. For instance, it is widely acknowledged that there is a huge backlog of necessary school and bridge repairs and new construction projects. A temporary spending increase for such infrastructure would be doubly beneficial in that it would meet the other criteria listed above but also address an acknowledged, pre-existing need. Other examples could include funding needed sewage-treatment plant construction or making public facilities energy efficient. 5. A stimulus package should be fair. The distribution of wages, income, and wealth in the United States has become vastly more unequal over the last 30 years. In fact, this country has a more unequal distribution of income than any other advanced country. Therefore, a criterion for favoring one stimulus plan over another should be that the plan avoids exacerbating income inequality and, wherever possible, acts to lessen current inequalities. A temporary increase in federal revenue-sharing with the states, for example, would fulfill this criterion well by helping preserve public school spending, Medicaid for low-income families and low-income elderly in nursing homes, and other state programs that could face cutbacks due to state fiscal crises. http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/bp210 THE SELFISH CAPITALISM OF REAGAN, BUSH AND CLINTON MAY BE WHAT HAS MADE US UNHAPPY THINGS THE MEDIA DOESN'T TELL YOU: THE PUBLIC HOLDS BIG BUSINESS IN LOW REGARD STUDY: WAL MART REDUCES NATIONAL WAGES $4.5 BILLION A YEAR Retail workers in the U.S. are making $4.5 billion less each year due to Wal-Mart's presence, according to a new study by the University of California's Center for Labor Research and Education. The study focuses on stores that opened between 1992 and 2000 and concludes, "Opening a single Wal-Mart store lowers the average retail wage in the surrounding county between 0.5 and 0.9 percent." Wal-Mart's presence pushes down wages in two ways. "First is the substitution effect: a new Wal-Mart store replaces better paying jobs with lower-paying ones," the authors explain. "A second factor is competition: Wal-Mart pushes down wages in competing businesses." Not only did Wal-Mart lower average wage rates, but "every new Wal-Mart in a county reduced the combined or aggregate earnings of retail workers by around 1.5 percent." Because this number is higher than the reduction in average wages, it indicates that Wal-Mart not only lowered pay rates, but also reduced the total number of retail jobs. That finding is consistent with a major study published earlier this year that found that the opening of a Wal-Mart store causes a net loss of about 150 retail jobs. "At the national level, our study concludes that in 2000, total earnings of retail workers nationwide were reduced by $4.5 billion due to Wal-Mart's presence," they find. Most of these losses were concentrated in metropolitan areas. Although Wal-Mart is often associated with rural areas, three-quarters of the stores it built in the 1990s were in metropolitan counties. Another new study from the UC Center for Labor Research and Education indicates that Wal-Mart could substantially raise its workers' earnings, particularly those living at or near poverty, with little impact on most shoppers. "Living Wage Policies and Wal-Mart" analyzes the effects of instituting a $10 minimum wage at Wal-Mart. More than half of the retailer's employees (56%) currently earn less than $10 an hour. "We find that 46.3 percent of the pay increase would go to workers in families with total incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level," the study finds. "These poor and low-income workers could expect to earn an additional $1,020 to $4,640 a year." http://www.newrules.org/retail/news_slug.php?slugid=365 STEADY STATE ECONOMICS BRIAN CZECH AND HERMAN E. DALY, WILDLIFE SOCIETY BULLETIN 2004 - A steady state economy with long human life spans entails low birth and death rates. In our opinion this is preferable, within reason, to a steady state economy with short life spans, high birth rates, and high death rates. The same concept applies to capital and durable goods such as automobiles. We opine that a relatively slow flow of high-quality, long-lasting goods is preferable to a fast flow of low-quality, short-lived goods. Nothing about a steady state economy precludes economic development, where development is defined as a qualitative process. Various sectors may come and go in a steady state economy. For example, organic farms may supplant factory farms, the proportion of bicycles to Humvees may increase, and professional soccer may attract more fans while NASCAR attracts fewer. As long as the physical size of the economy remains constant in the long run, a developing economy is a steady state economy. Nor would any type of cultural stagnation result from a steady state economy. John Stuart Mill, one of the greatest economists and political philosophers in history, emphasized that an economy in which physical growth was no longer the goal would be more conducive to political, ethical, and spiritual improvements A steady state economy means a constant rate of employment. . . Economic development continues in a steady state economy so that in the extractive sector, oilfield roughnecks may decrease in number while wind-power facility attendants may increase. In the arts, guitar playing may wax while flute playing wanes. In the sciences, industrial chemists may be replaced by wildlife ecologists. . . In a steady state economy, the average amount of money in real dollars earned by workers from the current generation to the next remains constant. "Real dollars" means that inflation has been accounted for. Because income reflects the use of natural resources, stabilized income reflects a stabilized "ecological footprint," which is the area of land required to support a human being . . . If the steady state economy is established at a relatively low population level, the potential exists for each worker, and his replacement in the next generation, to earn a high income. This scenario is similar to that of a low-density deer population with plenty of forage per deer. If, on the other hand, the steady state economy is established at a high population level, less income is available for the average worker, as in a high-density deer population with little forage per deer. We think it important that a steady state economy be established at a relatively low population level. This scenario is conducive to incomes high enough to allow retirement savings and social secu rity (in the generic sense), making the economy more politically acceptable and therefore more stable. If the steady state economy is established with-in ecological carrying capacity, each new generation may expect its workers to accumulate retire- ment savings of the same magnitude as the previous generation. So we think it important to establish a steady state economy as soon as possible. As the population grows, it becomes less likely the steady state economy may be established whereby incomes are high enough to support reasonable periods of retirement. Won't the stock market crash if a steady state economy is established? . . . Many people view the stock market as predicated on economic growth, so they wonder if a stock market could even exist in a steady state economy. It certainly could and probably would. In a steady state economy, firms still need to invest in capital--namely, at the same rate at which capital depreciates. Publicly traded stocks provide the social benefit of liquidity to investors and offer an efficient mechanism for the acquisition of investment capital. Stock markets tend to expand and contract in concert (though often with lags) with gross domestic product, the dollar value of newly produced, final goods and services. There are winners and losers in bullish and bearish markets, though the winners tend to be more prominent in the for- mer. The stock market in a steady state economy of stable GDP would be neither bullish nor bearish for extended periods. It, too, would have winners and losers, with perennial losers becoming insolvent and being replaced by more competent firms. But in a steady state economy the stock market would be less of a casino than in the growth economy. Economic growth, on the other hand, is bound to cause an extensive and extended stock market crash because demands for capital eventually will exceed the productive capacity of the earth. Therefore, advocating a steady state economy is appropriate not only for purposes of wildlife conservation but also because it would reduce the volatility of the stock market. There are, of course, alternatives to the stock market for purposes of financing capital investment. For example, capital may be financed by private banks, cooperatives, and governments. In fact, all of these institutions are active financiers throughout the world. The relative prominence of each in a given nation helps to describe that nation's history, ideology, and "political economy," which brings us to our next question--a very big one. Doesn't a steady state economy require a socialist government? More generally put, what kind of government is most conducive to a steady state economy? Might it be, for example, a capitalist democracy, a communist state or a dictatorship? In theory, each is capable of producing or coexisting with a steady state economy, but we do not think any of these is particularly conducive. Each has exhibited far more concern with GDP growth than with other important endeavors, such as poverty alleviation and, of course, wildlife conservation. We think the form of government most conducive to a steady state economy, in the context of twenty-first-century nation states, is a constitutional democracy somewhat more socialized than the current American version. "Socialist democracies," as the term is used in political science, already exist in many nations, most notably such European nations as Sweden, Switzerland and England. Economists more frequently call them "mixed economies." These are democratically operated governments in which the state plays a more prominent role in the economy than the American government plays in its economy EDWARDS TAKES ON CREDIT CARD USURY, TRICKS ONE AMERICA - Senator John Edwards has outlined a plan to take on abusive lenders and help American families save. "Debt has become the central fact of middle-class existence," said Edwards. "For most families, wages have not kept up with rising costs for middle-class essentials like health care, housing and child care. Consumer debt has skyrocketed in recent years and today, half of Americans say they live paycheck to paycheck. "At the same time, abusive credit card companies deliberately build in tricks and traps for families. Consumers often fail to understand the basic terms of their cards due to complicated and confusing disclosures. Most big credit card companies advertise low rates but reserve the right to change rates at any time for any reason - a single late payment can trigger penalties that raise interest rates to an average of almost 25 percent. To take on the credit card industry - that has spent $250 million on lobbying and campaign contributions since 1998 - Edwards promises to: - enact national legislation to protect families from the most abusive practices in the credit card industries. - create a new Family Savings and Credit Commission to review all financial services products marketed to families to determine that terms are reasonable and fairly disclosed. - subsidize bank accounts for low-income workers - nearly 28 million Americans lack them - and create work bonds to match their savings. http://johnedwards.com/news/headlines/20071202-abusive-lenders/ 2007 NOVEL IDEA FOR THE HOMELESS: GIVE THEM A HOME BRINGING INEQUALITY TO PRE-DEPRESSION LEVELS  FROM THE ECONOMIST BRINGING FAIR TRADE HOME ERBIN CROWELL, EQUAL EXCHANGE, IN COOPERATIVE GROCER - Today, just 10 corporations account for over 50 percent of the revenue generated globally by food retailing. Not surprisingly, as agribusiness profits have gone up, the share of the consumer dollar received by farming families has declined dramatically. By 2003, there were just 1.9 million working farmers in the U.S. - less than the prison population. For African American farmers, the challenge is even more severe. For example, in 1920, one in seven farmers were African American; by 1998, just one in 100, a loss rate more than three times that of white farmers. Like many of the small farmers that Equal Exchange works with across Latin America, Africa and Asia, black farmers in the U.S. have been shut out of markets, denied access to capital, and given racist treatment at an institutional level. . . Recently Equal Exchange and the Federation began exploring a new idea: Domestic Fair Trade. The goal of the partnership is to bring the Federations nearly 40 years of organizing for civil rights and community development together with Equal Exchanges 20 years of international Fair Trade experience and commitment to cooperation. The result will be healthy snacks grown, processed, marketed, and sold by cooperatives. Our first project is with Southern Alternatives, a pecan processing cooperative in southern Georgia. Through collective action and persistence, this group has managed to accomplish something inspiring: a black-owned, cooperatively organized pecan processing facility that includes farmers and workers. With the support of the Federation, workers in the facility kept the business alive as a strategy for preserving jobs in a rural area devastated by the modern agricultural economy and abandoned by the textile mills that have moved overseas. . http://cooperativegrocer.coop/articles/index.php?id=697 LEFT BUSINESS OBSERVER HITS 20 DOUG HENWOOD, one of the most useful and remarkable voices on the left for the past two decades has just published his 20th edition issue of the Left Business Observer. One of the things we've always liked about Henwood is his ability to make one think differently about money and its effect on us. His anniversary issue is no different. For example he notes that Tom Frank in the 'What's the Matter with Kansas' had argued that "the white working class has been hoodwinked by Republican culture warriors into voting against their economic interests." This has been a case we have long made as well and is one of the reasons we support a strong populist approach to politics. But Henwood shoots two well-aimed holes in the argument: - "[Richard Hofstadter] made the now largely forgotten point that American Protestants have long had a deep sympathy for The Market. Since they see humans as fallen, corrupt creatures always in need of a good kick in the ass, they revere it as a wonderful mechanism of social discipline, punishing the lazy and rewarding the hard-working. If people are poor, it's because they're immoral, impatient, or wasteful.". . .Henwood notes the acceptance of this fantasy explains "why there's been so little political price paid for the economic march back to the 19th century." - "I'll confess that for a moment or two after the dot com bubble burst, and Enron and the other corporate scandals were revealed, I'd hoped there might be some moment of magical awakening. But it didn't happen that way. And the reason it didn't happen was well anticipated by C. Wright Mills in the Power Elite. Writing of of the routinization of crisis and scandal, Mills declared there was really no energy for sustained or productive outrage: 'Among the mass distractions this feeling soon passes harmlessly away. For the American distrust of the high and mighty is a distrust without doctrine and without political focus; it is a distrust felt by the mass public as a series of more or less cynically expected disclosures.'" Henwood hopes to have a more upbeat tone for the 30th anniversary of LBO, but in the meantime it's an excellent place to find why things work the way they don't. . . and why they don't know matter how hard we try. LEFT BUSINESS OBSERVER WHERE WOULD JESUS BANK? Do you know who is your banker is? Do you know what your banker is doing with your money right now? The corruption and violence we are witnessing today could only be happening with the complicity and leadership of the major banks. When we do business with these banks, we are "voting with our money" to finance the Wall Street-driven government and financial policies we say we despise. We have the power to transform
events by making some simple choices about who we bank with on
Main Street. According to Catherine Austin Fitts, former Assistant
Secretary of Housing during Bush I and successful Wall Street
investment banker, this is the single most effective action that
consumers can take to clean up government and dirty money. http://www.solari.com/store/free_offer/ 2006 MASSACHUSETTS COMMUNITY PRINTS ITS OWN MONEY Just ten weeks after Berk Shares made their debut on the streets and in the cash registers of southern Berkshire County, Massachusetts, trade in this model local currency has been brisk. Berk Shares Inc., the organization sponsoring the project, estimates that 333,000 Berk Shares have already been purchased from the four participating banks. Much of that has already gone into the hands of the 188 participating local merchants and service providers, who, in turn, have spent the currency at other participating local businesses. Berk Shares are attractive bills that celebrate local heroes, landscapes, and the work of local artists. Their use helps keep community assets from leaving the Berkshires for far-off places. Every Berk Share spent means more money in the hands of Berkshire businesses. And as the Berk Shares keep circulating, the effect is cumulative. An estimated 3,000 people have been using Berk Shares on a regular basis for food, movie tickets, clothing, books, music, and a variety of services from legal advice to landscaping, from car repair to carpentry. . . . Berk Shares Inc. is cosponsored by the E. F. Schumacher Society and the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce. Participating businesses accept Berk Shares at full dollar equivalent in payment for goods and services. Some restrictions may apply to accommodate the individual nature of each business. As long as the Berk Shares stay in circulation - for change, partial payment of salaries, and purchase of goods - they will keep full dollar value; however, when merchants accumulate too many in their cash registers, they can redeem the notes at participating banks for 90 cents on the Berk Share, thereby offering regular customers a ten percent discount. www.berkshares.org LOCAL CURRENCY [Several readers expressed skepticism about Berk Shares, the new local currency in a Massachusetts community, Here are some things we have previously written on this topic] SAM SMITH, SHADOWS OF HOPE, 1994 - During the last recession, the lease for a certain restaurant in Great Barrington, Mass., expired. The local bank wouldn't lend restaurateur Frank Tortrello money to move across the street. So Frank decided to print his own. He called them Deli Dollars. Each sold for $9 and could be redeemed for $10 worth of food after six months. Not only did the idea provide Frank with enough money to make his move, but it spread throughout the community. A local farm issued notes with the slogan "In Farms We Trust," featuring the head of a cabbage instead of the head of a president. New restaurants followed with their own currency and the local bills started showing up everywhere, including in church collection plates. Others are also reinventing money. Alternative currency has cropped up in Ithaca NY and is being used by 700 individuals and business. In Seattle, some have devised cardboard money. In another town, wooden coins. Then there's Daisy Alexander,
a retiree from Montclair, New Jersey, and Pepe, a recent immigrant
from Havana, Cuba. They both live in a low-income senior housing
development section of Miami, Florida. At first glance, Daisy
and Pepe seem to have little in common. But they are bound to
each other -- in friendship and through the common bonds of a
new economic system called time dollars or service credits. Here's how it works for Daisy and Pepe: Daisy volunteers three days a week tutoring first graders at the elementary school across the street from her home. Every week Pepe comes to her house and takes her grocery shopping. An amputee with a cane, Daisy is dependent on Pepe to provide this service for her. But no money changes hands. Daisy simply "cashes in" the time dollars she earns tutoring to "pay" for Pepe's shopping help. In turn Pepe earns time dollars to buy services he needs. But Daisy and Pepe gain in other ways as well. Both are renewed and enthused about the opportunity for helping, and inspired by the social activities that the sense of community has produced. "The potential benefits of the time dollars concept are limitless. It can touch every life in every community, ranging from an apartment complex to an entire nation, every facility, from a nursing home to a university campus," says author Cahn. "It fosters a sense of financial independence, camaraderie, community spirit, harmony among age groups, races, religions, income levels, and even political adversaries." In each of these cases, citizens have come to understand that money is just a way that we translate the value of products and services. Just because one may not have money does not mean there is no value to be exchanged. It is simply a matter of coming up with a way to keep track of it without the services of the Federal Reserve. SAM SMITH'S GREAT AMERICAN POLITICAL REPAIR MANUAL, 1997 - It's legal to print your own money provided that it can't be mistaken for the government kind -- the Secret Service frowns on that. In fact, says Barbara Brandt in Whole Life Economics, in the 1860s there were more than ten thousand different kinds of locally issued bank notes in use in the US simultaneously, including that issued by state banks. After the creation of federal banking during the Civil War and a federal reserve system in the early 1900s, the variety of money in this country contracted. But in the 1930s, when communities found themselves with products, needs, skills and labor but little money, local currencies made a comeback. Writes Brandt: "In numerous communities, local governments, business associations, or charitable groups began to create their own money systems for local use. Local depression money came in many variations: vouchers that could only be traded in specific stores, or for specific items, and printed currencies (often called 'scrip') on paper, cardboard, or even wood, which had to be spent within the community a certain number of times or before a certain date. . . By 1933, the New York Times reported that one million Americans in three hundred communities were using barter or scrip system to keep their economies going. Today there is a revival of community money -- or green dollars as it is sometimes called. In 1983, Michael Linton developed a local exchange trading system on Vancouver Island that created $350,000 worth of trading in its first four years." In Ithaca NY, some half million dollars worth of local trade has been added to the economy through Ithaca Hour notes. An Ithaca Hour is based on the average local wage, about $10 an hour. Ithica Hours have been used to buy plumbing, child care, car repair, and eyeglasses. They are accepted at restaurants, movie theatres, bowling alleys, and health clubs. As Paul Glover explained, "We printed our own money because we watched federal dollars come to town, shake a few hands, then leave to buy rain forest lumber and to fight wars. The local money, on the other hand, stays in our region to help us hire each other." SEPTEMBER 2006 SUPER RICH EVADE AS MUCH AS $70 BILLION A YEAR IN TAXES DAVID CAY JOHNSTON, NY TIMES - So many superrich Americans evade taxes using offshore accounts that law enforcement cannot control the growing misconduct, according to a Senate report that provides the most detailed look ever at high-level tax schemes. Among the billionaires cited in the report are the owner of the New York Jets football team, Robert Wood Johnson IV; the producer of the "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" children's show, Haim Saban; and two Texas businessmen, Charles and Sam Wyly, who the Center for Public Integrity found in 2000 were the ninth-largest contributors to President Bush. . . Cheating now equals about 7 cents out of each dollar paid by honest taxpayers, as much as $70 billion a year, the report estimated. . . THE COST OF BEING POOR ERIK ECKHOLM, NY TIMES - Drivers from low-income neighborhoods of New York, Hartford and Baltimore, insuring identical cars and with the same driving records as those from middle-class neighborhoods, paid $400 more on average for a year's insurance. The poor are also the main customers for appliances and furniture at "rent to own" stores, where payments are stretched out at very high interest rates; in Wisconsin, a $200 television can end up costing $700. Those were just two examples among several cited in a report Tuesday showing that poor urban residents frequently pay hundreds if not thousands of dollars a year in extra costs for everyday necessities. The study said some of the disparities were due to real differences in the cost of doing business in poor areas, some to predatory financial practices and some to consumer ignorance. RISE OF THE SUPER-RICH TERESA TRITCH, NY TIMES - Income inequality used to be about rich versus poor, but now it's increasingly a matter of the ultra rich and everyone else. The curious effect of the new divide is an economy that appears to be charging ahead, until you realize that the most of the people in it are being left in the dust. . . Figures show that from 2003 to 2004, the latest year for which there is data, the richest Americans pulled far ahead of everyone else. In the space of that one year, real average income for the top 1 percent of households - those making more than $315,000 in 2004 - grew by nearly 17 percent. For the remaining 99 percent, the average gain was less than 3 percent. . . Rich people are also being
made richer, recent government data shows, by strong returns
on investment income. In 2003, the latest year for which figures
are available, the top 1 percent of households owned 57.5 percent
of corporate wealth, generally dividends and capital gains, up
from 53.4 percent a year earlier. GRAND UNIFIED THEORY OF THE DAY How many economists does it take to change a light bulb? The answer is indeterminate. Choose one of the following: TWO: one to change the bulb and one to assume the existence of a ladder. EIGHT: one to screw in the bulb and seven to hold everything else constant. NONE: They are all waiting for an invisible hand. [Alcom, S. and Solarz, B, Yale Economic Review] STUDY: WAL-MARTS INCREASE POVERTY PLANETIZEN - A new study claims that Wal-Mart raises poverty rates in the counties where its stores are located. A study published in the latest issue of Social Science Quarterly is the first to examine the effect of Wal-Mart stores on poverty rates. The study found that nationwide an estimated 20,000 families have fallen below the official poverty line as a result of the chain's expansion. During the last decade, dependence on the food stamp program nationwide increased by 8 percent, while in counties with Wal-Mart stores the increase was almost twice as large at 15.3 percent. "After controlling for other factors determining changes in the poverty rate over time, we find that both counties with more initial Wal-Mart stores and with more additions of stores between 1987 and 1998 experienced greater increases (or smaller decreases) in family poverty rates during the 1990's economic boom period," Stephan Goetz a Professor of Agricultural and Regional Economics at The Pennsylvania State University states. Although Wal-Mart employs many people living in its communities, for most, the hours worked and the wages paid do not help these families transition out of poverty. Another effect is that the closing of "mom and pop" stores following the appearance of a store leads to the closing of local businesses that previously supplied those stores including: wholesalers, transporters, logistics providers, accountants, lawyers and others. The authors state that "by displacing the local class of entrepreneurs, the Wal-Mart chain also destroys local leadership capacity." They encourage community leaders to think about programs and policies in anticipation of helping those displaced by the arrival of the chain. http://www.planetizen.com/node/19820 OTHER IDEAS FOR THE PALESTINIANS [From Sam Smith's Great American Political Repair Manual] [] Issue local currency SAYS BARBARA BRANDT in Whole Life Economics, in the 1860s there were more than ten thousand different kinds of locally issued bank notes in use in the US simultaneously, including that issued by state banks. After the creation of federal banking during the Civil War and a federal reserve system in the early 1900s, the variety of money in this country contracted. But in the 1930s, when communities found themselves with products, needs, skills and labor but little money, local currencies made a comeback. Writes Brandt: "In numerous communities, local governments, business associations, or charitable groups began to create their own money systems for local use. Local depression money came in many variations: vouchers that could only be traded in specific stores, or for specific items, and printed currencies (often called 'scrip') on paper, cardboard, or even wood, which had to be spent within the community a certain number of times or before a certain date. . . By 1933, the New York Times reported that one million Americans in three hundred communities were using barter or scrip system to keep their economies going. Today there is a revival of community money - or green dollars as it is sometimes called. In 1983, Michael Linton developed a local exchange trading system on Vancouver Island that created $350,000 worth of trading in its first four years. David Burman put it this way: "LETS is as close to a biological organism as an economic system can be. . . . Low administration fees pay for daily operations entirely in green dollars. Federal dollar expenses like telephone and postage come from nominal annual fees. . . In Ithaca NY. . . Ithica Hours have been used to buy plumbing, child care, car repair, and eyeglasses. They are accepted at restaurants, movie theatres, bowling alleys, and health clubs. As Paul Glover explained in In Context, "We printed our own money because we watched federal dollars come to town, shake a few hands, then leave to buy rain forest lumber and to fight wars. The local money, on the other hand, stays in our region to help us hire each other." The Ithaca money was inspired by the success of a similar program in western Massachusetts where in 1989 a local restaranteur, Frank Tortoriello, raised a badly needed $5000 in 30 days by issuing scrip. His Deli Dollars drifted into the local economy and even began showing up in church collection plates. Edgar Cahn came up with some imaginative ways to rebuild a non-monetized economy without even using scrip. He called his system time dollars. For example, in one Washington community, volunteers accumulated credit hours for a local organization through baby sitting, cleaning alleys, and so forth. These hours were then traded for the professional legal help the organization needed. Remember, money is just a way of accounting for labor and goods. The wealth is in the labor and goods; the rest is a form of bookkeeping. [] Print money for capital projects IN THE EARLY 19TH CENTURY, the little British Channel island of Guernsey faced a problem. Its sea walls were crumbling. its roads were too narrow, and it was already heavily in debt. There was little employment and people were leaving for elsewhere. Instead of going still further into debt, the island government simply issued 4,000 pounds in state notes to start repairs on the sea walls as well as for other needed public works. More issues followed and twenty years later the island had, in effect, printed nearly 50,000 pounds. Guernsey had more than doubled its money supply without inflation. A report of the island's States Office in June 1946 notes that island leaders frequently commented that these public works could not have been carried out without the issues, that they had been accomplished without interest costs, and that as a result "the influx of visitors was increased, commerce was stimulated, and the prosperity of the Island vastly improved." By 1943, nearly a half million pounds worth of notes belonged to the public and was so valued that much of it was being hoarded in people's homes, awaiting the island's liberation from the Germans. About the same time that Guernsey started to fix its sea walls the town of Glasgow, Scotland, borrowed 60,000 pounds to build a fruit market. The Guernsey sea walls were repaid in ten years, the fruit market loan took 139. In the first part of the the 20th century, Glasgow paid over a quarter million pounds in interest alone on this ancient project. His Excellency, the Ambassador from Royal Dutch Shell How did Guernsey avoid the fiscal disaster that conventional economics prescribed for it? First and foremost by understanding that when you build roads or sea walls or colleges or houses, you are not reducing your society's wealth. In fact, if you do it right, you are creating something that will add to its wealth. The money that was created was simply backed by public works rather than gold or "full faith and credit." It was, in fact, based on something more solid than the dollar bills in our wallets today. In contrast, tacking on an interest charge to public works -- as we do in the US -- creates no new wealth, but merely transfers claims on existing wealth from debtors to creditors. ORDER THE GREAT AMERICAN
POLITICAL REPAIR MANUAL PSYCHOLOGISTS FOUND BETTER THAN ECONOMISTS AT STOCK PICKING  BACKGROUND: R. Glenn Hubbard, a predecessor of Bernanke's at the Council of Economic Advisers, had long been seen as a candidate for the Fed job, but as Bernanke's star rose, so did the voices of Hubbard advocates, who saw him as a stronger conservative. Hubbard's role as architect of Bush's drive to all but eliminate taxes on dividends won him strong allies among supply-side economists, who view tax cuts as the surest path to economic growth. - Washington Post KIDDING OURSELVES ABOUT POVERTY BANKS OUT TO GET RID OF CREDIT UNIONS 43% OF FIRST TIME HOMEOWNERS LAST YEAR PUT NO MONEY DOWN THE MIDDLE CLASS PRECIPICE [A deep look at the problems of the middle class] ELIZABETH WARREN, HARVARD MAGAZINE - Middle-class families have been threatened on every front. Rocked by rising prices for essentials as men's wages remained flat, both Dad and Mom have entered the workforce-a strategy that has left them working harder just to try to break even. Even with two paychecks, family finances are stretched so tightly that a very small misstep can leave them in crisis. As tough as life has become for married couples, single-parent families face even more financial obstacles in trying to carve out middle-class lives on a single paycheck. And at the same time that families are facing higher costs and increased risks, the old financial rules of credit have been rewritten by powerful corporate interests that see middle-class families as the spoils of political influence. In just one generation, millions of mothers have gone to work, transforming basic family economics. The typical middle-class household in the United States is no longer a one-earner family, with one parent in the workforce and one at home full-time. Instead, the majority of families with small children now have both parents rising at dawn to commute to jobs so they can both pull in paychecks. . . Today the median income for a fully employed male is $41,670 per year (all numbers are inflation-adjusted to 2004 dollars) - nearly $800 less than his counterpart of a generation ago. The only real increase in wages for a family has come from the second paycheck earned by a working mother. With both adults in the workforce full-time, the family's combined income is $73,770-a whopping 75 percent higher than the median household income in the early 1970s. But the gain in income has an overlooked side effect: family risk has risen as well. Today's families have budgeted to the limits of their new two-paycheck status. As a result, they have lost the parachute they once had in times of financial setback-a back-up earner (usually Mom) who could go into the workforce if the primary earner got laid off or fell sick. This "added-worker effect" could buttress the safety net offered by unemployment insurance or disability insurance to help families weather bad times. But today, a disruption to family fortunes can no longer be made up with extra income from an otherwise-stay-at-home partner. http://www.harvard-magazine.com/on-line/010682.html THE HIGH PRICE OF STOPPING BY STARBUCKS WHY IT'S BETTER TO BE
POOR IN NORWAY OR CANADA THAN IN THE U.S. HOW MUCH ARE FINANCIAL MARKETS BEING MANIPULATED? [During the Clinton years we raised the question of how and when the markets were being manipulated by the government including a practice rarely mentioned in the media, "plunge protection." Lately, we've noticed similar concerns among financial analysts, an example of which follows] MIKE HARTMAN, FINANCIAL SENSE - One of the top analysts I sent an email had this as part of his reply, "To be honest Mike, I am sick to death with what I see these jokers do day in and day out. It does appear we have entered some brave new world in which our financial masters know what is best for us pitiful peasants. I suppose the stakes are so high they feel justified in playing their games, but they do so from the shadows like thieves lurking in the night." He went on with a great deal more and I read testimony after testimony of many investors that thought there was some heavy intervention with the dollar. Bill Murphy titled his piece last night, "Manipulation OF US Financial Markets Intensifying." I think my buddy said it all when he wrote, "I suppose the stakes are so high they feel justified in playing their games." Folks, the stakes are incredibly HIGH!!! The euro is competing for dual status as a global reserve currency with the dollar, Iran might be opening a commodities exchange denominated in euro, China is being pressured to remove its peg to the U.S. dollar, and on and on. The stakes are very high indeed! FATHER OF NEO-FREE MARKET THEORIES ATTACKS SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY LISA RONER, ETHICALCORP - Arthur Laffer, an economist commonly known as the 'father' of supply-side economics, has denounced corporate social responsibility, calling it detrimental to stockholders' interests and harmful to corporate profitability. . . At a news conference organized by the Washington-based Competitive Enterprise Institute last week, Laffer said corporate responsibility really means "irresponsibility" and that modern corporations are simply meant to create wealth for shareholders. Companies, Laffer says, are under pressure from "mainly left-of-center lobbies" to demonstrate attention to social and environmental concerns as much as to bottom lines. But he says that puts businesses on the defensive when their chief executives should be realizing corporations are "legitimate entities whose prime responsibility is to make profits for those who have invested in them". A study he conducted with two other economists, Andrew Coors and Wayne Winegarden, Laffer says shows "no significant positive correlation" between corporate responsibility and business profitability. . . Lawrence Mitchell, John Theodore Fey research Professor of Law at George Washington University, law director of the Sloan Program for the Study of Business in Society and director of the International Institute for Corporate Governance and Accountability, says Laffer "misses the point entirely." "Social responsibility is not necessarily to increase profitability --- it's to increase profitability responsibly," Mitchell says. "We have this idea --- and Laffer certainly seems to be buying into it --- that the corporation is somehow some sort of natural entity with unrestricted property rights to do whatever the hell it wants." But Mitchell says, with a broad range of laws "designed to ensure property use is responsible", corporations are called upon to increase profits in a "non-abusive, non-externalising sort of fashion". |
