Mike Norman Economics

This was faster than even I expected (for my views on what Macri meant as soon as he was elected see this and for a more recent assessment go to this post). Let me first say that I don't think is quite like the 2001/02 crisis. It is unlikely that there will be a default anytime soon. The level of reserves is at about US$ 56 billion, and the IMF is happy to finance the very Neoliberal government of Macri (because the IMF has changed a lot, remember?). The economy with Macri has not...

The idea that authoritarianism attracts workers harmed by the free market, which emerged when the Nazis were in power, has been making a comeback. Pushback is not the major reason why capitalism is a threat to democracy. Modern capitalism, characterized by extraction of economic rent — land rent, monopoly rent and financial rent — results in oligarchy.The populist and progressive backlash is a reaction to the excesses of the system now generally called "neoliberalism." It has also been...

Neoliberal forces have been rounding on Mr Maduro’s socialist government.The European Union demanded last week that Venezuela abandon the elections. citing concerns over transparency and democracy. The International Monetary Foundation also issued a motion of censure against Venezuela last week for failing to provide it with data relating to economic performance, including import and export figures.… But Communication Minister Jorge Rodriguez said the country had one of the most audited...

Analysis of the implications of oil sanctions, including war.Oil PriceHow The World’s Oil Powers Will Seize The Iran Deal Cyril WiddershovenAlso at Oil Price Untangling Russia’s economy from the U.S. dollar dependence is one of Putin’s goals, local outlet Sputnik reports. “We used to behave naïvely, but now we see that the WTO [the World Trade organization] rules are all too often broken, the restrictions are imposed for political reasons, which they call sanctions. Plus more and more of...

So when Trump won the presidential election, the true-blue data believers dismissed his victory as the triumph of rhetoric over fact. His supporters had succumbed to a nativist tale with cartoon villains like “cheating China” and a shadowy cabal of Rust Belt-razing “globalists.” But it turns out that Trump’s story of US manufacturing decline was much closer to being right than the story of technological progress being spun in Washington, New York, and Cambridge. Thanks to a painstaking...

Marx gets and update with Chinese characteristics. In contemporary China, guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the scientificity and truthfulness of Marxism has been fully tested, its people-oriented approach fully implemented, and its openness and epochal character fully manifested. Xi's thought therefore is a development of Marxism, which is applicable to today's China. Ecns —China DailyXi's thought a development of Marxism Zhang...

As my old friend would say, “The shit’s on, good buddy.” Meanwhile, Bibi is in Moscow was guest of honor, watching the Victory Day parade.Sic Semper TyrannisSyrians and Israelis are shooting at each other TTG

The reeducation of a Reaganomics supply-sider. It's the rent, stupid.Michael HudsonFor Economic Truth Turn To Michael HudsonPaul Craig Roberts

CENTCOM commander, Gen. Joseph Votel, went straight to the heart of the matter when he told the US House Armed Services Committee in February that “both Russia and China are cultivating multidimensional ties to Iran … Lifting UN sanctions under the joint comprehensive plan of action opens [the] path for Iran to resume application to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.”In a nutshell, this betrays the entire project which is to thwart the Eurasia integration process, which features Russia...

US sanctions on Iran are poised to drastically cut the profit margins of Indian oil companies that have already committed huge future imports. Moreover, India cannot afford to turn its back on its engagements with Iran, considering the recent headway made by China in enhancing ties with the oil-rich country, according to analysts. Sputnik InternationalUS Sanctions on Iran Puts India in Catch-22 Situation