Mike Norman Economics

When banks offer loans, money is created as an IOU, something many MPs aren’t aware of. As a result the UK economy is based on ever growing levels of debt You might not all agree with all of Positive Money's proposals, but I have put this up for discussion.  KV Back in November the big story arising from the Chancellor’s Budget wasn’t any of the gimmicks and giveaways designed to grab positive headlines, but something seemingly more mundane – the Office for Budget Responsibility...

They say strategy led by DoD policy wonks could lead to dangerous nuclear escalation. I feel a bit more hopeful now after reading that not all of the military top brass are hellbent on world war? KV  The Trump administration’s Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), to be released Friday, will include a call for the deployment of low-yield, “more usable” nuclear warheads, a move widely anticipated when a draft of the document was leaked to the Huffington Post on January 11. So while the...

It’s time to pull up our big boy pants and face the facts: The Democratic party is NOT a suitable vehicle for the progressive agenda. Mike Whitney says that the rank and file of the Democratic party are fed up with Russiagate, they want real politics that can make real changes to the quality of life of Americans. It's time to dump the Democrats. he says. KV The Democrats don’t seem to understand that the Russia investigation has made Trump stronger not weaker. They don’t see that...

Whenever the topic of economic growth is broached, there is a common and understandable reaction along the lines that growth is ecologically unsustainable or socially harmful. Since one of the preoccupations of this blog is demand-led growth, it is perhaps worth pausing to reflect on the appropriateness of the topic. This can be broken down into two parts. Why consider growth as such? And why emphasize the possibility that growth is demand led?... heteconomistGrowth is Good?Peter Cooper

It was Micheal Rowbotham's book, The Grip of Death: A Study of Modern Money, Debt Slavery and Destructive Economics, which opened my eyes to how our world is run by debt. It also inspired the founders of Positive money. It may seem very basic now compared to MMT, but is it a very readable and gripping book. It paints a world which could be so different to the one we have now, a world where work is leisure and a pleasure. One where the happy whistling postman goes to work and earns enough...

In my view, the Chinese economy remains at a structural crossroads. The state and state enterprises continue to dominate the economy in investment, employment and production. That means that foreign capital, domestic private capital and market forces do not hold sway, even though they have been increasing in weight and power over the last 30 years.My view is controversial in Marxist circles. The vast majority of Marxist economists and ‘experts’ on Marx’s ‘theory of the state’ reckon that...

Many assets have the potential to become valuable without actual accumulation. Writing in the initial stages of capitalism, Ricardo recognized the unusual position which landlords occupy: they control a non-reproducible asset, which generates rents under expanded capital accumulation. These rents extract away from surplus value and get capitalized into higher land prices. His vision was partially invalidated by gains in agrarian productivity but the history of wealth-income ratios testifies...

Yes ... the "neoliberal conspiracy!" is just knocking it out of the ballpark.... oh those crafty "banksters!"...Boy and Germany has all those big fiscal surpluses too and still this.... hmmmmm.... I guess all the stability is creating instability.... Deutsche Bank is still recovering from 2015 fines, CEO says after it posts third consecutive annual loss https://t.co/fmgFiw3ktp— CNBC (@CNBC) February 2, 2018

The Russian POV.The Unz ReviewUS Sanctions, Baffled Russians, Hot Air and History The Saker

Interview with Randy Wray.Inverse InnovationExpert [L. Randall Wray] Says Trump's State of the Union Infrastructure Plans Don't Add Up Alasdair Wilkins