Mike Norman Economics

The prospect of war with Iran is terrifying. Experts predict as many as a million people could die if the current tensions lead to a full-blown war. Millions more would become refugees across the Middle East, while working families across the U.S. would bear the brunt of our casualties. But there is one set of people who stand to benefit from the escalation of the conflict: CEOs of major U.S. military contractors. Counterpunch  War Profiteering is Real, by SARAH ANDERSON

There are quite a few videos about China on YouTube at the moment.A couple of guys went to China about ten years ago and married Chinese women,  lived there for a while, started business, and made nice videos about China. But when Trump started the trade wars they said that China changed and became less friendly, and that the people there became less friendly towards them too, with even old friends becoming cold and cautious.These people have now left China and make videos saying how bad...

From Poverty to Power Decolonization, Decoloniality and the Future of African Studies Maria Faciolince Project Syndicate (the stock market is not the economy)The Truth About the Trump Economy Joseph E. Stiglitz | Nobel laureate in economics, University Professor at Columbia University, and Chief Economist at the Roosevelt InstituteMoon of AlabamaHow Trump Rebelled Against The GeneralsThe Vineyard of the SakerCould this (finally!) be the end for the Atlantic Integrationists?The SakerThe...

There are often attempts in the west to depict China as capitalist rather than socialist. After decades of China going from strength to strength on macroeconomic criteria – and in view of its undeniable achievement in reducing poverty at a rate unmatched in recorded human history – some on the right wish to deny that this could have been accomplished through socialism and so instead claim China to be capitalist. At the same time, there are those on the left who wish to distance notions of...

A high minimum wage doesn't seem to harm the Scandinavian economies, but the EU wants to change things.High-wage Nordic countries, including Denmark and Sweden, are battling plans to introduce an EU-wide minimum wage over fears the measure will undermine their century-old models of collective bargaining.The European commission will take the first step towards a common framework for setting minimum wages in EU member states on Tuesday as part of a pledge by its new president, Ursula von der...

A terrifying look at poverty in Britain; but it's also about the landlords who rent out substandard, shoddy properties at maximum rent which the government pays.Margaret Thatcher told councils to stop building houses and to use the private sector instead which has been a disaster.The poverty shown here is quite distressing, but I was struck by the fact that it was a coastal town and so it could have been very beautiful instead of being one of the most run down places in Britain.Jaywick has...

While I have reflected on the corrosive effects that fake and distorted media are having on our society’s well-being for the past few years, I am now more concerned about it than ever. To me media distortions + great polarity + the upcoming elections = a significant risk to quality democracy.It is no longer controversial to say that media distortions are a serious problem. Even most of the media folks I speak with share my concern. As Martin Baron, the Washington Post's Executive Editor,...

Excellent analysis of Sino-American geostrategic rivalry, which is both economic and military. Geostrategy is concerned with the means to effect geopolicy, and the overall geopolicy is the US is global hegemony — preventing rivals from rising. China's is again to become the central realm as the hub of global commerce, with a projected date of 2049, the hundredth anniversary of the Chinese Revolution. These objectives are obviously incompatible. The US views China as the greatest threat...

Candidates and longtime friends trade angry remarks before Tom Steyer offers an awkward hello Contains a video of their heated exchange.  CNN has released the audio of the testy exchange between Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders that took place following Tuesday’s Democratic debate. The Guardian  You called me a liar on national TV’: audio released of testy Warren-Sanders exchange

If the climate nutters are wrong then this will probably be $49....It’s your year. Travel more (for less) in 2020.— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) January 7, 2020