Inflation Undermines Currency Value

I listen to a few podcasts during my commute. Two that I often appreciate are Know Your Enemy, associated with Dissent Magazine,* a series of interviews on mostly right wingers by Matthew Sitman and Sam Adler-Bell, and Past, Present and Future, a series of monologues by David Runciman, sponsored by the London Review of Books.  Both are always entertaining and informative. I'm not a specialist in most of the subjects they discuss. However, two recent episodes (or at least I listened to them...

Cracking the Zero Sum Game

Genom att utbilda mig skulle jag få ett bättre jobb än pappa, tjäna mer pengar än vad han giorde och slippa slita ut min kropp medan jag gorde det. Helt enkelt kunna leva ett godare liv än vad han hade gjort. l en rent objektiv och materiell mening har jag också lyckats bättre med det än nästan alla andra som har gjort samma resa. En arbetargrabb som steg på tåget så fort han tagit studenten vilket bara en av tjugo med samma bakgrund som jag gjorde vid den här tiden. Hur jag...

I got my BA from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville in 1977. At the time, the university charged no tuition, but “fees” were about $165/quarter for a full load. Of course, as a state university, it was heavily subsidized by state tax dollars. Quite a feat for a state that has no income tax.The business model for higher education has been changing for a while. Small private colleges are closing or merging because of declining enrollment. State...

Uncovering the Manhattan Beads Mystery

 – by New Deal democrat My “Weekly Indicators” post is up at Seeking Alpha. 2023 has been a year of improvement, and that improvements continued in the final installment, as ever so slowly more and more indicators flip neutral or positive. As usual, clicking over and reading will bring you up to the virtual moment, and reward me a little bit for my efforts throughout the year. Next week, as we begin a new year, I anticipate adding a...

This casting was up December 29 at Talking Points Memo (TPM). It is about 50 minutes long and a very interesting conversation between John, Kate, and Prof. Heather. Covering the state of democracy in America is the topic and well worth the listen. Belaboring the Point: What If We’d Been Mean to Robert E Lee? Talking Points Memo, Josh Marshall, Kate Riga, and Prof. Heather Cox Richardson. [embedded content] ...

NPR Nails It: Highlights Two Programs That Make a Difference to Millions, Center for Economic and Policy Research, Dean Baker. Dean Baker: I’ve complained a lot about how the major media outlets seem to highlight every piece of bad news about the economy, while downplaying or ignoring altogether the positives. Given my complaints, I want to offer a word of praise to NPR. Last night, NPR ran two pieces highlighting programs that make a big...

Οι σκοτεινές πλευρές του ελληνικού success story[embedded content] Την Τετάρτη 20 Δεκεμβρίου το δημοσίευμα του «Economist» έμοιαζε να αποτελεί τον ιδανικό επίλογο ενός σημαδιακού έτους για την ελληνική οικονομία. Το έγκυρο οικονομικό περιοδικό χαρακτήριζε την Ελλάδα ως «χώρα της χρονιάς» για το 2023, σχολιάζοντας ότι η Αθήνα «δείχνει ότι από το χείλος της κατάρρευσης είναι δυνατόν να θεσπιστούν σκληρές, λογικές οικονομικές μεταρρυθμίσεις, να ανασυγκροτηθεί το κοινωνικό συμβόλαιο, να...