The budget deficit is the change in the nominal face value of public debt. It is roughly unique (as far as I know) being the change in a quantity which is not corrected for inflation. We do not usually talk about nominal GDP growth or nominal wage growth. The sustainable deficit increases one for one in debt*inflation, so the term should be removed if one is thinking of long term sustainability. I think the reason the absurd number is used is...

Then I really was going to skip today, even as–indeed, because–it is the 50th anniversary of 11 September. The original 11 de Septiembre, that is. Once is history, twice is parody. Feuerbach, as with Marx, was an optimist. Chile took only 17 years to get rid of Pinochet, and they did it at the ballot box. Twenty-two years later, the U.S. is still recovering something, though I’m no longer certain what. Are we trying to avoid torture?...

My tributes and memories of that terrible day.

[unable to retrieve full-text content]On this episode of RT’s Going Underground, we speak to former Wall Street Financial Analyst Michael Hudson, author of ‘The Collapse of Antiquity’. He discusses the origins of debt stemming from the oligarchy-dominated Ancient Greek and Roman ‘democracies’, the tradition of debt cancellation, and how the Roman and Greek oligarchies marked a turning point in Continue Reading The post Financial Conquest So Insidious first...

Several related strands have come together in the last week of work and thinking. Today (September 11, 2023), of course, is a massive day in history and I am not referring to the year 2001. Today marks the 50th anniversary of the overthrow of the Salvatore Allende’s democratically-elected government in Chile by the US CIA and there local puppets under the leadership of General – Augusto Pinochet. I have also been following a trail of the antecedents of the Powell Manifesto (thanks to...

Interview Request:  The NPR program, “This American Life,” is looking for people living outside the US to interview about their student loans.  They have done surprisingly strong journalism in the past.  If this is you, please send an email to: [email protected] If you are outside of the United States and have Student Loans, “This American Life” may want to talk to you. The program is looking for people who have left the United States due to the...

Today, several folks have posted 9/11 remembrances online. I’m fine with that. We should remember the people who died as a result of the plane crashes, as well as their families and friends. But don’t stop there. Also remember how this tragedy was cynically exploited for political purposes by folks like Rudy Giuliani and George Bush. How it was dishonestly used to justify the US invasion and military occupation of Iraq*, the torture and abuse of...

This is a good take on what has driven the decline in inflation or at least it is what I believe. Mike has an explanation on the Phillip Curve within his article. I skipped by it as I felt it was addition to the supply side explanation. Or not needed as a part of the explanation. Supply-Side Expansion Has Driven the Decline in Inflation, Roosevelt Institute, Mike Konczal “After two years of persistently rising prices, inflation has finally...

Financials of the future

Dramatic control on rich people