The Washington Post has a long piece about a Virginia family whose current (substantial but not huge) wealth derives from their slaveholding forebears and who may now be greatly enriched by the discovery of uranium under their land. There’s an interesting discussion of the arguments for and against reparations Buried in the middle of the article is something much more interesting, to me at any rate. One member of the family, Edward Coles, opposed slavery. He hid his views until he...

from John Komlos  Stress, the body’s biological response to external threats, is generated in the economic system as a negative externality through countless pathways, that include long working hours, being underpaid, being evicted, income insecurity, unhealthy work environments, tight deadlines, being fired, long spells of unemployment, underemployment, low income relative to the median, reduction of earnings, unexpected medical expenses, college tuition, being victim of predatory...

The 2020s appear to be a never-ending parade of global groupthink. The Russian Oil Price Cap is yet another stupid and self-destructive idea that should have been suffocated at birth. It cannot possibly achieve what its supporters claim, and it represents emotional value signalling from the Big Hug Club rather than any semblance of rational thought.The belief is pure neoliberal hubris, based upon a category mistake and a complete misunderstanding of how national economies and their...

People think the stock market is a leading indicator of the economy. It's not. At best it's a coincident indicator, and more often, a lagging one. Trade and invest using the concepts of MMT. Get a 30-day free trial to MMT Trader. https://www.mmteconomics.com/ Mike Norman Twitter https://twitter.com/mikenorman Mike Norman Economics: https://mikenormaneconomics.blogspot.com/ Understanding the Daily Treasury Statement video course....

Platypus interview on The Destiny of Civilization The destiny of civilization: An interview with Michael HudsonOn July 15, 2022, Platypus Affiliated Society member D. L. Jacobs interviewed Michael Hudson to discuss his new book, The Destiny of Civilization: Finance Capitalism, Industrial Capitalism or Socialism (2022). An edited transcript follows. D. L. Jacobs: Can tell us about your background regarding Marxism and how you came to political economy?Michael Hudson: Well, I...

US mulls ‘scorched earth’ strategy for Taiwan instead of defense…The United States will enact a scorched-earth policy in Taiwan, destroying its semiconductor industry, if the PRC seizes the island, former Trump national security adviser Robert O’Brien told a conference at the Richard Nixon Foundation on November 10, reports army-technology.com. “If China takes Taiwan and takes those factories intact – which I don’t think we would ever allow – they have a monopoly over chips the way OPEC has...

On October 27, Elon Musk took over Twitter in a 44-billion-dollar deal. The world's richest man promised to make the platform’s content moderation rules less arbitrary, more transparent, and to make the “digital town square” a haven for free speech. Since then, it’s been an eventful few weeks. Half of the company's staff was fired, impersonators took advantage of a new account policy to sow chaos and confusion, prominent accounts were banned and unbanned. And...

“States Should Use New Guidance to Stop Charging Parents for Foster Care, Prioritize Family Reunification,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, cbpp.org, Diana Azevedo-McCaffrey. This article was referenced at “Mike’s Blog Round Up,” Crooks and Liars, by Batocchio, on October 22, 2022. The Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration for Children & Families is allowing states to end the practice of charging parents for costs associated...

“Open thread Dec. 2, 2022,” Angry Bear angry bear blog Tags: open thread

New factory orders remain an economic bright spot  – by New Deal democrat New factory orders for October were reported this morning. I normally don’t write about them, because they are very noisy, but since at the moment they are one of the few bright spots among the short leading indicators, let’s take a look. Total new factory orders rose 1.0%. “Core” orders excluding defense and aircraft rose 0.6%: “Core” orders have been flat for 2...