Finance and the Economy

Our Economic Model Is Failing Working People: Bring On The Scapegoats

November 22, 2021 Bruce T. Boccardy, Common Dreams. Educate! Biden administration, Finance and the Economy

E. J. Dionne is a columnist for the Washington Post. Speaking on WBUR, of National Public Radio on November 8, he applauded the work of the Biden Administration with regard to job numbers in October. He cited the standard Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) measure which is U-3. The BLS reported that the unemployment rate in October fell to 4.6 percent. That would be a cause for applause if it was remotely accurate. It certainly is not.

The Choking Of The Global Minotaur

November 21, 2021 James K. Galbraith, Project Syndicate. Educate! Finance and the Economy, Supply Chain

The supply disruptions plaguing the US economy are not the result of "excessive demand," "central planning," or a lack of efficiency. Rather, it is that a logistics ecosystem that was developed to feed the beast of American consumption was not designed for a pandemic.

There’s A Good Case To Be Made For Central Bank Digital Currencies

November 21, 2021 Ellen Brown, Scheer Post. Create! Currency, Finance and the Economy

Whether the U.S. should have its own central bank digital currency (CBDC) is hotly debated. Several countries, including China, already have CBDCs in operation; but the U.S. Federal Reserve is proceeding with caution. Prof. Saule Omarova, President Biden’s nominee for Comptroller of the Currency, is in favor of a CBDC and has made a strong case for it; but many conservative commentators are opposed, and her nomination remains in doubt.

For Rich Countries To Honor Their Climate Debt, Tax Multinationals

November 11, 2021 Léonce Ndikumana, Common Dreams. Create! climate crisis, Corporatism, Finance and the Economy, Taxes

For once, most of the debtors are not in Africa, but in the North. I am not talking money, but about climate debt, as natural disasters are multiplying and the fight against climate change has become an existential issue. Since industrialized countries have used the available atmospheric space to develop and get rich by exploiting fossil fuels, the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26)—that is coming to end in Glasgow right now—must be an opportunity to recognize this climate debt to Africa, and to developing countries in general, and to honor it. With 4% of global emissions, Africa has contributed very little to global warming. Yet, it is the continent that is already suffering the most from its consequences.

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: Grading Biden’s Build Back Better Deal

November 4, 2021 Max B. Sawicky , In These Times. Educate! Biden administration, Finance and the Economy, Infrastructure Bill

How good is the budget deal framework put forward by the Biden White House last week? It depends on your standard for comparison. Relative to Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I‑Vt.) opening bid of $6 trillion, or even the previous compromise of $3.5 trillion, it’s a drastic come-down, with a current price tag around $1.85 trillion. But even before considering what is to come with the budget package, we ought to keep in mind what has already been done this year. In Fiscal Year 2021 (which ended in September), federal spending exceeded 30 percent of GDP. Presidents Trump and Biden share the credit for that outcome, since the fiscal year overlaps their times in office. Compared to past decades, such as 1975 to 1996 or 2003 to 2019, when federal spending hovered around 20 percent, that’s already a huge leap.

Why Not A Financial Transactions Tax?

October 26, 2021 Jack Rasmus, Counter Punch. Create! Finance and the Economy, Financial Transaction Tax, Infrastructure, Taxes

As Senator Sinema gets Biden to drop his proposed tax increases on corporations and wealthy investors earning more than $400K income a year, no consideration is being given at all within Democrat party circles about introducing a financial transactions tax to pay for the Infrastructure bill ($.55T) or the Build Back Better Bill ($1.9T). 5 years ago I wrote and proposed a minimal financial transaction tax that would generate $2.4T in revenue. That would pay for both the new spending proposals in the Infrastructure bill ($.55T) as well as the Build Back Better bill proposal still on the negotiating table ($1.9T)–the latter which, by the way, is about to be reduced further by Democrat Senator Krysten Sinema’s ‘no taxes on corporations or the rich’.

Nicaragua Is The Exception: Letter To A Cynic

October 21, 2021 Becca Mohally Renk, Counter Punch. Create! Finance and the Economy, Food Sovereignty, Infrastructure, Nicaragua

“That’s unbelievable,” my father-in-law wrote me from Ireland after watching me give a statistic-heavy webinar on the advances for the poor in Nicaragua since 2007. “I know, right?” I replied. “No, I mean it’s actually unbelievable,” he wrote back. “For cynical people like me, our faith in humanity has been undermined. The story of a government really looking after ordinary people is too good to be true.” I understand what he means. If I hadn’t been living in Nicaragua for the last 20 years and hadn’t seen with my own eyes the changes since the Sandinista government came back in to power with a pro poor strategy 14 years ago, I know that I would also dismiss the statistics as nothing but propaganda.

High-Paid Media Types Are Unhappy Workers Are Getting Higher Pay

October 20, 2021 Dean Baker, CEPR. Educate! Finance and the Economy, Media, Wages, Worker Rights and Jobs

Many in the media are very upset that workers at the bottom end of the pay scale feel secure enough to demand higher pay and better working conditions. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of watching a television anchor, who earns $6 million a year, complain that 3 percent of the workforce quit their job in August. They seemed to find the idea of workers quitting unsatisfactory jobs appalling. For those of us who think that all workers should be able to get decent pay, have decent working conditions, and be treated with respect on the job, the idea that large numbers of workers now feel they can quit jobs they don’t like is really great news. And, the increased labor market power for those at the bottom of the ladder is showing up in higher pay.

Postal Banking Is Finally A Reality In (Some Of) The United States

October 19, 2021 Donald Cohen, In These Times. Create! Banking, Finance and the Economy, Postal Banking

The crisis[Covid-19 pandemic] has wreaked economic havoc on working Americans. But U.S. billionaires have gotten 62 percent richer during the pandemic, while over 86 million Americans lost jobs, some 3 million households now report concerns of imminent eviction, and essential workers — particularly Latino, Indigenous and Black workers — continue to die from Covid-19 at disproportionate rates.

The Inflation Class War

October 16, 2021 Grace Blakeley, Tribune Magazine. Educate! Finance and the Economy, Inflation, Worker Rights and Jobs

When we hear the word ‘inflation’, it usually brings to mind the prospect of rising prices for basic necessities, things like food, fuel and transport. This kind of inflation comes in two types – cost-push and demand-pull. Cost-push inflation refers to the ‘pushing’ effect of rising input prices somewhere in the supply chain. When oil prices rise substantially, for example, prices across the economy rise as oil is used to produce and transport almost everything. Effectively, rising costs equate to a contraction in the potential amount the economy can produce. Demand-pull inflation, on the other hand, refers to the ‘pulling’ effect of rising demand on prices. Usually, there exists a gap between what could be produced if all the resources in an economy were being put to use as efficiently as possible, and the amount of output we’re currently producing: the output gap.

Soaring Food Prices Drive Hunger Around The World

October 15, 2021 John Malvar, WSWS. Educate! Finance and the Economy, Food Access, Hunger, Poverty

The 2021 Global Hunger Index (GHI), published on Thursday, revealed soaring levels of hunger among the poor and working populations around the globe. The foreword, written by the heads of Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide, the organizations responsible for the GHI, stated that the report “points to a dire hunger situation, a result of the toxic cocktail of the climate crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and increasingly severe and protracted conflicts.” Rising food prices are a critical contributing factor in the growth of world hunger over the past year. Rapidly mounting inflation and the disruption of the supply chain networks of global capitalism are driving up the prices of all basic consumer goods. The U.S. Energy Information Authority reported that nearly half of all US households who use natural gas to heat their homes will pay an average of 30 to 50 percent more this winter for heating than last year.

Month After Unemployment Program Ended Was Worst For Job Growth

October 9, 2021 Morgan Artyukhina, Sputnik News. Educate! Biden administration, Finance and the Economy, Unemployment, Worker Rights and Jobs

The federal unemployment benefit wasn’t the only pandemic aid program the Democrats let end, either. Federal bans on foreclosure and eviction were also allowed to lapse without renewal as well, along with a moratorium on student loan payments. An end to unemployment benefits, with such a large percentage of recipients being long-term unemployed, means that millions more are now exposed to the danger of eviction. Already, 1.4 million Americans said they expect to be evicted in the next two months, with another 2.3 million saying it was "somewhat likely" they would soon lose their homes. Nationwide, an estimated 7.7 million households are behind on rent, meaning as many as 15 million could become unhoused.

Democratise Central Banks

October 6, 2021 Grace Blakeley, Tribune Magazine. Create! Banking, Corruption, Finance and the Economy, New Economy

In the US, two senior central bank officials recently stepped down after concerns were raised about their trading activities during the pandemic. Robert Kaplan, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, will step down next month, and Eric Rosengren, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, will step down at the end of September. Both were actively involved in financial markets at the beginning of the year, and therefore stood personally to benefit when the Federal Reserve made the unprecedented decision to extend its asset purchasing programme (what most of you will know as quantitative easing) to a number of different markets. The Fed not only created new money to purchase long-dated government bonds, it also actively intervened in corporate, consumer, and municipal debt markets – effectively propping up thousands of private companies, many of which then provided bumper returns to their shareholders.

Energy Lawsuits Pact Seen Threatening Paris Climate Deal

October 6, 2021 Arthur Neslen, Reuters. Educate! climate crisis, Finance and the Economy, Lawfare, Paris Agreement

Brussels - Fear of multi-billion-euro lawsuits from fossil fuel investors is putting the Paris agreement on climate change at risk, one of the deal's architects has warned. Compensation claims from a pact that allows companies to sue countries over policies that affect their investments could amount to more than a trillion euros by 2050, according to one estimate. The Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) was originally drawn up to protect energy firms as the Soviet Union crumbled, but new analysis suggests it could allow coal plants in 54 signatory states to keep belching carbon dioxide for more than a decade. "The integrity of the Paris agreement is critically undermined by the Energy Charter Treaty," said Laurence Tubiana, the French climate change ambassador during negotiations for the Paris agreement.

Abolish The Debt Ceiling Before It Commits Austerity Again

September 30, 2021 Josh Bivens, Working Economics Blog. Educate! Congress, Debt, Debt Ceiling, Finance and the Economy

The U.S. Treasury draws on banking accounts at the Federal Reserve to fund federal governmental activities—remitting paychecks to federal government employees, sending Social Security checks, reimbursing doctors for treating Medicare-covered patients, paying defense contractors and interest to bondholders, and so on. These accounts are fed on an ongoing basis by both tax revenues and the proceeds from selling bonds (debt). But, because the United States has a statutorily imposed limit of how much outstanding debt is allowed, once this limit is reached on issuing new debt, Treasury can no longer sell bonds and deposit these proceeds, and hence accounts at the Federal Reserve will dwindle as they are now only fed by ongoing taxes, which are insufficient to cover all spending.

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