The "Latvian option" is the buzzword of the moment among European bankers and financial journalists. In October, the Latvian people voted in a coalition headed by the incumbent prime minister Valdis Dombrovskis, whose government had savaged social benefits, cut pay and inflated unemployment in 2009. Was this proof that austerity measures could not only work, ...
Financial Interests Dictate Sovereign Policy
Interview with Michael Hudson, Eleftherotypia, Sunday December 12, 2010. 1. A recent article of yours, “Schemes of the Rich and Greedy,” cites the bailouts in Europe among such schemes. What are the main faults with bailouts, and for whom are they designed? The financial sector is trying to get politicians to siphon off money from labor and ...
Deficit Hawks One Two Punch
More at The Real News December 16, 2010 Why Government is More Afraid of Debt than Depression Michael Hudson: Deficit Hawks Want a One Two Punch Against the Economy Transcript PAUL JAY, SENIOR EDITOR, TRNN: Welcome to The Real News Network. I'm Paul Jay, coming to you today from New York City. Now joining us is Michael Hudson. ...
From WikiLeaks to 21st Century Potato Famines
Professor Hudson appeared on the Renegade Economists radio show in Melbourne, Australia last Wednesday. Listen
Obama's Bushism
I almost feel naïve for being so angry at President Obama’s betrayal of his campaign promises regarding taxes. I had never harbored much hope that he actually intended to enact the reforms that his supporters expected – not after he appointed the most right-wing of the Clintonomics gang, Larry Summers, then Tim Geithner, Ben Bernanke ...
Adam Smith critiques the Deficit Reduction Commission
What would Adam Smith have said about the Bowles-Simpson economic report last week? What a pity the great free marketer was not around to serve on the Deficit Reduction Commission. He not only would have rolled over in his grave, he would have risen up wielding an ax to the fiscal proposals that are diametrically opposite ...
Schemes of the Rich and Greedy
Tax-Avoidance - The Worst is Yet to Come “Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me.” “The Rich Boy,” by F. Scott Fitzgerald The 30-year campaign of the wealthy to rig our economic system – especially the tax component – for their own benefit will accelerate with the GOP capture of ...
Krugman, China and the role of finance.
Here’s the quandary that the U.S. economy is in: The Fed’s quantitative easing policy– creating more liquidity so that banks can lend more – aims at helping the economy “borrow its way out of debt.” But banks are not lending more, for the simple reason that a third of U.S. real estate already is in ...
Dollar War in Detail
Eric Janszen, Interview with Dr. Michael Hudson 6 November, 2010 Janszen (E): What I’m noting, starting with the gold crisis over the last few weeks, and the public nature of some of the complaints that we’re hearing out of Brazil and China and the front page of the Financial Times, we seem to be heading into a ...
Mr. Obama’s Most Recent “2%” Sellout is his Worst Yet
Now that President Obama is almost celebrating his bipartisan willingness to renew the tax cuts for the super-rich enacted under George Bush ten years ago, it is time for Democrats to ask themselves how strongly they are willing to oppose an administration that looks like Bush-Cheney III. Is this what they expected by Mr. Obama’s ...
Hudson to Hudson
Part One of this discussion was published in the Huffington Post today. You get to see the whole piece here. Michael Hudson talks with . . . Michael Hudson Michael Hudson and Michael Hudson are often mistaken for each other. Along with sharing a name, they share an interest in economics, debt and the creative ways that ...
Russian TV, the G20 and US dollar diplomacy
Michael was interview on Russian TV yesterday by Lauren Lyster. Watch the 10 minute clip here. There is no possibility of agreement at the upcoming G20 summit because the U.S. is declaring financial war on other countries, believes American economist Michael Hudson. The U.S. has been pushing China to revalue its currency – at a time when ...
American Monetary Institute presentation
Michael gave this presentation at the AMI conference recently. You can watch it in 5 parts on youtube via the AMI page or Steve Keen kindly recorded it all as a single file here. The audio is better via AMI.
Hudson, Democracy Now on Currency Wars
Michael Hudson as interviewed by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez on Democracy Now! Summary: The Federal Reserve will pump $600 billion more into the U.S. economy and keep interest rates at historical low levels. The short-term impact of the Fed's move—known as quantitative easing—has been a jump in stock prices across the globe. Many nations, however, have ...
Speculating on Quantitative Currency Wars
An Interview with Dr. Michael Hudson October 21, 2010 Interviewer: iTulip’s Eric Janszen (E): Welcome Michael Hudson to iTulip again. Thanks for joining us. Hudson (H): Thank you, Eric. E: So we’ve had discussions in the past about China’s response to America’s escalation of the currency wars. Yesterday they made a bold move, raising their interest rates and also ...
Hudson on Capital Controls in FT today
Michael writes on currency speculation in today's Financial Times - Capital controls will follow the weak dollar. It is well worth registering to this excellent news source. Two weeks ago Brazil moved to deter speculators from pushing up its currency, doubling the tax on foreign investment in its government bonds. Last week Thailand acted on similar lines ...
Why the IMF Meetings Failed
And the Coming Capital Controls “Coming events cast their shadows forward.” – Goethe What is to stop U.S. banks and their customers from creating $1 trillion, $10 trillion or even $50 trillion on their computer keyboards to buy up all the bonds and stocks in the world, along with all the land and other assets for ...
Who Wins?
While Labor Unions celebrate Anti-Austerity Day in Europe, European Neoliberals raise the ante: Governments must Lower Wages or Suffer Financial Blackmail Most of the press has described Europe’s labor demonstrations and strikes on Wednesday in terms of the familiar exercise by transport employees irritating travelers with work slowdowns, and large throngs letting off steam by setting fires. ...
