Financial Diversion

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Cross-posted from the FinancialRepressionAuthority.com, April 27, 2016. GORDON LONG: Thank you for joining us. I'm Gordon Long with the Financial Repression Authority. It's my pleasure to have with me today Dr. Michael Hudson  Professor Hudson's very well known in terms of the FIRE economy to—I think, to a lot of our listeners, or at least he's recognized by many as fostering that concept. A well known author, he has published many, many books. Welcome, Professor Hudson. MICHAEL HUDSON: Yes. LONG: Let's just jump into the subject. I mentioned the FIRE economy cause I know that I have always heard it coming from yourself—or, indirectly, not directly, from yourself. Could you explain to our listeners what's meant by that terminology? HUDSON: Well it's more than just people getting fired. FIRE is an acronym for Finance, Insurance and ...

Fix our debt addiction to fix our economy

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As published in the Washington Post Each week, In Theory takes on a big idea in the news and explores it from a range of perspectives. This week, we’re talking about financialization. Need a primer? Catch up here. Michael Hudson is distinguished research professor of economics at University of Missouri-Kansas City. His most recent book is “Killing the Host: How Financial Parasites and Debt Destroy the Global Economy.” Our economy has increasingly been financialized, and the result is a sluggish economy with stagnant wages. Weneed to decide whether to stop the cycle and save the economy at large or to stay in thrall to our banks and bondholders. Without clearing our debt, theeconomy will continue to languish in debt deflation and polarization between creditors and debtors. As a statistical measure, financialization is the degree to which debt accounts for ...

Laundering Havens for War Budgets

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Panama money laundering 2016 “Closing Panama Tax Haven Will Require Fighting the Most Powerful Lobby In the World,” The Real News Network, April 14, 2016. Economist Michael Hudson says oil and mining industries and the State Department created Panama and Liberia for the express purpose of tax evasion.   Sharmini Peries coming to you from Baltimore. Within a week the 11 million documents called the Panama papers, published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, has become a household name. The documents are connected to the Panama law firm Mossack Fonsesca that helped establish offshore accounts for some of the wealthiest and most powerful leaders to launder money and evade taxes. On Tuesday the police in Panama raided the Mossack Fonseca law firm to search for more documents linked to illicit activities. But what are they ...

Establishment Protection of Big Banks

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JAISAL NOOR, TRNN: Welcome to the Real News Network. I'm Jaisal Noor in Baltimore.  It's been a tough week for Senator Bernie Sanders on the campaign trail, despite his big win in Wisconsin on Tuesday, because it's been marked by fierce attacks on his economic plans. On Friday, New York Times’ Paul Krugman pinned a scathing critique of Sanders for his slogans of breaking up the banks because he says that won't protect us from a future crisis and for Sanders failing to provide details about how he would go about this, when asked by the New York Daily News. Sanders met with the Daily News on April 1st for an in depth interview for a range of his policy positions. That interview's been widely panned by the corporate media which ...