May, 2017 | Michael Hudson

Are Students a Class?

By Michael Wednesday, May 31, 2017 Articles student debt Permalink

Students usually don’t think of themselves as a class. They seem “pre-class,” because they have not yet entered the labor force. They can only hope to become part of the middle class after they graduate. And that means becoming a wage earner – what impolitely is called the working class. But as soon as they take out a student debt, they become part of the economy. They are in this sense a debtor class. But to be a debtor, one needs a means to pay – and the student’s means to pay is out of the wages and salaries they may earn after they graduate. And after all, the reason most students get an education is so that they can qualify for a middle-class job. The middle class in America consists of ...

Vancouver’s Internal Contradictions

By Michael Thursday, May 25, 2017 Interviews No tags Permalink

Recently I was invited to speak at Vancouver's Real Estate Crisis, hosted by the British Columbia Goods and Service Employees' Union. Two shorter versions you may also like to share:

Another Housing Bubble?

By Michael Wednesday, May 24, 2017 Interviews housing affordability, student debt Permalink

TRNN, May 24, 2017. Economist Michael Hudson explains that even though housing prices are back up at 2008 levels homeownership is at a much lower level and banks have their loans guaranteed by the US government SHARMINI PERIES: It's The Real News Network. I'm Sharmini Peries, coming to you from Baltimore. Just prior to the economic collapse of 2007-2008 there were several economic indicators which could have given us a clue of the impending disaster. If we look at the economic situation today in the US, we find many of these very same indicators. Housing prices are getting very high. Credit card debt has begun to rise again. Student loans are in default, many of them, and the stock and bond markets reached an all-time high. Are we actually in another housing bubble ...

BC Pipeline Poll

By Michael Sunday, May 14, 2017 Interviews No tags Permalink

British Columbia May 12 2017 “Why are British Columbians Voting Liberal, Against Their Own Interest?” The Real News Network, May 12, 2017. British Columbia is giving away lumber at .50 cents an acre and the Green Party holds the balance of power at a tipping point on energy policy says Michael Hudson. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBy-zR600zs Dimitri Lascari: This is Dimitri Lascaris for The Real News. On Tuesday of this week the Canadian Province of British Colombia held an election and the result was a nail biter. BC's legislature consists of 87 seats and in order to command a majority, a party must hold a minimum of 44 seats. The provisional results are that the right wing incumbent liberal party, led by BC premier Christy Clark, won 43 seats. The Social Democratic NDP won 41 ...

Jargon, Junk Reviewed

By Michael Friday, May 12, 2017 Articles J is for Junk Economics Permalink

A Book Review by Peter Koenig via the Saker website The author, Michael Hudson, is President of The Institute for the Study of Long-Term Economic Trends (ISLET), a Wall Street Financial Analyst, Distinguished Research Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri, Kansas City. Michael’s book, Junk Economics, reads like an economic thriller. It also provides all the answers to: “What I always wanted to know about Economics, but was afraid to ask”. It is a fascinating read, written for ‘experts’ as well as for economic novices. It is a factual account of what so called ‘Propaganda Experts’ want you to believe about economics, and it dismantles the myths. It explains ‘jargons’ that are on purpose coined, so that the average reader has no clue of their real meaning, but they create ...

IMF to Greece: Sorry We’ll Destroy You

By Michael Monday, May 8, 2017 Interviews Greece, IMF Permalink

Greece Passes New Austerity for New Loans, The Real New Network, May 6, 2017. Bond holders, banks, and IMF bear responsibility for having made irresponsible loans to Greece, so it is not right for them to force yet more austerity on Greece, says Michael Hudson. Sharmini Peries: It's the Real News Network. I am Sharmini Peries coming to you from Baltimore. The European Commission announced on May 2, that an agreement on Greek pension and income tax reforms would pave the way for further discussions on debt release for Greece. The European Commission described this as good news for Greece. The Greek government described the situation in similar terms. However, little attention has been given as to how the ...

Review of Steve Keen’s “Can we void another financial crisis?”

By Michael Tuesday, May 2, 2017 Articles Debt Permalink

At first glance Steve Keen's new book 'Can We Avoid Another Financial Crisis' seems too small-sized at 147 pages. But like a well-made atom-bomb, it is compactly designed for maximum reverberation to blow up its intended target. Explaining why today’s debt residue has turned the United States, Britain and southern Europe into zombie economies, Steve Keen shows how ignoring debt the blind spot of neoliberal economics – basically the old neoclassical just-pretend view of the world. Neoclassical's glib mathiness is a gloss for its unscientific “don’t worry about debt” message. Blame for today’s U.S., British and southern European inability to achieve economic recovery thus rests on the economic ...