Michael Hudson’s “TED TALK” on Economics

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This is the Michael Hudson "TED TALK” on economics. It covers everything you need to know about our failed global economic system and what to do about it, as featured in his book, J IS FOR JUNK ECONOMICS – A GUIDE TO REALITY IN AN AGE OF DECEPTION. Transcript (edited) Ross: The common refrain that you hear is that economics has failed. Blame that on the current economic paradigm: neoliberalism. In its own terms, it hasn't failed. It's worked perfectly according to the trajectory on which it aims: to steer society on behalf of the One Percent. Michael: Academic economics has been turned into a cover story to defend a status quo steered by the wealthiest One Percent, mainly by the banking and financial sector instead of by governments and their regulatory or ...

Socialism, Land and Banking: 2017 compared to 1917

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An article written for the hundredth anniversary of the Russian Revolution, to be read in Beijing today. Socialism a century ago seemed to be the wave of the future. There were various schools of socialism, but the common ideal was to guarantee support for basic needs, and for state ownership to free society from landlords, predatory banking and monopolies. In the West these hopes are now much further away than they seemed in 1917. Land and natural resources, basic infrastructure monopolies, health care and pensions have been increasingly privatized and financialized. Instead of Germany and other advanced industrial nations leading the way as expected, Russia’s October 1917 Revolution made the greatest leap. But the failures of Stalinism became an argument against Marxism – guilt-by-association with Soviet bureaucracy. European parties calling themselves ...

What Tax Plan?

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Transcript “Trump's Tax Plan Helps Wall Street, Not Main Street,” TRNN, October 3, 2017. It should be called the Leona Helmsley tax plan,' says economist Michael Hudson. 'Only the little people will pay taxes'. S. Peries: It's the Real News Network. I'm Sharmini Peries coming to you from Baltimore. A general consensus is emerging that Trump's tax plan, which he presented last Wednesday will benefit mostly the country's upper classes and corporations. In fact the only people that got a tax increase are the poorest taxpayers. A quick scan of even business press headlines will reinforce what I'm saying. For example, Bloomberg writes, "Tax reform could open a huge loophole for wealthy Americans", and the conservative magazines National Review has a headline that reads, "Congressional Republicans tax plan isn't great for Trump suburbanites." ...