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 ...
Super Imperialism in 84 seconds
PLAY 3 TIMES: US military budget financed by ... by Renegade Economists on Mixcloud Taken from the Renegade Economists radio interview Financing Our Own Oppression, where discussions on the IMF-Ukraine-Russia showdown are highlighted. Financing Our Own Oppression by Renegade Economists on Mixcloud
How the U.S. Treasury avoided Chronic Deflation by Relinquishing Monetary Control to Wall Street
As published in the Social Sciences Research Network Michael Hudson University of Missouri, Economics Department, 211 Haig Hall, 5120 Rockhill Road, Kansas City, MO 64110, USA and Peking University, No.5 Yiheruan Road, Haidan District, P.O. Box 1008/71m, Beijing, P.R. China The Eurozone today is going into the same deflationary situation that the U.S. did under Jackson’s destruction of the Second Bank, and the post-Civil War budget surpluses that deflated the economy. But whereas the Fed’s creation was designed to inflate the U.S. economy, Europe’s European Central Bank is designed to deflate it — in the interest of commercial banks in both cases. 1. Introduction Deflation was the main U.S. financial problem prior to 1913. To replace the Treasury conducting its fiscal operations independently from the banking system, New York banks urged more power over public finances and ...
Inner Econ Geek
This interview with Profs. Hudson, Bill Black and Randy Wray at UMKC describes how the U.S. Financial sector has become criminalized, and describes how the economy will continue to shrink sharply after the November presidential election. Listen via here KCUR writes: Want to satisfy your inner econ geek? You've come to the right place. On Thursday's Central Standard, we’re having a roundtable talk on all things Post-Keynesian with distinguished UMKC research professors William Black, Randall Wray and Michael Hudson. Find out why the dynamics of private sector are essential to understanding the economy. Plus, we’ll discuss government transparency and accountability. If you're just little rusty on your economic theory and policy, join us at the table for the perfect refresher course.
Paul Krugman’s Economic Blinders
In Mr. Krugman’s reading, private debts need not be written down or the tax system made more efficient. It is to be better subsidized – mainly with easier bank credit and more government spending. So I am afraid that his book might as well have been subtitled “How the Economy can Borrow its Way Out of Debt.” That is what budget deficits do: they add to the debt overhead.
Austerity still?
Michael Hudson's presentation for the session "The Challenge of DeLeveraging and Overhangs of Debt II: The Politics and Economics of Restructuring" at the Institute for New Economic Thinking's (INET) Paradigm Lost Conference in Berlin. April 13, 2012.
Our Very Own Oscar Night in Rimini
Such is the censorial spirit of neoliberal monetary austerity. Its motto is TINA: There Is No Alternative, and it wants to keep matters this way. As long as it can suppress discussion of how many better alternatives there are, the hope is that the public will remain acquiescent as their living standards shrink and wealth is sucked up to the top of the economic pyramid to the 1%.
Wall Street's Capital Gain Plan
Well, the problem is is the financial time frame is very short-term. It’s hit and run. They’re into making a bundle as quick as they can on one project and then go on to the next project. And they leave an economy loaded down with debt, which is what you have from the corporate takeover movement, from the hedge funds, from the leveraged buyouts.
Banking Wasn't Meant to Be Like This
Yet to keep the bank casino winning, global bankers now want governments not only to bail them out but to enable them to renew their failed business plan – and to keep the present debts in place so that creditors will not have to take a loss.
This wish means that society should lose, and even suffer depression. We are dealing here not only with greed, but with outright antisocial behavior and hostility.
Degredation of Democracy
Michael appears on Capital Account to discuss his two most recent articles, Democracy & Debt and Europe's Transition from Social Democracy to Oligarchy.
