James Carden, “Bretton Woods: The Real Threat to Ukraine's Sovereignty?” The National Interest, February 2, 2015. Tom Friedman and George Soros believe Russia is the greatest threat to Ukraine. History suggests the IMF may be far more dangerous. When politicos and pundits wander off onto some half-baked historical analogy, it more often than not will have to do with comparing this or that current event to (if bad) Munich or (if very bad) 9/11. If the event is praiseworthy, it is likely be compared to the fall of the Berlin Wall or VE Day. When a politician as peripatetic as Mrs. Clinton does it, as when she compared Vladimir Putin to Adolph Hitler last March, one could reasonably enough chalk it up to fatigue. It is quite another thing, however, when a ...
Wall Street’s War Against the Cities
Why Bondholders Can’t – and Shouldn’t – be Paid The pace of Wall Street’s war against the 99% is quickening in preparation for the kill. Having demonized public employees for being scheduled to receive pensions on their lifetime employment service, bondholders are insisting on getting the money instead. It is the same austerity philosophy that has been forced on Greece and Spain – and the same that is prompting President Obama and Mitt Romney to urge scaling back Social Security and Medicare. Unlike the U.S. federal government, most states and cities have constitutions that prevent them from running budget deficits. This means that when they cut property taxes, they either must borrow from the wealthy, or cut back employment and public services. For many years they borrowed, paying tax-exempt interest to ...
Overview: The Bubble and Beyond:
The Road from Industrial Capitalism to Finance Capitalism and Debt Peonage Essays on Fictitious Capital, Debt Deflation and the Global Crisis Michael Hudson's new book The Bubble and Beyond can be purchased here. Preface Summary and Analytic Table of Contents Introduction: Today’s Financial Crisis and Economic Theory I. Fictitious Capital and Economic Fictions 1. Two Traditions of Financial Doctrine 2. The Magic of Compound Interest: Mathematics at the Root of the Crisis 3. How Ricardo’s Value Theory Ignored the Role of Debt 4. The Industrialization of Finance and the Financialization of Industry 5. The Use and Abuse of Mathematical Economics 6. The Financial Character of Today’s Crisis II. From Inflated Debts to Debt Deflation 7. Property is Worth Whatever a Bank Will Lend Against It 8. The Real Estate Bubble at the Core of ...
