Category Archives: Financial Regulation

Gangster Capitalism: Same as it ever was?

If you are going to read one thing and just one thing on the financial crisis and how it is working itself out you need to read this blog post at naked capitalism:  the one stop shop for understanding contemporary … Continue reading

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The irony of greed: The end game for Neoliberalism?

The global economy is in the toilet and the Boomers’ representatives are chanting: “flush, flush, flush.”  Me? I am eating cigarettes and wine while admiring the remarkable consistency in the myopia of all of it. In the name of fiscal … Continue reading

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The Right Wing Commentariat is getting Desperate

Just go read Terence Corcoran’s latest in the National Post.  Never mind that the world was plunged into economic crisis by unregulated financial institutions and near fully captured regulators; never mind that by most accounts the financial regulatory reform that … Continue reading

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Never count on economists to defend the public interest

This is something that should always be kept in mind in economic policy discussions: most economists are pro-Market, not pro-Public Interest. It is especially important to keep this in mind when we read commentary such as this, in which an … Continue reading

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No. 8: We got effeciency here

For some I know this will seem a little too low on the list, but it is low because it really is low. When you are trapped inside GET (general equilibrium theory) reality is your enemy. Inside GET everything is … Continue reading

Posted in American politics, Canadian Politics, Class War, economic crisis, Finance, Financial Regulation, Neoliberalism, Real Economists, unemployment, welfare state | 2 Comments

IMF research paper: “Inequality, Leverage and Crises”

A recently released research paper coming out of the IMF is worth your time. Particularly so if you find yourself making what you take to be a serious argument about the link between inequality and macroeconomic stability but can’t seem … Continue reading

Posted in American politics, Canadian Politics, Class War, Consumption, Financial Regulation, Free Markets, Free Trade, industrial relations, labour market theory, New Papers & Articles, unemployment, Welfare Policy, welfare state | 1 Comment

Extend and pretend

It is bad when the most pertinent of commentaries gets no response. What is ironic here is that at the micro level banks are telling their public stop pretending we are not extending even though they face near zero costs … Continue reading

Posted in American politics, Budgets, Canadian Politics, central banks, Class War, economic crisis, Financial Regulation, Free Markets, Gun control, inflation, Neoliberalism, political humour, unemployment, US economy | Leave a comment

Goldman Sachs, Market Makers and standard economic theory

I wish I had the time to work through this more systematically but I do not. But can anyone watching the US senate grilling of G&S execs believe in the micro-foundations of orthodox economics (scientific liberalism)? What I liked was … Continue reading

Posted in American politics, Capitalist Consupmtion in the Modern Age, Class War, economic crisis, Finance, Financial Regulation, Free Markets, Profits, Real Economists | 1 Comment

Black Swans and Scientific Liberalism

Of course the high modernist cousin to scientific liberalism is scientific socialism: “just one more five year plan and we will get it right” said the commissar. There was a legitimacy to that position when the system was new, when there was no history; just a series of experiments where time would tell if they got it right. scientific liberalism cheats at this game: they want to argue for the maximisation of happiness; and then when the gig is up they want to default to satisficing Continue reading

Posted in American politics, Canadian Politics, Class War, economic crisis, Financial Regulation, Free Markets, Neoclassical, Neoliberalism, Propaganda | 5 Comments

Canadian Central Bankers Past and Present: IgNoble Truths

What an odd week. David Dodge wants an adult conversation about tax levels and the quality of public services. This clearly runs afoul of the conservative meme that less is always more. But the big show- stopper had to be … Continue reading

Posted in Budgets, central banks, Class War, economic crisis, Financial Regulation, Free Markets, Gov Debt, Productivity | Leave a comment