Back in the 1990s it was often fashionable to argue that increased prosperity would magically transform China into a more liberal political system. Today, that’s clearly not the case. What we’re seeing here, though, is the more likely mechanism for political change—dashed hopes. Peasant farmers often just feel beaten-down and resigned to their fate. But… Continue reading China’s Dangerous Lower Middle Class
Tyler Cowen on The Inequality That Matters
Does growing wealth and income inequality in the United States presage the downfall of the American republic? Will we evolve into a new Gilded Age plutocracy, irrevocably split between the competing interests of rich and poor? Or is growing inequality a mere bump in the road, a statistical blip along the path to greater wealth… Continue reading Tyler Cowen on The Inequality That Matters
Free Markets and Safety Nets
Guaranteeing people a decent retirement and decent health care does more than smooth out the rough edges of capitalism. Those guarantees give people the freedom to take risks. If you know that professional failure won’t leave you penniless and won’t prevent your child from receiving needed medical care, you can leave the comfort of a… Continue reading Free Markets and Safety Nets
Free Markets and Safety Nets
Guaranteeing people a decent retirement and decent health care does more than smooth out the rough edges of capitalism. Those guarantees give people the freedom to take risks. If you know that professional failure won’t leave you penniless and won’t prevent your child from receiving needed medical care, you can leave the comfort of a… Continue reading Free Markets and Safety Nets
Thomas Jefferson on Wealth Inequality
I am conscious that an equal division of property is impracticable, but the consequences of this enormous inequality producing so much misery to the bulk of mankind, legislators cannot invent too many devices for subdividing property, only taking care to let their subdivisions go hand in hand with the natural affections of the human mind.… Continue reading Thomas Jefferson on Wealth Inequality
The liberal backlash that isn’t
with the release of a new Washington Post/ABC News poll – conducted late last week and over the weekend, as the supposed liberal backlash against the deal was at its peak – that shows Obama’s approval rating with liberal Democrats sitting at 87 percent. That’s essentially where it’s been all year; it represents a statistically… Continue reading The liberal backlash that isn’t
The SPECTRE of Inequality
there’s a scene early in the movie when the minions of SPECTRE, the evil conspiracy, are shown reporting on their profits from dastardly activities. And the numbers are … ludicrously small. I know that’s a running gag in Austin Powers, But it’s true, it’s true! Even the big one — demanding a ransom for two… Continue reading The SPECTRE of Inequality
Post-Meltdown, Banks Still Rule Derivatives Trade
In theory, this group exists to safeguard the integrity of the multitrillion-dollar market. In practice, it also defends the dominance of the big banks. The banks in this group, which is affiliated with a new derivatives clearinghouse, have fought to block other banks from entering the market, and they are also trying to thwart efforts… Continue reading Post-Meltdown, Banks Still Rule Derivatives Trade
Ken Cuccinelli, How to get ahead as a Republican in 2010
Ken Cuccinelli has called homosexuality “intrinsically wrong,” sought to alter the 14th Amendment in order to strip the children of undocumented immigrants of their citizenship, questioned the science of climate change, and dabbled in birtherism. He is, in other words, a near-perfect embodiment of the passions that animate the base of the Republican Party in… Continue reading Ken Cuccinelli, How to get ahead as a Republican in 2010
Orwell and the Financial Crisis
Barry Ritholtz catches AEI purging mention of deregulation from Peter Wallison’s bio. Wallison is co-director of AEI’s financial deregulation project; but he’s also one of the Gang of Four demanding that the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission not so much as mention deregulation in its report. From Orwell and the Financial Crisis – NYTimes.com We have… Continue reading Orwell and the Financial Crisis