Monthly Archives: August 2012

Bill Mitchell on the empirical falseness of supply-side unmployment measures

Posted on August 22, 2012 by

The main underlying idea of supply-side unemployment measures is that the average (potential) employee looks at wages he can earn working, the unemployment support (welfare) that the government is paying, and then decides that the wage is too low to … Continue reading →

Posted in austerity, belief systems, deficit spending, economic policy, macroeconomics, neo-liberalism, science-based policy | Leave a comment

It seems France is less neo-liberal and this bothers opinion makers in Germany

Posted on August 19, 2012 by

I have to admit that I used to be embarrassingly uninformed about the political situation in France, something that has been remedied a bit in the recent past. I have a good grasp of the deplorable state of German politics … Continue reading →

Posted in belief systems, developed countries, economic policy, neo-liberalism, public debt, standards of living, wealth distribution | Leave a comment

If there’s a gun in the house, you’re more likely to be a victim of homicide

Posted on August 15, 2012 by

I find this a surprising and somewhat counterintuitive find: Among other things, that work revealed that people living in homes where there was a gun faced a 2.7-fold greater risk of homicide (A. L. Kellermann et al. N. Engl. J. … Continue reading →

Posted in belief systems, gun regulation, science-based policy | Leave a comment

An economic prediction

Posted on August 13, 2012 by

I usually hold the mainstream’s feet to the fire but today, I have something different. An economic prediction by Bill Mitchell: Last week (August 10, 2012) the Japanese Parliament approved a bill to double the sales tax (from 5 per … Continue reading →

Posted in deficit spending, developed countries, macroeconomics, neo-liberalism, public debt | 1 Comment

No, the older generation is NOT living at the expense of the young (or: yet another Spiegel hit piece)

Posted on August 12, 2012 by

What’s left after you have laid blame of the current crisis at the feet of the poor and unemployed, those lazy Southerners (i.e. foreigners), and “greedy bankers”? Exactly, Divide et Impera: young vs old: People vs. banks, north vs. south, … Continue reading →

Posted in austerity, economic policy, neo-liberalism, private debt, standards of living, wealth distribution | Leave a comment

Martin Robbins from the African Propaganda Trail

Posted on August 11, 2012 by

Martin Robbins has a series at the Guardian right now, titled “Lessons from Africa’s propaganda trail” and the fourth entry is out. It’s the most cynical so far: Mark recorded a video of the greeting we received, shot moments after … Continue reading →

Posted in developmental aid, health care, health care policy, media, science-based policy | Leave a comment

Stratfor’s latest discussion of the eurocrisis

Posted on August 11, 2012 by

When Stratfor was hacked last year, insult was quickly added to injury when different people weighed in, judging them for their business model of selling their information and analyses to governments and business people, claiming that they didn’t have the … Continue reading →

Posted in developed countries, economic policy, eurocrisis, media | Leave a comment