Monthly Archives: January 2013

Mitchell’s economic prediction revisited

Posted on January 31, 2013 by

Bill Mitchell predicted in August that the idea of the then-current Japanese government to increase the VAT would shrink GDP while not doing anything to decrease deficits and public debt. GDP has shrunk in the second half of the year, … Continue reading →

Posted in austerity, developed countries, economic policy, MMT, public debt | 1 Comment

How badly will ending the payroll tax holiday inpact on US GDP growth?

Posted on January 31, 2013 by

Seems that US GDP shrunk slightly in the fourth quarter of 2012 and the mainstream now acts terribly surprised. So just to have something to check against in three months, a prediction from Warren Mosler’s website: http://moslereconomics.com/2013/01/02/growth-impact-from-yesterdays-deal/

Posted in austerity, debt, economic policy | Leave a comment

In neo-liberalism, it’s always the individual’s fault

Posted on January 29, 2013 by

There’s a post up at Telepolis in which the author contrasts neo-classical, Austrian and MMT-approaches to solving the current crisis. His diagnosis is that the problem is private over-indebtedness, which “paralyzes” individuals and banks and which needs to addressed “as … Continue reading →

Posted in austerity, belief systems, debt, deficit spending, economic policy, macroeconomics, MMT, neo-liberalism, private debt, wealth distribution | Leave a comment

The money-driven US politics

Posted on January 25, 2013 by

There’s a post up at the Esquire, called Brunch with the populists, describing the way money influences US politics: In Washington, on a weekend like this one, money doesn’t seem like power any more than moonlight does. The presence of … Continue reading →

Posted in democracy, election campaign | Leave a comment

The superdome construction couldn’t wait 90 days when the average Katrina victim waited months to years

Posted on January 22, 2013 by

Yahoo Sports has an article on how Robert Goodell did so much good for New Orleans’ American Football and should not be vilified for cracking down on the Saints for the “bounty” program. It’s just plain disgusting. To wit: Thornton … Continue reading →

Posted in Hypocrisy, professional sports, public debt | Leave a comment

Why focusing on the foreign exchange rate won’t get us anywhere

Posted on January 18, 2013 by

This is a slightly edited repost of something I wrote in a discussion at Crommunist’s blog. I don’t want it to get lost in the comments. There’s a commenter who calls himself Raging Bee who focuses on the relative external … Continue reading →

Posted in economic policy, macroeconomics, MMT, standards of living, wealth distribution | Leave a comment

Another year and austerity still doesn’t work!

Posted on January 18, 2013 by

So, Germany’s GDP has shrunk in the fourth quarter and growth for the entire year was weak (http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/german-shows-budget-surplus-in-2012-despite-slow-growth-a-877563.html) – weaker than in Japan, China or the US, countries that did not go (full) austerity. This doesn’t come as a surprise … Continue reading →

Posted in austerity, belief systems, economic policy, eurocrisis, media, neo-liberalism | Leave a comment