Wealth Inequality in the US
a fifty-year view. One of the central perspectives of my forthcoming book The Silent Theft: the $79 trillion heist that rewrote the American economic deal […]
Politics
David Brooks misses the long view
“Can We Please Stop Lying About Obama?” The indefatigable conservative columnist for the NY Times, David Brooks, has authored a strange and flawed essay, “Can […]
A “Decent” Federal Budget?
Paul Krugman, “What a Decent Budget Would Look Like” Paul Krugman’s recent post, “What a Decent Budget Would Look Like – Imagining a Congress that […]
The Rich Control Congress
Evidence from OpenSecrets.org A new report from OpenSecrets.org, “Outside money, inside influence: How national donors shaped the 2024 congressional elections,” demonstrates that the rich are […]
“The Techno-Optimist Manifesto” – more about tech billionaire ideology
The Techno-Optimist Manifesto by Marc Andreessenis a 2023 statement of a libertarian-technology-centric view of the world. This manifesto is primarily based on a faith-based understanding […]
The Peculiar Political Background of Elon Musk
I don’t generally pay much attention to individual players in the ongoing dramas of the world. No surprise, I am drawn to more macro, structural […]
Secrecy is at the heart of capitalism
Dark money, shell corporations, 501(c)(4) funding (U.S. nonprofit groups that don’t have to disclose donors), Super PAC money, and many more terms describe the tsunami […]
The Need for Class Warfare
The media, including here at Substack, has been filled with bleatings about the Democratic Party’s whipping at the hands of Trump and his billionaires. There […]
Polycrisis
Today, I came across this article on Medium: The Rich Are Hoarding Wealth—Because They Know What’s Coming by Angus Peterson. I have regularly referred to […]
What is financialization and why does it matter? – part 1
Financialization is one of the most important drivers of changes in the last 50 years in American capitalism, and consequently in our society. As noted […]