Economy

The Seven Stages of Establishment Backlash: Corbyn/Sanders Edition

The British political and media establishment incrementally lost its collective mind over the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the country’s Labour Party, and its unraveling and implosion show no signs of receding yet. Bernie Sanders is nowhere near as radical as Corbyn; they are not even in the same universe. But, especially on economic issues, Sanders is a more fundamental, systemic critic than the oligarchical power […]

The Mirage of Justice

The reality is that almost no one who is imprisoned in America has gotten a trial. There is rarely an impartial investigation. A staggering 97 percent of all federal cases and 95 percent of all state felony cases are resolved through plea bargaining. Of the 2.2 million people we have incarcerated at the moment—25 percent of the world’s prison population—2 million never had a trial. And significant percentages of them are innocent.

Can the Davos Rich Do More than Talk?

Back in 2010, as the global charity Oxfam reminds us in a new report released on the eve of Davos 2016, the world’s 388 richest billionaires had a combined fortune that equaled the net worth of the poorest half of the world’s population.

But last year just 62 top billionaires had enough net worth to match the wealth of humanity’s poorest half. That bottom half totals some 3.6 billion people.

The Fed’s Role in the Stock Market Slide

When the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and S&P peaked in May 2015, investors were still confident that the Fed “had their back” and that any steep or prolonged downturn in stocks would be met with additional liquidity and a firm commitment to maintain zero rates as long as necessary. But now that the Fed has started its long-awaited rate-hike cycle, investors aren’t sure what to expect.

Russia to EU: Dump the TTIP and embrace the Eurasian Union

Russia has presented a surprising proposal for overcoming tensions with the EU, namely that the EU should renounce the TTIP free trade agreement with the United States and instead enter into a partnership with the newly created Eurasian Economic Union. A free trade zone with your neighbors would make more sense than a deal with the U.S. Vladimir Chizhov, Russian […]

The Citadel Is Breached: Congress Taps the Fed for Infrastructure Funding

Any encroachment on the Fed’s turf is viewed by Wall Street and the mainstream media with alarm. But to people struggling with mounting bills and crumbling infrastructure, the development has promising potential. The portal to the central bank’s stream of riches has been forced open, if just a crack. The trickle could one day become a flow, a mighty river of liquidity powering the engines of productivity of a vibrant economy.

Big Crony CEO Pay Grab–Effects Beyond Greed!

As the New Year gets underway, the highest-paid CEOs of many large corporations have already paid themselves more than the average worker will earn in the entire year! By the end of the first week of January, the highest-paid CEOs had already made as much as their average workers will earn over 8 years.

62 People Own Half The World

Inequality gap widens ‘dramatically’ as super-rich get richer. THE WORLD’S 62 wealthiest people own as much as the globe’s poorest half— around 3.6 billion people, Oxfam revealed yesterday. The total riches of the group — just nine of whom are women — has increased to £1.22 trillion since 2010, yet their wealth has not led to higher tax revenues to […]

The Chart That Explains Everything

Why is the economy barely growing after seven years of zero rates and easy money? Why are wages and incomes sagging when stock and bond prices have gone through the roof? Why are stocks experiencing such extreme volatility when the Fed increased rates by a mere quarter of a percent?

Cameron’s ‘Social Cleansing’ Of Britain

Thousands fear being forced out as 73 landlord MPs vote down motion to ensure housing is ‘fit for humans’ MULTIMILLIONAIRE PM David Cameron was accused of “social cleansing” yesterday after threatening to bulldoze thousands of working families’ homes without guarantee of replacement and denying millions the right to live somewhere “fit for humans.” In a panicked response to the housing […]

How Debt Conquered America

Soon after Columbus launched his business enterprise on the pristine beaches of the New World, each native discovered there above the age of puberty was required to remit a “hawk’s bell’s worth” of gold dust to the Spaniards every two weeks. The hands of all those failing to do so were cut off and strung about their necks – so that they bled to death, thus motivating the compliance of others.