Economy/Trade

Disaster and Denial

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:09:10 -0500

by Paul Krugman

When I first began writing for The Times, I was naïve about many things. But my biggest misconception was this: I actually believed that influential people could be moved by evidence, that they would change their views if events completely refuted their beliefs.

And to be fair, it does happen now and then. I’ve been highly critical of Alan Greenspan over the years (since long before it was fashionable), but give the former Fed chairman credit: he has admitted that he was wrong about the ability of financial markets to police themselves.

Bernanke Must Go

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:32:00 -0500

by Senator Bernie Sanders

I will not vote to confirm Ben Bernanke for another term as chairman of the Federal Reserve and have placed a hold on his nomination in the US Senate.

Last year, the American people overwhelmingly voted for a change in our national priorities and for a new direction on the economy.

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 09:49:52 -0500

by Zach Carter

President Barack Obama invited leading economic thinkers to a job creation summit on Thursday to help combat the worst unemployment crisis in decades. The stakes couldn’t be higher: If Obama can’t build momentum for robust legislation that will create jobs, the unemployment rate could remain in double-digits all the way through 2011.

It's NOT Such a Wonderful Life. We Need Real Bank Reform Now

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 10:43:09 -0500

by Mary Bottari

Today is “Job Summit” Day in the White House and none too soon as more than 16 million Americans will be looking for work this holiday season and many of them will be facing foreclosure in the new year. The top priorities are to put people back to work and stop the escalating forclosures, but we also have to make sure that Wall Street is never given the chance to collapse the economy again.

Obama’s First Nine Months: Change We Can Believe In?

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 10:08:59 -0500

by Gary Olson

In the 2009 film The Messenger, we follow two officers from the Casualty Notification Office from Fort Dix, New Jersey as they knock on doors to inform relatives of loved ones recently killed in action in Iraq. These scenes are almost unbearable to watch as we witness the reactions to this heartbreaking news. It struck me that these emotionally affecting scenes on screen are as as close as most of us get to the grim reality of war.

Obama Can’t Have Both Guns and Gurneys

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 12:01:29 -0500

by John Feffer

We’re close to our spending limit on the nation’s credit card. The bank bailout, the stimulus package, the Iraq War, and the overall military budget: each is costing over $500 billion. Now the Obama administration is looking at two more hefty charges: a national health care plan and a surge in Afghanistan. It’s time to make a decision. We can’t do both guns and gurneys. After all, we’re looking at a $1.6 trillion government deficit for 2009.

That’s what our entire national debt used to be back in the early 1980s.

The Meaning of Seattle: Truth Only Becomes True Through Action

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 11:53:24 -0500

by Walden Bello

It is now generally accepted that globalization has been a failure in terms of delivering on its triple promise of lifting countries from stagnation, eliminating poverty, and reducing inequality.

As Consumer Debt Soars, Layaway Service Returns From the Dead

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:41:02 -0500

by Andrea K. Walker

With consumers leery of piling up credit card debt, more and more retailers are reviving a service that had been given up for dead: layaway.

Kmart began offering Internet layaway this year, and sister company Sears expanded its service to the Internet this year. Online site eLayaway.com has seen its business grow. Toys "R" Us announced last month it would bring back layaway on more expensive items such as bikes and cribs, though not yet in Maryland.

America's Economic Pain Brings Hunger Pangs

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:28:01 -0500

by Amy Goldstein

The nation's economic crisis has catapulted the number of Americans who lack enough food to the highest level since the government has been keeping track, according to a new federal report, which shows that nearly 50 million people -- including almost one child in four -- struggled last year to get enough to eat.

US Must Solve Its Own Economic Problems

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:40:32 -0500

by Mark Weisbrot

President Obama will go to Asia next week and has promised to say something about the exchange rate between the Chinese yuan and the U.S. dollar.