Paul Krugman weighs in on the latest round of insane German/Euro demands on beleaguered Greece: Eurogroup list of demands is madness. The trending hashtag ThisIsACoup is exactly right. This goes beyond harsh into pure vindictiveness, complete destruction of national ...read more
Historical analogies are not always particularly useful given the enormous complexity of human behavior. One could quite easily compare the American and British Empires with, say, the Roman Empire, or draw an analogy between the war in Iraq with America's invasion of Vietnam. ...read more
by Timothy Woods Syriza, the governing party in Greece came to power at the beginning of 2015 as a desperate Greek people did away with the dominance of the austerity-imposing parties and opted for a stab in the dark with a new, radical leftist government. This didn’t go down ...read more
Over the weekend, the Greek people voted overwhelmingly to reject austerity and have effectively defaulted on their debt to the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Under overwhelming pressure from German leader Angela Merkal and the Eurozone, ...read more
Here's the week that was, at Banter. Republican Govs Don’t Give a Shit They’re Blowing Holes In Their States’ Budgets The Republican brain has long since taken its leave on economic policy, but GOP governors like Scott Walker (Wisc.), Sam Brownback (Kan.) and Bobby Jindal ...read more
As the future of Greece hangs in the balance over its debt obligations, the powerhouse German economy continues to surge.  While Germans are going shopping, Greeks are raiding forests to find wood to heat their homes. The dichotomy isn't exactly unique - there are rich ...read more
This past weekend, CNBC reported the common right-wing meme that the United States is "$16 trillion in the hole," and translated it to mean we're broke. According to financial services expert Cullen Roche, this is simply not true. While, yes, the national debt is around $16 ...read more
Europe, in the midst of an unprecedented economic crisis, is being engulfed in a wave of rising parties advocating far right-wing politics. Familiar tale isn't it? In order to to circumvent Godwin's Law and avoid 'death by cliché' this article will consciously abstain from ...read more
Are we finally seeing a ray of light for the future of the Republican Party? From the Guardian: Senator Lindsey Graham has become the second senior Republican in days to publicly disavow a pledge that handcuffs the party to a policy of no tax rises, raising hopes of a deal ...read more
Paul Krugman sums up the German economic policy of austerity that is causing immense misery throughout Europe: Why do it, then? Partly it’s because Europe is still operating on the false theory that this is essentially a fiscal issue; partly it’s to assuage the Germans, who ...read more
I missed this story last week, and it's an important one. If you want evidence that Disaster Capitalism - the termed coined by Naomi Klein in her brilliant book "The Shock Doctrine" is still the dominant tactic of free market militants, look no further than what is being proposed ...read more
By Chez Pazienza: I still remember the heartbroken look on his face as he stood at my doorstep in his little green-striped shirt and Toughskins khaki shorts. His name was Doug and he lived up the street from me -- and for some reason he desperately wanted to be my friend. He ...read more
The Tory Party continues its war against the working poor. From the NewStatesman: While the eyes of the world were on Greece, the Conservatives quietly launched a new assault on workers' rights. Iain Duncan Smith announced that low-paid workers will lose their benefits if they go ...read more
From the Independent: The eurozone is preparing to bow to the will of the financial markets as leaders attempt to ease fears ahead of crucial elections in Greece this weekend. A draft of the text that will be discussed at the European Union summit later this month was leaked, ...read more
Responding to increasingly urgent calls from across Europe and the United States, Spainon Saturday agreed to accept a bailout for its cash-starved banks as European finance ministers offered an aid package of up to $125 billion. European leaders hope the promise of such a ...read more
Traders fearful of a rupture in Europe's financial system retreated Wednesday from risky investments. They punished stocks and fled to the safety of U.S. bonds, pushing the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note to a record low. Major U.S. stock indexes fell more than 1 ...read more
European stock markets have fallen sharply as concerns mount over Greece's future in the euro. Shares fell after a report quoted former Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos saying that the Greek government may be making preparations for leaving the euro. By lunchtime shares ...read more
By Ben Cohen: One of the reason why I enjoy writing about economics is because it is not a topic that came easily to me. I would always ignore the economic and business news and focus on the politics - it was much easier to understand and a lot more fun. That was until I began ...read more
Prolonged electoral uncertainty has put Greece into a state of deep freeze, meaning whoever finally emerges as the new leader will take over a country already falling behind on its promises to lenders. The European Union and International Monetary Fund demanded extensive cuts ...read more
By Ben Cohen: Predictably, elites in finance, business and the media have resoundingly condemned the Leftist uprising in Europe, complaining that the populist economic policies they are proposing will ruin the global economy. Take for example David Brook's latest piece in the ...read more
By Ben Cohen: The field of economics is often referred to as a 'junk science', mostly because it tries to explain human behavior in mathematical terms. This is almost impossible - humans are emotional and irrational, thus predicting their behavior accurately is harder than ...read more
By Ben Cohen: Europe has bailed out Greece (again) in a historic deal that guarantees the bankrupt nation 130 million euros. From the NY Times: Greece finally secured its second giant bailout early Tuesday after euro zone finance ministers agreed to save it from bankruptcy in ...read more
Not good news - the financial crisis in Greece appears to be worsening, threatening the entire global economy as a result. From the Guardian: The French president Nicolas Sarkozy and German chancellor Angela Merkel will hold emergency talks on Wednesday in a desperate attempt to ...read more
