Keep Wall Street Occupied from home....

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Virtual Teach-In with John Quiggin - YouTube

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Martin Wolf on why people should take the #occupy protests seriously

Martin Wolf in the Financial Times:

The response to the crisis among those in the pro-market camp is much on the lines of the 1930s. On one side are those who blame what has gone wrong entirely on government. The Tea Party, in the US, has taken that position, with some success. In the UK, this strand is weaker. But there, too, some argue that the crisis is the result of Gordon Brown’s fiscal incontinence, over-regulated markets or incompetent central banks. In this, they follow the Austrian economists, Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich Hayek, in the 1930s. Against them are those who, following John Maynard Keynes, argue for a managed capitalism.

Once again, much of this debate is over use of macroeconomic policy tools: should one tighten or loosen fiscal policy in a recession? Are unconventional monetary policies a path to hyperinflation or effective policies in extreme circumstances? Again, just as radical Keynesians emerged in the 1930s and afterwards, proponents of more intervention in markets are now emerging.

This is a debate we need. In my view, both perspectives are useful. The Tea Party is wrong on the future of government. Even the US is not going back to the 19th-century state. But its more coherent members are right – and even agree with today’s protesters – that we have promoted an insider form of capitalism which exploits and indeed creates subsidies and tax loopholes on which the insiders prosper. The need to rescue banks was horrifying. The role of money in politics is disturbing. The danger is that we are moving from what the Nobel laureate economic historian, Douglass North, calls an “open-access order” to its opposite, a system in which political influence is decisive.

This is not merely inefficient. It is unjust. Few begrudged Steve Jobs his fortune. The view on those who emerged rich from rescued businesses is very different. The era of bail-outs must end. Restructuring finance to make this credible is of huge importance for the future. Yet this is not all. Market capitalism creates inherent difficulties. The two most obvious are macroeconomic instability and extremes of inequality. The tendency of a market-oriented financial system to run away with itself has, again, been demonstrated on a large scale. On the free market right people argue that if only we went back to the gold standard or ended fractional reserve banking, all would be well. I question such claims. Instability is inherent in the game of betting on the future. Humans seem prone to self-fulfilling waves of optimism and pessimism. Ways of mitigating the extent and the consequences of such instability always need to be found.

File under should have saw that coming...

Here were the graphics I brought with me (via CBO) this morning for CNN...

Growth in Real After-Tax Income from 1979 to 2007

CBO finds that between 1979 and 2007:

• For the 1 percent of the population with the highest income, average real after-tax household income grew by 275 percent (see figure below).
• For others in the 20 percent of the population with the highest income, average real after-tax household income grew by 65 percent.
• For the 60 percent of the population in the middle of the income scale, the growth in average real after-tax household income was just under 40 percent.
• For the 20 percent of the population with the lowest income, the growth in average real after-tax household income was about 18 percent.

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I also gave them this graph from The Economist:

They pushed back the segment as it was unclear if another activist was coming as well or not so I figured all was okay.  

Then a little voice in my ear as we are going live says--- "we weren't able to use your graphs" and we go right in to a Kasim Reed vs. OccupyAtlanta.  So I was caught off guard and had to change the game plan of how to introduce economic inequality and the massive transfer of wealth that's been going on in this country into the interview. 

I shouldn't have been thrown off, but nothing about the conversations or the pre-interview questions gave me the impression of going that direction and then I'm told we aren't using the graphics as we go live.  I sort of flubbed my way back to the core issues. Oh well.   Not one of my finer moments of clarity.

Liberal Media bias in action...

Meet the Press Panel: From GE to Morgan Stanley

Just another reminder of why I support the #occupy moment (can we really call it a movement?).

shhhh #occupy activist about to overthrow Capitalism in Henry County... [don't share]

Hey don't let the right wing attack machine know that this #Occupy protester is about to overthrow capitalism and play the victim card via a radical Marxist act of catching up on folding cloths and picking up the living room before he gets the kitchen cleaned up.  

Please no photos of said folding and picking up or my revolution will be exposed across the blogs as an Obama/Union/Move-On plot to blame corporate greed on.... corporate executives breaking laws.

Yes this is my way of saying Herman Cain is embarrassing the educated citizens of Henry County to hang our heads in shame as our neighbor is forced on the good people of this nation.   We aren't all that vapid or bad at math.  America I swear, we aren't.

Thank you again to 32 brave individuals last night in Atlanta.

I was proud to stand on-watch as my brother Ben and so many other true Americans across this country stood up for the 99% of this nation and put their bodies against the wheels of the 1% political power.

Ben said it best about why he broke the law last night:  

Georgia continues to have a higher unemployment rate than the national average, 10.1 percent, and it has the third highest poverty rate.

Our members, like working people throughout the country, are saddled with debt. Their kids are graduating from college without job opportunities. They're also saddled with debt. 

We're seeing these same financial institutions and Wall Street interests bankroll attacks on unions and fundamental workers' rights.

This is absolutely the right time for an economic justice movement behind the Teamsters' call to stop the war on workers.

#occupy Please share Ben's story on your social networks.

I'm signing off to go over throw capitalism don't tell any Republicans---somebody hand me the dish soap...

A Thank You; #occupy

Last night was quite a night.  Watching one of the TV stories of it I was shocked at how different things are when you are actually on the ground in the midst of all the spectacle that comes when economic and social rot bubbles up to the surface.

I'll have more to say, but for now a thank you to a few courageous people I was privliedge to meet last night who don't let the bullshit; the small men with small minds; the distasteful roar of childish chants; nor the confusion of a moment without a guide book keep them from a task of doing right.  I'm feeling truly humbled this morning.

Gratitude; #occupy  

Throughout history those seldom few are given to us. 

Those few who are willing to put their bodies 

against the grinding machine 

of corrupt 

and broken political systems, those few 

that say no to exploitation 

and extortion of the weakest 

by the strongest. 

They are gifts 

given to us, their actions 

and words 

should be given great weight 

in a world of shallow indulgences, 

petty thrills, 

and cowardly silence. 

A quiet tear, and a softly whispered "thank you" is all I can give back in return.

An open-letter to my teachers... to #occupy

And below is an open letter i've written to some of my former teachers and mentors as i've thought about what the #occupy movement is and means.

 

We need mentors... An Open Letter to my Teachers

As someone whom I have learned much from I needed to take a moment this morning to ask again for your time and guidance.

As both a participant in some of the early #occupy events here in Atlanta and someone that's been attacking the rot within the Goldman Sachs center-right Democratic Party from the inside for a number of years now I think there is massive confusion about what #occupy is.  My fear is that many of those whom I've learned from and have inspired me will sit back rather than participate at a time when they are needed most.

Its a demotic- moment in history.  Which means its messy, awkward, and will not manufacture the easy photo-op moments that well meaning Democratic Party/"progressive"/Move-On activists desire.  Massive social and economic inequities are bubbling to the surface. Many of the people getting involved are anti-politic to a fault; distrustful of institutions be they party politics, unions, or any long term institution that could and must be harnessed, maintained, and nurtured for long term reforms to occur. 

U.S. imperialism has rotted the social fabric of our communities.  It has corrupted the internal political process and created an illiterate and irrational citizenry fixated on bread and circus. This is a moment in history where reforms will require long term commitment by individuals to network, develop skill sets, and form new alliances.  This will take nurturing and time.  The media's focus on what "this all this means" in the short term and efforts by well meaning political and labor machine activists to force the moment is short sighted to the the massive long term challenges we face.

Sheldon Wolin noted in his book Democracy Inc. that, "Demotic action is typically triggered by felt grievances--not, initially by a yearning for political participation.  Because of the exhausting demands of making "living," surviving under harsh circumstances, dedication to a political life is hardly a conceivable vocation.  While governing is a full-time, continuous activity, demotic politics is inevitably episodic, born of necessity, improvisational rather than institutionalized." 

If I'm reading him correctly I think that right now is a moment where #occupy is the demos becoming self-conscious of itself and that the challenge for those who see potential in this moment is to act...

to recover lost ground, to "popularize" political institutions and practices that have become severed from popular control.  It involves renewing the meaning and substance of "representative democracy" by affirming the primacy of Congress, curbing the growth of presidential power, disentangling the stranglehold of lobbyists, democratizing the party system by eliminating the barriers to third parties, and enforcing an austere system of campaign finance.

I truly hope that those in the professional class recognize the moment for what it is, get involved sharing their knowledge and perspective, and feed positive energy to the well meaning participants--not to mention some good logical lashings to right-wing talking points being churned out as we speak in well financed think-tanks.

The expertise that comes from the time and training of philosophy and economics as elite professions are a privilege that many on the streets have never been able to enjoy.  Most of these people will never again have an opportunity to cross paths with experts and elites whom they can learn and grow from.  But right at this moment they are organizing events right down the road, down the block, down the hall from you and they merely need you to show up.

A strange mixture of utopianism, institutional naivety, and conspiracy theory is feeding some of the most energetic activists and only engagement and dialogue can address this problem. Be it going to a rally to talk to people in the crowd, volunteering to give teach-ins, or taking a moment to put thoughts to paper so that others can spread them across their social networks to churn up debate--all of these actions help build positive demotic- momentum that is greatly needed.  

The demos is acting and its in great need of mentors and positive energy to push this moment in history forward.  Many of your colleagues will follow your lead in word and action. Please let them know there are many of us participating in #occupy events who are desperate for guidance and engagement and want them to join in this moment as participants. No one can be neutral on a moving train.

regards,

Jim 

 

Is another U.S. recession a 'done deal'?

Michael Dueker, chief economist at Russell Investments, in a guest post at Econbrowser writes:

a U.S. recession is certainly possible, given that a Eurozone recession looks very likely. It is entirely conceivable that European policymakers will fail to gather the necessary resources in time to prevent financial-market contagion to peripheral countries, such as Italy and Spain, or to recapitalize their banks sufficiently quickly in the face of or, better yet, in advance of a Greek default. Such a financial shock, if it occurs, could be transmitted to the United States with sufficient severity to lead to recession here. This would be a new negative shock, however, and does not appear to be built into current early-warning financial indicators in the United States to a sufficient degree to make a U.S. recession the base case at this time. My current reading of the financial market indicators of the U.S. business cycle is that investors are more concerned about Japan-style economic stagnation right now than about a traditional recession.

#occupy Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How?

Got back from #occupyAtlanta General Assembly.  They voted to occupy the park (which I thought was a mistake) and it confusing what the #occupy movement should/shouldn't be.  Anyways I need to sleep.  Appears I may be on TV in the AM to talk about #occupy and need some sleep in case that does pan out.

Much to write about.   For now sleep.  If you need to churn on some more discussion of #occupy go do it here.