What do bosses do?

Peter Dorman argues that, in the case of public-sector unions in Wisconsin, the debate “is really about whether you think a world in which some give orders and others simply obey is the ideal.” And where do mainstream economists come down? There are nice models of information flows within organizations that support dispersion of power, [...]

First, they came for the unions. . .

First, they came for the private-sector unions, especially in manufacturing. Then, they came for public-sector unions and financing for public higher education. Now, they’re after the professors themselves. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, Changes in collective bargaining could well have a broad impact on higher education—and have led to protests by faculty members [...]

Back to a non-union future

Last week, I gave a lecture on neoclassical economics to a group of graduate students, in which I explained the neoclassical theory of markets, including the labor market. And the students didn’t believe me. “You mean neoclassical economists argue that labor unions and collective bargaining represent restraints on trade, and should be curtailed or even [...]

“Inside Job” wins

Inside Job, Charles Ferguson’s exploration of the 2008 economic meltdown, won the Oscar for best documentary. It was an appropriate tribute to the workers in Wisconsin and elsewhere, given Ferguson’s exposé of the Wall Street players, economists, and bureaucrats—the greedy few who perpetrated a colossal crime whose costs have been paid not by them but [...]

Inequality, crises & mainstream economics

The existence of gross inequalities in the distribution of income and wealth, and the links between inequality and the ongoing crises, are just too obvious to ignore. Even mainstream economists are starting to pay attention. What are also becoming clear are the limited terms of the mainstream discussion of inequality and crises, which were rehearsed [...]

Unfinished business in the Mideast

Here’s Juan Cole’s judicious summary of the work that remains to be done in North Africa and the Middle East: The protesters in Egypt and Tunisia had had only partial success, removing a strong man but wondering where genuine reform might have gone. Libyans still have not even removed the dictator, Qaddafi. And in Bahrain, [...]

Deficits and the right-wing agenda

Is the right-wing serious about budget deficits? As usual, Frank Rich gets it just about spot on: The highest priority of America’s current political radicals is not to balance government budgets but to wage ideological warfare in Washington and state capitals alike. The relatively few dollars that would be saved by the proposed slashing of [...]

Cartoons of the day

On Marxism, capitalism, and Latin America

Here’s the link to an interview conducted last October at the University of Nottingham by Chris Hesketh for Ceasefire Magazine. 4. When you say the cuts aren’t necessary what do you mean by that? Very simply, if you changed the modes of taxation you could fully support the existing social services, and education and policing [...]

2 big 2 jail

It looks like they’re going to walk. All of them. According to the New York Times, none of the heads of the banks and Wall Street firms that created the financial crisis is going to jail. They’re not even going to be tried. Some of the surviving banks might get a financial slap on the [...]