Richard D. Wolff Richard D. Wolff (born April 1, 1942) is an American heterodox economist, well known for his work on Marxian economics, economic methodology, and class analysis. He is Professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and currently a Visiting Professor in the Graduate Program in International Affairs of the New School University in New York. Wolff has also taught economics at Yale University, City University of New York, University of Utah, University of Paris I (Sorbonne), and The Brecht Forum in New York City. In 2010, Wolff published Capitalism Hits the Fan: The Global Economic Meltdown and What to Do About It, also released as a DVD. He released three new books in 2012: Occupy the Economy: Challenging Capitalism, with David Barsamian (San Francisco: City Lights Books), Contending Economic Theories: Neoclassical, Keynesian, and Marxian, with Stephen Resnick (Cambridge, MA, and London: MIT University Press), and Democracy at Work (Chicago: Haymarket Books).
s Capital with David Harvey Democracy At Work An Interview with Richard Wolff Today, Wolff has emerged as one of — if not the number one — most prominent leftist economist in America. In addition to teaching the Big Bad Wolff appears on Free Speech TV, Link TV, Pacifica Radio, does public speaking at the Brecht Forum and other venues, writes books such as Capitalism Hits the Fan, Occupy the Economy and Democracy at Work and has a substantial online presence, arguing there’s a better way to run the economy that’s in the interests of the 99%, instead of the 1%. In this interview, Wolff discusses his vision for changing the capitalist system. Fundamentally, he poses the question that if America has repeatedly gone to war abroad “to make the world safe for democracy,” isn’t it time that we brought the war home to make the American workplace safe for democracy, too? Read the interview here. A New Political Strategy Read more of the latest blog entry by Richard Wolff here. We Need Your Generous Gift to Keep On Keep’n On
We've Just Witnessed A Major Turning Point In The Euro Crisis Standard & Poor's decision to put 15 eurozone countries on downgrade watch threatens the fabric of programs that are meant to salvage the euro, in particular the European Financial Stability Facility (the euro rescue fund). That fund has been at the heart of all plans to fix the euro to date. Now it's all but dead, and that may not be such a bad thing. With S&P threatening to cut France's rating by two notches, it's unlikely that S&P would refrain from making at least a one-notch cut to the country's sovereign rating. Moody's and Fitch have long been warning that they will follow suit. While we doubt that S&P—or any of the other ratings agencies—would actually go ahead with a ratings cut for Germany, the fact that the country is on downgrade watch is nonetheless troubling, particularly for the EFSF. All 17 eurozone states contribute to the EFSF's €440 billion ($590 billion) war chest, but its AAA rating is highly dependent upon the ratings of France and Germany.
REPORT: S&P WILL PUT ALL 17 EUROZONE COUNTRIES ON CREDIT WATCH NEGATIVE BREAKING: Bloomberg reports that all 17 eurozone countries will be put on downgrade watch today. S&P will allegedly release a statement on the move after the New York closing bell at 4 PM ET. Markets fell again after that news, with the Dow nearing a complete reversal of its gains this morning. While downgrades of the AAA-rated sovereigns would probably have the most impact on the way EU leaders can handle the crisis, a downgrade of multiple euro area states could still prove a major blow for the eurozone bailout plan. These announcements could change the game for EU leaders, particularly those proving reluctant to take radical steps to fix the crisis. PREVIOUSLY: The Financial Times is reporting that Standard & Poor's ratings service will put 6 euro area sovereigns on creditwatch negative later today. The countries at risk are Germany, France, the Netherlands, Austria, Finland, and Luxembourg. Markets have moved sharply downward after this report started circulating.
This Chart Shows Eurozone Downgrades Are Long Overdue Yesterday, S&P went on a rampage and put 15 of 17 euro-zone countries on negative credit watch. However, S&P might be a little late to the game, argues Bloomberg BRIEF economist Michael McDonough. He provides the chart below and notes that the European sovereign downgrades are "long overdue." The higher you go on the vertical axis, the lower the credit rating. But if you look at the bottom of the chart where the AAA rated sovereigns are located, you'll notice that certain eurozone country CDSs are high, while maintaining high credit ratings. Here's The Central Bank Conspiracy Theory That Art Cashin Just Explained On CNBC EDIT NOTE: We published this earlier, but seeing as Art Cashin was just on CNBC talking about this, we wanted to resurface it. Why did the world's central banks coordinate to lower the cost of dollar funding last week? There were several people who speculated that it was something specific which caused them to act, rather than merely a move to address generally tight conditions. UBS floor guy Art Cashin has the latest Wall Street buzz. Says Cashin: It all comes back to US money market funds. A Possible Trigger For The “Swap Rescue” - There is a new theory circulating in Wall Street watering holes about what may have caused the Fed and other central banks to suddenly unite in cutting the cost of dollars in Europe. The move puzzled traders and pundits alike. The new thesis in the watering holes seems to tie up the loose ends. The new theory says that several U.S. money market funds have short term loans out to European banks.
The Postal Service Plots Its Own Demise Share Express mail forms and priority mailboxes sit on display at the Capitol Station, Monday, December 5, 2011, in Springfield, Illinois. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman) There are many appropriate targets for Occupy Wall Street protests. But the OWS protesters hit a bull’s-eye when they invaded a National Press Club briefing where Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe—who likes to make like a corporate executive and refer to himself as “Chief Operating Officer of the US Postal Service”—was giving a speech about the need to close local post offices, layoff workers and, though this was unspoken, take the steps that will lead to the privatization of the one of the country’s greatest public assets. “Stop closing post offices,” chanted the activists who occupied the press club. Postmasters general do not usually become the targets of passionate opposition. And rightly so. On Monday, Donahue laid out a plan that, if implemented, would destroy the postal service as most Americans know it. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Revolving door still a problem in New Mexico politics By Milan Simonich msimonich@tnmnp.com Updated: 11/13/2011 08:28:05 PM MST0 comments SANTA FE — An unpaid state legislator in New Mexico can turn into a well-paid lobbyist overnight. Kent Cravens was the latest to make such a move, resigning from his Senate seat this fall to become a lobbyist for the New Mexico Oil & Gas Association. Cravens, a Republican from Albuquerque, broke no law or rule, but by immediately becoming a lobbyist he defied what the top elected official of his own party considers proper. Three weeks after she took office this year, Gov. Martinez's spokesman, Scott Darnell, said her stand had not changed. "It's something she will continue to fight for," Darnell said. The governor would receive support from certain Democrats if she pushed for legislation that would place restrictions on lobbying jobs for former officeholders or government employees. "We need to do it because of the perception. Sen. This was the case until recently with Sen. Maestas said Rep. Sen.
U.K. October Manufacturing Output Drops More Than Forecast on Euro Crisis U.K. manufacturing output fell more than economists forecast in October as the intensifying euro- area debt crisis undermined demand in Britain’s biggest export market. Factory output dropped 0.7 percent from September, the biggest decline since April, the Office for National Statistics said today in London. The median forecast of 21 economists in a Bloomberg News survey was a decline of 0.3 percent. On the year, manufacturing rose 0.3 percent, the least since January 2010. Manufacturers are suffering as the sovereign debt crisis and a cooling global economy jeopardize the outlook for exports. As the risks from Europe increase, some Bank of England policy makers have said the economy will probably need more stimulus. The data “are pretty disappointing,” James Knightley, an economist at ING Bank in London, said in an e-mailed note. The pound pared its gain against the dollar after the report. Energy Demand Sales Fall
Maxine Waters in line to take over from Frank on Financial Services Wall Street executives are bracing for the possibility that Rep. Maxine Waters will take over as the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee after Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) retires. Waters, an outspoken California liberal who is considered to the left of Frank on financial and housing issues, suggested in a statement Monday that she is laying the groundwork to become the senior Democrat on the panel. “As the next most senior member of the committee, the current ranking member on the Capital Markets subcommittee and the former chair of the Housing and Community Opportunity subcommittee, I hope to use my experience to continue and expand his work in the committee,” Waters said. Frank, the top Democrat on Financial Services since 2003, has had his fair share of battles with Wall Street. “Rep. Waters, on the other hand, is seen as more of a hard-line opponent. “She’s not a good face of the issues,” one financial executive said. Watt is also behind Reps.