Subjects Archives: Political Economy

  We invite graduate students and young researchers to participate in the URPE (Union for Radical Political Economics) Summer School entitled “Topics in Radical Political Economy: Marxist Theory,” which will take place in Amherst, Massachusetts on the UMass campus on May 24-27, 2011 (right before the World Association for Political Economy conference on May 27-29). […]

Testimony to the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on TARP and Financial Resources, 15 March 2011 Thank you, Chairman McHenry and Ranking Member Quigley, for inviting me to testify before the subcommittee and to share my views on the debt problem facing state and local governments.  I will make three main points in my […]

On the progressive potential of small, quasi-autonomous states (like Scotland, Ireland, Greece, Portugal, etc.). . . . The strong Scottish accent was conspiring with the noisy pub background to make it difficult for me to understand the words spoken in my ear by an imposing trade union figure.  Thankfully, I managed to decipher his words, […]

Guy Hocquenghem.  The Screwball Asses.  Trans.  Noura Wedell.  Semiotext(e), 2010.  88 pp.  $12.95 “Speak to my ass.  My head is sick.” — Southern French proverb This little book was first published as an anonymous essay at the end of Félix Guattari’s Recherches no. 12, its March 1973 special issue titled Trois Milliards de Pervers [Three […]

Or what’s behind Germany’s hesitant statements on Greek debt restructuring, Ireland’s move against subordinated bondholders, and the ECB’s stance on interest rates. . . . Europe is at it again, trying to pretend that it has stemmed the tide of insolvency through its program of lending huge amounts of money (at high interest rates) to […]

  10 April 2011 Congratulations to the people of Iceland! The Repudiate the Debt Campaign welcomes and applauds the decision of the people of Iceland to reject the bank bail-out that would subsidise the wealthy elite.  They showed great courage in rejecting the terms and conditions and in resisting the pressure from the European Union […]

Debate over public pension funds continues unabated across the nation.  Some have argued that states should assume a risk-free rate of return on pension fund assets, which makes funding shortfalls appear considerably larger.  A new calculator from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) demonstrates that such a low rate of return is extremely […]

A few weeks can do a lot to sweep away old assumptions.  Last year U.S. leftists were wondering why the worst economic crisis in 70 years hadn’t inspired a stronger response from its victims; now Arabs have toppled neoliberal regimes in Tunisia and Egypt, and U.S. workers have fought cutbacks and union-busting in Wisconsin with […]

The Case-Shiller 20-City index fell sharply again in December, dropping a full percentage point from its November level.  This is the third consecutive month that it has fallen by at least 1.0 percent.  It is now down by 4.3 percent from its peak in July.  Nineteen of the 20 cities had a drop in prices.  […]

  Testimony before the Insurance, Commerce, and Labor committee, 17 February 2011 Statehouse Mobilization against SB 5 and Kasich’s Anti-Worker Agenda Date: Tuesday, February 22, 2011 Time: 1 PM Location: Ohio Statehouse, 1 Capitol Square, Columbus, OH Click here for more info. Good morning Chairman Bacon, Vice Chair Farber, Ranking Member Schiavoni and distinguished Committee […]

  Testimony before the Insurance, Commerce, and Labor committee, 17 February 2011 Statehouse Mobilization against SB 5 and Kasich’s Anti-Worker Agenda Date: Tuesday, February 22, 2011 Time: 1 PM Location: Ohio Statehouse, 1 Capitol Square, Columbus, OH Click here for more info. My name is Sherry Linkon, and I’m John Russo.  Thank you for giving […]

We, the student and precarious workers of Europe, Tunisia, Japan, the US, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Peru and Argentina, met in Paris over the weekend of the 11th-13th of February, 2011 to discuss and organize a common network based on our common struggles.  Students from Maghreb and Gambia tried to come but France refused them entry. […]

I said several days ago that the die was cast for Mubarak and that not even Obama could save him. The world knows what is taking place in the Middle East. The news is circulating at incredible speed. Politicians barely have time to read the cables coming in by the hour. Everyone is aware of […]

There is much confusion about the current economic situation, among left media and organizations as well as in the mainstream media.  This is certainly understandable given its complexity.  But what many are referring to as causes are symptoms of a deeper underlying problem — in other words, sparks that produced the Great Recession by igniting […]

  A national campaign is now fully launched to make local public sector employees pick up a major share of the costs of economic crisis.  Years of rising spending and falling revenue have carved a path of destruction through federal, state, and local budgets.  Deficits and debts have mounted, eroding taxpayer support for government spending […]

In his State of the Union address, President Obama insisted on the need to protect Social Security and ensure that future generations can depend on it.  Nevertheless, it appears that some in Congress are considering major changes to the program.  Unfortunately, many people do not understand the program’s solvency or the likely importance that it […]

On January 15, the New York Times ran an interesting piece on older workers.  According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data cited in the story, the US workforce is a lot older now than it was at the onset of the Great Recession in December 2007.  Total employment of workers under the age of 55 […]

The labor market recession continued to exact a toll on union membership, which fell sharply in 2010.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the unionized share of the U.S. workforce dropped to 11.9 percent last year from 12.3 percent in 2009.  The private sector unionization rate fell to 6.9 percent in 2010, from 7.2 […]

  Past US administrations have deported illegal immigrants, but under President Obama the process has accelerated. This video was first released by Al Jazeera on 19 January 2011. | Print  

I shall relate a bit of history. When the Spanish “discovered” us five hundred years ago, the estimated population on the Island was no more than 200,000 inhabitants who were living in harmony with nature. Their main sources of food came from the rivers, lakes and seas rich in protein; they were also carrying out […]