Blog Contents

Dear Reader,

Contents of this web site:
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I write essays on economics.
The most recent essays are at the top, oldest at the bottom.
If you read only one essay, choose
August, 2008, Half Own 2.5%, Half Earn 15%.
That will get you going.
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Click the ? in the Contents area to open the month and see the essays for any month.

27. A lengthy letter to Obama advising that he nationalize the failed banks.
I quote James Galbraith at length.
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26. A Reply to Warren Brussee about the causes of the recession.

25. Jack Rasmus’ Alternative to the Obama Recovery. I summarize this plan by economist and writer for Z Magazine.

24. U.S. Ranks 75th out of 126 Nations -- inequality of income

23. Why We Need Full Employment
This is my shortest, a one page effort full of facts well documented.
December 29, 2008

22. The Case for Full Employment
Both a historical overview of previous government actions, and a review
two scholars’ approach to solving paucity of jobs in our economy.
I think this is sound policy and a good, brief look at the employment problem.

21. Full Employment
Basic logic on full employment.

20. Meltdown/Bailout Suggestions
Two suggestions about nationalizing banks and reworking underwater
home mortgages.

19. Nationalize the Banks or Bail Them Out
I quote a professor, Peter Dorman, and a financial consultant, John Hussman। Both offer plans radically different than Treasury Secretary
Paulson’s. I review radio program This American Life, to explain the
subprime mess. I wrote it for my sister.

18. Understanding the Financial Crisis
William Springer, head of the economics department at Howard University
made the same comments on the radio the week after I wrote this.
I claim that the financial part of the crisis is phase one. Much more bad news will unfold.

17. Justice Revolution
A little more documentation, but basically the same essay as the last.
It is better in some ways.

16. Half Own 2.5%, Half Earn 15%
Read this one if you read no other.

15. Celebrate $100,000 a year as the average U.S. income
Hard to believe, but that’s correct. Read it to believe it.

14. Infectious Greed Overwhelms the U.S. Economy
I quote Marriner Eccles about the Great Depression. I tried to simply
the previous essay for a friend who has no background.

13. Economic Rights for the Two Out of Seven Who Are Not Making It
July 22, 2008
Inequality, weak purchasing power, Roosevelt’s State of the Union, ‘44,
and much more. Not too pessimistic. About 3,000 words.
Really interesting says the author.

12. What the Government Can Do
May 1, 2008
A two page reduction of the essay There Are Solutions. A quick read on
ways to increase employment and incomes without stalling the economy.
Maybe my ‘Best.’ Short, to the point.

11. Three Short Pieces
June 15, 2008. To the KPFA Morning Show, The Next Wave of Political Reform, and another review of Robin Hahnel’s book Economic Justice and Democracy.

10. My Second Letter to Pete Stark, Congressman
A little note about shrinking aggregate demand, how to grow an economy,
and why worldwide depression is possible. I had just read Jeff Madrick’s
Why Economies Grow.

9. There Are Solutions
This 4,000 word essay details and reviews three plans for revitalizing the American economy.
First, I take a look at Frank Stricker’s book Why America Lost the War on Poverty --- and How to Win It, and his 17 point plan called What Needs to Be Done.
Second I look at the Center for American Progress’ plan “From Poverty to
Prosperity.”
Finally, I review “Decent Work and Public Investment,” a plan authored by members of the National Jobs for All Coalition, Helen Lachs Ginsburg and Gertrude Shaffner Goldberg.


8. White Birds --- a poem not about economics. About love.


7. A Wealth Tax to Eliminate Poverty
This may be my best effort. It is a reduction of my original essay A Modest Proposal to Tax Wealth Annually in the U.S.A.


6. The Art of Living Together
A short vagrancy, a fissure, an errant meander, a lunacy. Something burst.


5. A Letter to My Congressman, Pete Stark. February 5, 2008
I break down wealth and income distribution, and suggest sources for
the Congressman to pursue.


4. A book review of Robin Hahnel’s Economic Justice and Democracy
This essay was published in the Alameda County Green Party News in
October, 2007.

3. Odd, Very Odd. March, 2008. A recapitulation of old ideas. Nothing special.


2. Is There a Middle Class?
The 40 to 1 ratio between two halves of the U.S. population impressed me. I was listening to Michael Krasny on KQED FM radio talk about the middle class. He did not take my e-mail, so I wrote this essay and sent it to him.


1. Progressive Economic Reform, 2008
January, 2008
This essay presents an array of eleven different sources that argue that our economy does not serve the American people.
The people at Econo-atrocity, the commentary site at Center for
Popular Economics, posted it. It’s my third favorite after What Government Can Do, and
A Wealth Tax to Eliminate Poverty, second best.