Monthly Archives: October 2012

Sectoral Balances within the Domestic Non-Government

By Paul Meli

There are many important laws that determine the behavior of various systems within the Universe but as far as economics is concerned, none is more important than the concept of a closed system.

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Why are there no famous financial whistleblowers in this crisis?

By William K. Black

This column discusses one of the more subtle issues raised by the Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) civil fraud action against Bank of America (B of A).  The issue was so subtle that of the three articles about the lawsuit that I choose to review the night after the suit was filed, only the NYT article mentioned one of the most important aspects of the suit – the key role that the whistleblower played in making the action possible.  The AP and the WSJ articles ignored the fact.

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A Counter Narrative to Peterson’s

By Joe Firestone

Stephanie Kelton writes:

The US is broke. Government deficits are de facto evidence of a government gone wild. We’re careening toward Greece. Entitlements are the root cause of our fiscal woes, and the Chinese are coming for our grandchildren. How many Americans believe this garbage? My guess? Most of them.

Pete Peterson has won and the American people have lost. There is no effective counter narrative, not even from the left. Nearly all “progressives” have accepted the fundamental premise that the federal government is like a great big household. That it faces the same kinds of constraints that you and I face. That it should spend only what it takes in and that deficits are morally and/or fiscally irresponsible. President Obama told the nation, “We’re out of money.” . . .

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The Great Betrayal – and the Cynicism of calling it a Grand Bargain

By William K. Black
(Cross-posted at Huffington Post)

Robert Kuttner has written much of the column I intended to write on this subject, so I will point you to his excellent column and add a few thoughts.

Kuttner wrote to warn that Obama intends to seek a “grand bargain” causing the U.S. to adopt the type of austerity program that threw the Eurozone back into a gratuitous recession.

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How “Brazen” does a Bankster’s Fraud have to be before he’s Prosecuted?

By William K. Black

I’ll get the obvious out of the way first and then turn in future columns to the aspects of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) civil suit against Bank of America (B of A)/Countrywide that are vital to understand but are more subtle.  The obvious issue arises from the facts that the DOJ alleges that its investigation has found.  The complaint and the DOJ press release state that elite financial criminals committed tens of thousands of “brazen” frauds targeting U.S. government funds.  Continue reading

CNBC’s Quick uses Clinton to aim at Krugman, but shoots herself in the foot

By William K. Black
(Crossposted at Benzinga.com)

Becky Quick is a television co-host of a business entertainment program on CNBC.  She has written a column stating that Paul Krugman’s “claim that there is no fiscal crisis isn’t just laughable, it’s downright dangerous.”  She argues that the “only problem” with Krugman’s conclusion was:  “It is hard to find anyone who actually agrees with him.”  She is furious that Krugman concluded that the Bowles-Simpson austerity plan is “a really bad plan.”

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Stephanie Kelton Appears on Le Show with Harry Shearer

Stephanie appeared on Le Show with Harry Shearer on  Sunday, October 28, 2012. The archive is available through Harry’s website which you can reach by clicking the image or here.

 

Pete Peterson Has Won

By Stephanie Kelton

The US is broke. Government deficits are de facto evidence of a government gone wild. We’re careening toward Greece. Entitlements are the root cause of our fiscal woes, and the Chinese are coming for our grandchildren.  How many Americans believe this garbage? My guess? Most of them.

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The NEW USA…. A Thought Experiment

By J.D. Alt

Since there seems to be general agreement that our current economic system is fatally bankrupt, it might be interesting to try a simple thought experiment to see if we can forge a more perfect union. Let’s quickly visualize a new nation from scratch—and set it up properly, so we don’t find ourselves, ever again, facing a “fiscal cliff.”

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William Black Provides Details of the Government’s Civil Lawsuit Against Bank of America

On 10/24/12, William Black appeared on WBAI’s Pacifica Radio with Linda Perry discussing the Government’s billion dollar civil lawsuit against Bank of America / Countrywide. You can listen to the program here.