Author Archives: Devin Smith

Saletan’s elegy for Paul Ryan’s DOA budget fantasy

Posted on August 16, 2012 | 2 comments

William Saletan has written a column that epitomizes the media’s bizarre infatuation with Paul Ryan. Saletan entitles his piece “Why I Love Paul Ryan.” His intro summarizes his attraction to Ryan: “He’s what a Republican should be: an honest, open-minded, solution-oriented fiscal conservative.”

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2 Comments

Posted in William K. Black

Tagged budget, paul ryan

Romney takes his Political Inspiration from Europe’s Worst Mistakes

Posted on August 15, 2012 | 5 comments

By William K. Black

One of Governor Romney’s criticisms of President Obama is that he “takes his political inspiration from Europe….”

Romney never gives specifics on this criticism. The irony is that Romney (and Representative Ryan) “takes his political inspiration from Europe” and that the European policies they embrace have already proven disastrous in Europe. Here are five examples: Continue reading →

5 Comments

Posted in William K. Black

Tagged Mitt Romney, obama

Going after Wall Street – and watching the clock

Posted on August 13, 2012 | 2 comments

NEP’s William K. Black provides input on the approaching deadline imposed by statute of limitations on prosecutions related to the economic crisis. You can read the article here.

2 Comments

Posted in William K. Black

Tagged Financial crisis, prosecutions

“Budget Hero” – Public Media’s Most Despicable Financial Propaganda

Posted on August 13, 2012 | 14 comments

By William K. Black
(Cross-posted from Benzinga.com)

We know that the supporters of austerity simultaneously urge us to reject “European socialism” while adopting the key European strategies that drove Europe into recession – twice. American conservatives assume that Europe must epitomize stringent financial regulation. The opposite is true. Europe adopted “light touch” financial regulation pursuant to neo-liberal economic theory. Its embrace of the three “de’s” – deregulation, desupervision, and de facto decriminalization was far more extreme than the United States. The City of London “won” the regulatory race to the bottom with the U.S. European’s Continue reading →

14 Comments

Posted in William K. Black

Tagged austerity, deregulation, desupervision

Banking industry must rebuild from new foundations

Posted on August 12, 2012 | 1 comment

NEP’s own William K. Black weighs in on regulatory reform in light of Standard Chartered scandal. Read the story here.

1 Comment

Posted in William K. Black

Tagged Control Fraud

W. Black’s 8/10 Appearance on CNBC’s Closing Bell

Posted on August 11, 2012 | 10 comments

By William K. Black

My August 10th appearance on CNBC’s Closing Bell opposite Bethany McLean. The debate topic was the failure to prosecute Goldman Sachs for any role in the financial crisis.

10 Comments

Posted in William K. Black

Tagged bank fraud, Control Fraud, Financial crisis, goldman sachs, liar loans

L. R. Wray’s Appearance on “Beneath the Surface” with Suzi Weissman

Posted on August 11, 2012 | Comments Off

By L. Randall Wray

Podcast of my August 3rd appearance on Suzi Weismann’s Beneath the Surface on KPFK. Further discussion of “Why We’re Screwed”.

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Posted in L. Randall Wray

Tagged bank fraud, banksters, Libor

Eduardo Porter’s “Folly”—Why we must end the “Race to the bottom”

Posted on August 9, 2012 | 13 comments

By William K Black

Eduardo Porter began by studying physics but decided not to complete his studies and pursue a career in that field in favor of becoming a journalist. He worked for the Wall Street Journal before joining the New York Times, where he writes a periodic column. His primary interest is now economics. I was intrigued by a recent column he did entitled “The Folly of Attacking Outsourcing.”

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13 Comments

Posted in William K. Black

Tagged corporate governance, criminogenic

Spain Proves that Austerity can never “Ensure” a Balanced Budget

Posted on August 6, 2012 | 17 comments

By William K. Black
(Cross-posted from Benzinga.com)

The Wall Street Journal recently printed an economically incoherent and dishonest discussion of Spain’s budget deficit. It begins its discussion with these paragraphs.

“Spain’s central government reported a new deterioration in its finances and struggled to impose budget discipline on the country’s restive regions as data showed a surge in capital flight from the euro zone’s fourth-largest economy.

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