Research suggests the racial wealth gap has been less about making different choices and more about having different choices to make, according to an opinion piece.
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The West is arraying financial weapons never deployed before against a country of Russia’s size, forsaking some of the principles that have defined it.
Part of what has defined the West – and most of what has been the world’s engine of prosperity for the past century and a half – has been the free flow of goods across borders, a working banking system, and property rights.
There’s been an implicit understanding that no sizeable nation (Russia’s economy is about the size of Australia’s) would be denied access to these things. Otherwise the financial system wouldn’t be the financial system.
That seems to have been the understanding of Russian President Vladimir Putin. But ten days ago, the West did the unthinkable, and the global financial system may never be the same again.
This position has been filled.
On Sunday, I was interviewed by Kai Wright on his excellent NPR show “The United States of Anxiety.” The other guest who came on after me was some musician named David Byrne. Wright and I talked about Biden, his State of the Union Address, and why his presidency hasn’t turned out to be an FDR-style transformational presidency. You can catch the show here. In other news, I’ve got some pieces in the hopper. Look for some mammoth essays on Adam Smith and John Maynard Keynes, both of which I’ve been working on for about two years, and a shorter take on the idea of late capitalism. Will share them when they’re out.
Russia has easily countered the attempts at financial sanctions, resulting in some interesting outcomes that further confirm the view taken by Modern Monetary Theory
Anticipating the inevitable question: the Cyrillic thought balloon is a Russian vulgarism which translates loosely as “we are so screwed.”
As always, if you enjoy this work, please consider helping me keep it sustainable by joining my weekly newsletter, Sparky’s List!
This paper examines the recent increase of the measured inflation rate to assess the degree to which the acceleration is due to problems created (largely on the supply side) by the pandemic versus pressures created on the demand side by pandemic relief. Some have attributed the inflation to excess demand, most notably Larry Summers, who had warned that the pandemic relief spending was too great.
All this geopolitical hot air was always going to be about gas, and, predicting that, before all the horse trading and brinkmanship began, we caught up with two independent energy experts, Irina Slav and Ben Aris.
The post The Nord Stream Dream Is America’s Nightmare appeared first on Renegade Inc.
Set in 1942, Jon Cleary’s novel follows a group of Australian soldiers who have just returned from the Middle East and are on leave in Sydney before being sent to New Guinea. Sergeant Jack Savanna, a radio announcer before the war, has met Silver Bendixter at the Anzac Buffet in Hyde Park: living at Darling […]
Fed Listens event participants highlighted trends, such as on labor availability, to help inform monetary policymakers about the U.S. economy’s path.
No one likes paying A$1.80 per litre for petrol. But amid forecasts of prices climbing to $2.10 as Russian’s invasion of Ukraine drags on, it’s possible some good could come of that pain – including greater energy independence and a faster path to net-zero emissions.
Two months ago, at the start of 2022, the typical Sydney and Melbourne unleaded price was $1.60 a litre. A year earlier, at the start of 2021, it was $1.20.
In this strategic analysis, Institute President Dimitri B. Papadimitriou, Research Scholar Gennaro Zezza, and Research Associate Nikos Rodousakis analyze how the Greek economy started to recover from the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic and the prospects of continuing and sustaining its recovery.
As always, if you enjoy this work, please consider helping me keep it sustainable by joining my weekly newsletter, Sparky’s List!
Electronic impulses on computers only stop tanks in Call of Duty. War is not a game, and stopping it will require rather more than attempts at financial alchemy
The news channel’s prickliness after a BBC presenter made a passing joke about ratings only made it funnier
Continue reading...Howdy, folks! With all the terrible events unfolding in Ukraine right now, I figured everyone would like a little bit of a break from doomscrolling. Not wanting to add anymore negativity to the timelines, I’m going to share something on-topic but decidedly more cheery than the McMansions of rich people who suck.
As some of you may know, I recently visited Oman as a cycling journalist covering the eponymous Tour of Oman. (You can follow all seven days of my travels via my cycling newsletter derailleur beginning here.) While I was there, I came across some of the most fantastic houses I’ve ever seen and had to take photos. Admittedly, I’m not a great photographer. I just bought a camera (a Panasonic Lumix) last year. Still, I tried to do these houses justice with my limited talent, a difficult task considering I was photographing from a moving car chasing bike racers around. These photos were taken during the Tour of Oman stages one and two, which traveled along routes from Al Rastaq to Muscat and from Barka to Suhar, respectively.