1. The final version Dodd-Frank Bill fails to resolve the fundamental problems of the US financial system in two ways. First, it enshrines the policy of “too-big-to-fail” without limiting the behavior that led to the catastrophic collapse of 2008-9. Second, it…
Author Archive for jeff.faux
The Deficit Commission
by jeff.faux •
Deficit hawks are once again circling the Capitol, spreading fiscal terror among the lawmakers. The bizarre result is that in the face of widespread unemployment, still mounting mortgage foreclosures and eroding real incomes for the vast majority of the country’s…
Myths About the Federal Budget Deficit
by jeff.faux •
The Commission on Deficit Reduction has an opportunity to make a major contribution to both economic policy and democratic decision-making in our country. To do so, it must confront the myths that dominate the debate over the projected federal…
Unemployment: The New Washington Consensus
by jeff.faux •
The Washington Consensus is a term long used for the harsh austerity imposed by the International Monetary Fund and other lenders on troubled third world economies. Under its dictates, unemployment and lowered incomes, rather than being the problems of insufficient…
Budget Hawks Fly Backwards
by jeff.faux •
Pressure is building in Washington for a high-profile commission to impose fiscal austerity on the Federal government for the coming decade. Supporters argue that Congress lacks the will to rein in projected budget deficits that will burden future generations. Therefore,…
One More Bubble To Go
by jeff.faux •
The word from Washington and Wall Street is that the worst is over. Sure, it will take a while for jobs to recover, for housing to come back, and for wages to rise. But we are definitely on the road…
Mexico: So Far From God, So Close to Wall Street
by jeff.faux •
This past winter both the outgoing director of the CIA and a separate Pentagon report declared political instability in Mexico to be on a par with Pakistan and Iran as top-ranking threats to US national security. It was an exaggeration;…