Global Capitalism: February 2015 Monthly Update
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Monthly Economic Update Co-sponsored by Democracy at Work, Left Forum, and Judson Memorial Church Richard D. Wolff Wednesday, January 14, 2015 at 7:30pm “The Economics of a New Year” Judson Memorial Church Assembly Hall 239 Thompson Street at Washington Square, Manhattan These programs begin with 30 minutes of short updates on important economic events of the last month. Then Wolff analyzes several major economic issues. For this January 14, these will include: 1. Causes and consequences of the oil price collapse: can it produce another crash? 2. Greece: if Jan. 25 election brings Syriza victory, what happens to Europe? 3. The economics of Cuba, 1959-2014: embargo, survival, new industries, and the turn toward worker cooperatives ....... Professor Wolff's Website: www.rdwolff.com Professor Wolff's Podcast: http://www.truth-out.org/economic-update-your-weekly-dose-revolutionary-economics/1310498361 Permission to reprint Professor Wolff's writing and videos is granted on an individual basis. Please contact profwolff@rdwolff.com to request permission. We reserve the right to refuse or rescind permission at any time.
Comments
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I know this was recorded over a year ago, and a lot has happened since, but can't the Greeks say the same thing that Germany said after WW2? "Look, we want to repay your dept, but you need a strong ally on the front line. Right now, Turkey is on the front line of the middle east, bordering ISIS and Syria and Iraq, but Erdogan is a loose canon. Here's the deal. You help us rebuild our economy, we will house those refugees that your people hate so much, and troops (both of which will bring in money)."
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BERNIE SANDERS for PREZ ! ! ! !
I will vote for this man the rest of my life. Don't care if he's on the ballot, I will write him in. -
Wow! Great lecture!
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Honestly I found this presentation quite patronizing actually. Opening with, "It might be too complicated." I'm 20 and have never taken an economics class, but even I can punch holes through the subjective opinions he intersperses. If you are being employed, you must be producing something of value to your employer or else why would they bother to employ you. The way he went about talking about this showed a backwards logic pattern which started with the result and worked backwards to the cause which seemed to be based on the premise that everyone is somehow equal and that grades showing qualification are somehow arbitrary. But this is a contradiction. If grades are, in fact, arbitrary and not representative of peoples economic value, then why would employers care? He then proceeds to say, "No. No. No. It's not your fault. It's the system. It's the evil rich people." I'm sorry, but what would you recommend? Shall we institute communism? As I heard it, people weren't all that satisfied with that situation ether. It seems to me, that Wolf is looking at peoples poor situations and doing so in a very superficial way. And as such, he comes to the conclusion that it's the evil system, rather than, asking, why is "the system" reacting in this way? Ultimately the free market is fluid, driven by the baser instinctive pursuits of individuals. Legislating such economically arbitrary rules which are designed from a standpoint of treating the symptoms, only creates unnatural imbalance in the movement of money and typically that is going to be away from the already poor. Moving to another point he makes, a car is merely a product. It is already one of the most highly regulated industries as well. It seems to me that it would be quite easy to determine the recall for a particular year, make and model, then contact the dealer for the history of that cars VIN to see if the work had been done, and then, if not, to have them do it. I am not so sure this is the dealers responsibility. It seems like rather poor buyers do diligence. I will admit much of the used car industry is very shady, but let's not let emotions dictate our actions. As usual this is brought on by more lawsuit happy Americans. I would, however, be in favor of abolishing the antiquated dealer system when dealing with the sale of cars. This is little reason for it. Why don't we them in shops and such distributors like everything else? Now, education is a tricky one. It shouldn't necessary be a bar to a good job morally. However, there is practicality to take into consideration. Also, there seems to be this idea that a college education is some magical ticket to a wondrous career. Going to the root of it, your career is only as good as the economic value you provide. An education, is only as good as the economic production it enables you to make as well as provide some indication of character and ability to employers. This is why there is such a thing as "worthless" degrees. I admit there is much issue with the current college system, but might I introduce another thought. That is that most people have a whole 13 years of school prior to dealing with college. I attended one of the best in the K-12 systems in country and let me tell you, there is a lot of room for improvement. Every kid has to go through this and the majority is publicly funded. So, would it not make sense to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of these institutions so that by the time people got to college, they would be that much farther ahead. I honestly question a lot of the rhetoric that the answer is, "More school. More school. More school." At what point does this school amount to something? Or is it just progressive credential-ism.
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TRICKLE DOWN ECONOMICS HAS BEEN A THREE DECADE GOP HOAX
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Lets think about the Germany issue for a while. If you just take the economic issues, and divorce it from the horrors, etc of the Nazi movement. Germany spent its way out of their forced depression. For years, it spent prior to the war money rebuilding the nation which was than blown to bits, than after the war it repeated this, and got itself out of the fiscal issues. Well the Western Germany, did. So did Japan, it was blown to bits, and it spent its way after the WWII, into prosperity.
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come and lecture in ireland. We will be worse than greece soon.
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1:21:48. Vote Green Party!!!!!!!!!!
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@20:08, Cock is the German pronunciation of the name of the anti-humanity brothers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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There is an old tale about the mice in the hole in the wall discussing how to deal with the house cat. One mouse gets a bright idea saying to the others: "Let's bell the cat!" Another mouse agrees: "Yes, we"ll put a bell around the cat's neck!" Then they all stood silent until one mouse asked" "Who's going to bell the cat?" The moral of the story is the cat's fangs and claws are very sharp. Who is going to bell the plutocrats and all their sycophants and minions? Who?
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This guy seems to have all the answers. He's got it all figured out. That is untill you realise he has not once attributes our financial woes to the debt based money system we use. How can you miss such a massive fundamental issue like this?? I smell a rat somewhere. I like the idea of democratic workplaces. So long as it is not state controlled it should be step in the right direction.
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Dear prof. Richard , i ask you permission for translate some parts , after would like translate some few updates for portuguese language.wish could rease 7 coutries and more than 200 milion people , Not for any comercial proposes , like we know well , thats something left sides from all world can´t even dream about it , but i will do this because i feel its important ,i have no fear of nogthing , and all credits will be for yours , i will walways say, translated from -link to " Original videos " thank yours all for this amazing work.
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I was wondering where Mr Wolff puts his money for his retirement.
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+RichardDWolff About the rating agency issue, I have heard (and it makes sense if you ask me), that the reason the government went after S&P only, is actually because at some point they lowered the credit rating of the US government, and not actually because of their illegal actions that contributed to the 2008 GFC, but using that as an excuse to do so.
The point is that the government was well aware of what was going on the whole time, and also knew it was not just S&P, but they didn't care (Just look at the way they bailed out 'too big to fail' banks!), and all they really cared about was the fact that S&P lowered their own credit rating.
I am no market expert, but just thought you may want to consider that possibility :) -
Did I hear him right?
At the end of minute 34 a student asks him if he would simply give all students A's, in response to his comments on graduates having less opportunity from lower grade scores.
He said "Yes, I would think about it".
Now there is a true blue Marxist.
Even grades should be "redistributed", If you will, to even out the score. -
I wish I could meet professor Wolff he is amazing. As far as the Koch brothers go why cant we just take away their citizenship and money and ship them off to a Siberian jail. With that money we can get free college, healthcare and dental for eveyone. Oh as well as get rid of hunger and homelessness in our country.
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IMHO the main problem with capitalism is how the currency is valued. Marx was correct to criticise this but he didn't offer a feasible alternative.
There's a solution to capitalism problems that was beyond Marx: programmable (regional) cryptocurrency coins.
The coins could be geo located to only work in one region to stop capital flight.
The value of the currency could be established using the transaction data it's used for.
A dynamic database of relative prices for goods production & services could be built up over time & the currency value calculated from it. People who volunteer to process & hold the data could be rewarded with newly created coins.
If the number of coins increases due to increased productivity & order requests, the region could be allowed to expand.
The value could be limited by the number of account holders & what the members agree should be included in it's valuation.
e.g. Increased pollution, crime,etc could be classed as negative production & the currency would devalue.
Price levels could be determined from the production efficiency, order requests, energy & time required to create goods or services.
If the value drops to a certain level & the region they are being traded in has reduced , some coins in accounts with balances above a certain level could be allowed to randomly 'merge' so that there will be less in the total money supply but the value of each coin would increase to compensate.
The economic policies of countries could be programmed into the open sourced currency instead of being totally at the mercy of faceless central banks & corporate governments.
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now I just want to play connect four
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Two questions:
Why is it that Marxism, which claims the the moral economic high ground over capitalism, has produced nothing but economic failure and oppression?
Why is it that free market capitalism, which is based on human self-interest, has produced economic freedom and prosperity wherever it is tried?
Has Marxism really failed, or has it been true to its own principles? In other words, have those societies that have claimed the principles of Marxism simply gone against Marxist principle, or does Marxist doctrine produce unintended consequences? -
Except that the ratings would be worthless they were being so easily manipulated. Ultimately, it was the federal government that set the stage for the mortgage collapse. Going after S&P, was revenge for S&P's downgrade of U.S. debt (which S&P had no dubious financial interest in doing). Nothing more. Nothing less. S&P downgrades U.S. credit rating the end of 2011. Lawsuit filed beginning of 2013. No lawsuit against any other company involved in similar ratings.
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