Category: Economy

From 2008 and relevant again today! The Bailout: A close-up look at the U.S. ruling class in action

Here we reprint a Socialist Action analysis of the 2008 Wall Street bailout. Today, once again, the U.S. ruling class is desperately trying to prop up its crisis-ridden capitalist system. We are already seeing the same "socialism for the rich" that this article pointed to the last time, as trillions of dollars are put into … Continue reading From 2008 and relevant again today! The Bailout: A close-up look at the U.S. ruling class in action →

The next recession: It’s all going pear-shaped

By MICHAEL ROBERTS  Is the world economy soon headed for recession? For information of our readers, we are reprinting this commentary from the blog of Marxist economist Michael Roberts, posted on Aug. 24. See: https://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/2019/08/24/its-all-going-pear-shaped/ With perfect timing, just as the summit meeting of the leaders of the top capitalist economies (G7) met in Biarritz, … Continue reading The next recession: It’s all going pear-shaped →

The New Deal: Roosevelt’s answer to ‘radicalism’

By DAVID RIEHLE Four score and seven years ago … Franklin Roosevelt brought forth in this country a New Deal. Not a Square Deal (Teddy Roosevelt) or a Fair Deal (Truman) but a NEW DEAL. New York Governor Roosevelt was nominated for president at the Democratic Party national convention in Chicago on July 2, 1932. … Continue reading The New Deal: Roosevelt’s answer to ‘radicalism’ →

Inside Trump’s trade bluster

By JEFF MACKLER Analyzing President Donald Trump’s excoriating traditional U.S. trading partners at the Group of Seven’s (G7) May meeting in Quebec, Marxist economist Michael Roberts commented: “What all these Trumpist antics revealed is that the period of the Great Moderation and globalization, from the 1980s to 2007, when all major capitalist states worked together … Continue reading Inside Trump’s trade bluster →

Working people have no stakes in a trade war

A joint statement by Socialist Action (U.S.) and Socialist Action/Ligue pour l'action socialiste in the Canadian state. The recent imposition of a 25% tariff on steel imports to the United States and a 10% tariff on aluminum from Canada, Mexico, and the European Union follow the earlier imposition of these tariffs on the rest of the … Continue reading Working people have no stakes in a trade war →

Argentina: Macri’s neoliberal fantasies

By CLAUDIO KATZ In the middle of his term, Argentinian president [Mauricio] Macri cannot hide the monumental abyss between his promises and reality. The promise was of an influx of dollars to lower inflation, with high growth, job creation, an entrepreneurial boom and eradication of social assistance. A drastic reduction of the fiscal deficit and … Continue reading Argentina: Macri’s neoliberal fantasies →

Congress pushes through new tax cuts for the super-rich

By NICK BAKER Massive tax cuts for the wealthy are moving forward in Congress, with the Senate passing its own version on Dec. 1. All that is left now is for the House and Senate to combine their two very similar bills and smooth out the minor differences. Once that is done, the plan will … Continue reading Congress pushes through new tax cuts for the super-rich →

New tax plan: Rob the poor to help the rich

By NICK BAKER In the last month, the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress have begun preparing a tax cut bill that would be a huge benefit to rich people and corporations. The details are still being negotiated among the representatives of the bourgeoisie, but the basic goals are clear. The bill would cut income … Continue reading New tax plan: Rob the poor to help the rich →

A watershed election for U.S. imperialism

By LYNN HENDERSON The 2016 presidential election concluded with the improbable election of real estate billionaire and reality show celebrity Donald Trump. In this historic 2016 election the dual parties of U.S. capitalism ended up presenting the American electorate with the choice between two individuals who were universally recognized as the most unpopular, distrusted candidates … Continue reading A watershed election for U.S. imperialism →

Canada-EU trade pact still not a done deal

By Y. FIKRET KAYALI The Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, barely rescued from the grave, may yet prove to be one of the walking-dead. The signature of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and those of his European counterparts on the document are, at this point, merely ceremonial. Before implementation, ratification votes must be held in Ottawa and … Continue reading Canada-EU trade pact still not a done deal →

Trump promises more perks for big business

By MARK UGOLINI Events surrounding the Nov. 8 presidential election confirm the depth of the crisis that U.S. capitalist rulers find themselves in. We’ve seen growing turmoil and major divisions between and within both major parties. The two-party system, for years a stable bulwark of U.S. capitalism, has been exhibiting signs of distress. The transition … Continue reading Trump promises more perks for big business →

A socialist joins the 2016 presidential debates, Part I

By BRUCE LESNICK Usually the U.S. presidential debates are more about personalities than politics. The phony Commission on Presidential Debates, deeply in the pocket of Democratic and Republican parties, serves as a fig leaf to mask the shamefully narrow discussion that passes for democracy in “The Greatest Country On Earth”™. But living in the 21st … Continue reading A socialist joins the 2016 presidential debates, Part I →

Connecticut march protests austerity budget

By CHRISTINE MARIE — HARTFORD — On April 4, nearly 1000 union workers, community organizations, Fight for Fifteen activists, and allies organized as the Democracy, Unity and Equality Coalition marched on the Connecticut state legislature to protest two austerity budgets in front of the representatives. The first, overwhelmingly approved a few days earlier by a … Continue reading Connecticut march protests austerity budget →

Film: Battleground of home foreclosures

By GAETANA CALDWELL-SMITH “99 Homes,” a film with Michael Shannon, Andrew Garfield, and Laura Dern. Written and directed by Rahmin Bahrani. “99 Homes,” set in Florida, is an excellent socio-economic film that could have been a documentary. I’m glad it isn’t. It is a well-acted, powerful drama based on the 2007-9 economic collapse, when banks … Continue reading Film: Battleground of home foreclosures →

China’s slide exposes world capitalist crisis

By GARY BILLS and JEFF MACKLER Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen announced in mid-September that interest rates charged to U.S. banks would once again remain unchanged—close to zero. She also expressed concerns about the still “weak U.S. recovery” since the disastrous collapse beginning in 2008 that shook financial markets and caused unprecedented harm to working … Continue reading China’s slide exposes world capitalist crisis →

How capitalism blunts social reforms

By JOE AUCIELLO Every four years the presidential election season sprouts another set of politicians singing songs of social reform, a chorus as predictable as carolers at Christmas. Winter voices ring with words of cheer: “Peace on earth, good will to men”—words as routine and meaningless as any campaign promise of “hope and change” or … Continue reading How capitalism blunts social reforms →

Behind the Mass Exodus

By BARRY WEISLEDER  Unprecedented numbers of people are desperate to migrate. Stories fill the media about the many who drown in the Mediterranean or die in desserts in a failed bid to escape horrible conditions. Stunning figures released on June 18 by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees quantify the extent of the global … Continue reading Behind the Mass Exodus →

Greece 2015: Lessons of the defeat

By JEFF MACKLER The classic definition of Greek tragedy from the times of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides 2500 years ago applies with a vengeance today. The Greek working masses have suffered a terrible defeat at the hands of Europe’s imperial economic and political powers—tragically, with the full complicity of the reformist, that is, pro-capitalist, Syriza … Continue reading Greece 2015: Lessons of the defeat →