Rethinking the Economy

Time for a little more “stumbling towards.”
(see blog subtitle)
As we saw last week, in Krugman’s world you start by assuming that the market basically works and then you deal with exceptions — “market failures” or “negative externalities.
What if we stopped bowing down to the Market Gods? What if we stopped saying the sun [...]

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For the next month or two, I’m going to try to really take care of my hands so I can reduce the amount of pain medication I’m on. I’m also going to try to push myself hard to make some progress in my theorizing — and to do it by writing about the issues I’m [...]

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I’ve been reading responses to Paul Krugman’s great piece last Sunday on Building a Green Economy. One of the striking things about these responses is that almost nobody seems to be talking about one glaring omission: environmental justice.
Krugman argues that when free markets do damage, there are basically two ways you [...]

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What does Business Insider consider “mind blowing“?
The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Cliché, sure, but it’s also more true than at any time since the Gilded Age.
The poor are getting poorer, wages are falling behind inflation, and social mobility is at an all-time low.
If you’re in [...]

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If you’re feeling blue about our side’s chances of getting its act together, WE ACT for Environmental Justice, and several other environmental justice organizations from around the country just released a report you should check out: Environmental Justice and the Green Economy. The report lays out three principles for building a just, sustainable [...]

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When I first took a look at the list of projects in Chicago’s 49th Ward’s Participatory Budgeting experiment, I was a little disappointed. Participatory Budgeting sounds so lofty: We the People choosing directly. And yes, some of the items folks get to vote for are pretty cool, like art projects or community gardens. But most [...]

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This week, while millions of Americans vote whether Siobhan or Tim should be saved on American Idol, residents of Chicago’s 49th Ward will be voting whether the potholes on 1600-1750 W. Lunt Ave or 1000-1350 W. Morse Ave. will be given the ax . That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, Participatory Budgeting has come [...]

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