Yes! Magazine has the article Post-Soviet Co-ops: Mongolian Herders Borrow a Tool From the Recent Past.

To make ends meet without selling their livestock one by one, some herders, including Terbish-Ragchaa and Galbadrakh, are beginning to borrow a tool from the past, forming cooperatives so that, together, they can manage the pastureland, sell directly to factories, and form other value-adding businesses. This time, it’s not mandated by the state—herders own the livestock and the cooperatives themselves.

Rethink how socialism can work.I suppose some people might even think of this as capitalism. No matter what you call it, the difference seems to be who owns the means of production.

I woke up this morning with the thought of trying Newton’s Theory of gravity. The idea came to mind because of an experience last night that I will get to in a moment.

The first thing I did was to sit up in bed and reach for the glass of water on my night stand. As I picked it up, the water was still sitting in the glass just as Newton’s Theory said it would. I lifted the glass to my lips, tipped it up, and the water came spilling out into my mouth and down my throat. I was beginning to think that I liked this theory.

I threw my legs over the side of the bed, and stood up. That worked pretty well. I walked over to the stairs. Carefully grabbing the side rails to prevent me from flying off into space, I walked down the stairs to the dining room for breakfast. Fortunately, I was able to walk down the stairs without the help of my hands on the side rails. With each step I took, I descended the stairs, and did not fly up to the ceiling.

Tomorrow, I might try out someone else’s theory of gravity to see if it works as well as Newton’s theory.

Oh, yes, I promised to talk about my experience last night that prompted me to try out the theory of gravity.

Last night we went to a restaurant for supper. I decided to try Modern Money Theory as an experiment. We were ushered in. We sat down, We ordered our meals. The waitress brought them to us. When we were done, I figured it was time for me to try the new money theory.

I handed my credit card to the waitress. She used the restaurant’s computers to connect with the credit card company to see if they would cover the bill. One computer said to the other, “Sure we’ll cover this bill. We’ll even cover the nice tip for the waitress. Trust us.” The restaurant was satisfied. We walked out of the restaurant, free and clear. The restaurant and the waitress were happy to have served us, we were happy to have eaten there, and no dollar bills were ever seen or mentioned while we were there.

It turns out that the day before, I had received a credit card bill for the month of August. I had logged into my bank account on the web using my computer, and told the bank to pay the credit card bill. Their computer also said, “Sure we’ll pay it, Trust us.” I keep records of all my computer transactions, but no bank has ever failed me yet.

I know that the bank lends out most of the money it has so that it can earn interest. What would have happened if the bank did not have the money on hand to pay the bill as they said they would? They could have connected to the computers at The Federal Reserve Bank, and said “We need to borrow some money to cover this payout.” The Federal Reserve’s computer would say, “Sure, we’ll credit your account here at the Federal Reserve with the money you need. Trust Us.”

So far, nobody has ever doubted the word of The Federal Reserve Bank. When the Fed says you have the money, you just know that you have the money. Modern Money Theory is just an explanation of all of this. This is just like Newton’s theory that explained that I would not fly up to the ceiling if I didn’t use the hand rails. It doesn’t make any difference if Newton’s Theory is right or not. It just happens to explain and predict what happens in every day life. This is exactly the power of Modern Money Theory. You don’t specifically try the theory. It just explains what happens.

When I first saw The Real News Network video Why Are Hong Kong Protesters Asking Trump for Help?, I thought I was hearing an unbiased report on Hong Kong.

I have since read part of The Gray Zone article Behind a made-for-TV Hong Kong protest narrative, Washington is backing nativism and mob violence.

Now I don’t know what to believe. Reading the comments on The Real News Network video, I see a lot of dissent from that article.

VOX has the article Uber and Lyft just lost another battle in California.

If AB 5 passes the full Senate, it would essentially disrupt a business model championed and cherished by Silicon Valley. Uber, Lyft, and other app-based gig companies rely on hundreds of thousands of independent contractors to give rides, deliver food, and complete other tasks.

Reclassifying them as employees would change everything.

Gig workers would get labor protections and benefits that all employees get, such as unemployment insurance, health care subsidies, paid parental leave, overtime pay, workers’ compensation, paid rest breaks, and a guaranteed $12 minimum hourly wage. And, perhaps more importantly, they would be able to unionize.

It is unfortunate that so many progressives think nothing of using Uber, Lyft, and the other services. They don’t seem to make the connection between the cheap prices and the suppression of wages for the drivers. Walmart and Amazon have the same attraction for people on a budget. I know I should go easy on the customers. I know I have the privilege of not needing to save money this way. This gig economy is the way the oligarchs entice poor victims to take part in crushing the poor.

CNN has the article Bernie Sanders teases plan to eliminate billions in medical debt

The outline explains that the full plan will address the components of the 2005 bankruptcy bill that “made it much more difficult to discharge medical debt” and “trapped families with medical debt in long-term poverty.” It also promises to “make sure that no one’s credit score is negatively impacted by unpaid medical bills.”

CNN may not have any institutional memory about this bill but Google can supply that memory. The new bankruptcy law and you was published October 17, 2005.

What you should know about the law, which will make it tougher for consumers to clear their debts.

WikiPedia has a nice article Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act. Here is a mention of Joe Biden’s involvement.

The increase in Republican majorities in the Senate and House after the 2004 elections breathed new life into the bill, which was introduced in its current form by the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa.^[17] According to George Packer in his book The Unwinding, Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, and Hillary Clinton helped pass this bill.^[18] (Of the three, however, only Biden voted for the final bill. Dodd voted against, and Clinton did not vote.^[19])

The Real News Network has the interview Is it Cynical to Believe the System is Corrupt?

While a new poll shows most US citizens believe the political and economic system is rigged against them, Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren also echo this sentiment. Some conservatives are now pushing back. But what says the evidence? Bill Black analyzes the situation

Bill Black mentions the book Phishing for Phools: The Economics of Manipulation and Deception

The New York Post has the article MIT director resigns over university’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

A director at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s prestigious Media Lab is resigning — because he’s “ashamed” over the research center’s link to Jeffrey Epstein, according to a new report.

When I disowned MIT for accepting money from David Koch to build a building named after him, I had in mind the pernicious influence people like this would have over MIT. Here is another perfect example of being too eager to accept money from anybody who is willing to give it. If bribery with child prostitution is part of the picture, it is far worse than I imagined.

Columbia Journalism Review has the Op-Ed: Bernie Sanders on his plan for journalism.

When I am president, my administration will put in place policies that will reform the media industry and better protect independent journalism at both the local and national levels.

Now here is an indication that at least one Presidential candidate has a deep understanding of the crisis in journalism. What other candidate has detailed plans for reversing the harmful trends when he or she is President?

The Real News Network has the video Democracy in Chains: The Radical Right’s Stealth Attack on American Democracy.

In part one, Nancy Maclean reveals Nobel prize-winning economist James M. Buchanan as the architect of the Koch Brothers’ secret campaign to undermine public education, unions, and to reshape America

This is the exact reason that my alma mater, MIT, and I parted company when they built the David Koch funded cancer research center. They never would answer the question of what academic influence the Koch funding would have at MIT. I refused to attend my 50th alumni reunion for fear of having to sit through paeans to David Koch.

Also see my previous post about this book, Democracy In Chains.

Financial Review has the article Central banks have unlimited ammunition – if they chose to use it.

It is time to fundamentally rethink the conventional macroeconomic policy framework in preparation for future economic downturns. Monetary and fiscal policy need to be better aligned and coordinated so that they can be mobilised quickly and effectively when needed, and in the right combination. MMT can play a useful role in that debate. But economists on both sides have to put down their rhetorical pitchforks first.

If you read the whole article, you will see much of my own view. The article reminds us that the restrictions that Congress has put on the Fed are an unhelpful obstruction to the full use of the fiscal policy that would be available to the government if there had been no such restrictions.

It just occurred to me that saying that central banks have unlimited ammunition leaves the wrong impression. Central governments have unlimited ammunition, but the ammunition is not completely in the hands of the central banks. Central banks are a part of the central government, but they don’t have some of the powers that the rest of the government has.