Naked Capitalism has the article Milton Friedman’s ” The Role of Monetary Policy” – 50 Years Later.

You can read all the professional remarks without ever seeing a mention of the obvious that I see.

What happened to Keynes’ insight that putting liquidity out there is like pushing on a string as long was there is no demand for investment? If the spenders, the middle-class, are not getting the money, there will be slack consumer demand. With the increasing size of the Chinese economy and its tendency to suck up all manufacturing as an excuse to keep salaries low, I don’t know how much of Friedman’s analysis can apply anymore. None of the forces driving the world economy now were large enough to have an impact when Friedman looked at the data.

It just amazes me that we can have these economic discussions without ever mentioning the elephant in the room.

CNN has the article UK government deletes tweet about Russian spy’s poisoning.

Britain’s claim that Moscow was behind the poisoning of a former Russian spy faced fresh scrutiny Wednesday when it emerged the UK government had deleted a tweet blaming Russia for producing the nerve agent used in the attack.

This English bicycle is being back pedaled so fast, that the feet on the pedals are a blur.

On the other hand, never let it be said that the English bulldog will change its mind despite the evidence or lack thereof.

The Foreign Office spokesperson said the decision to delete the tweets did not change the UK government’s assessment that Russia was responsible for the “brazen and reckless act” of poisoning the Skripals.

This last quote shows that the British government has no sense of shame at all. Laughing is now permitted.

The British delegation to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) slammed a Russian proposal for a joint investigation into the incident as “perverse,” describing it as a “diversionary tactic” aimed at evading questions over Moscow’s alleged role in the attack.

YouTube has the video Bernie’s Economist Explains Why We Can Actually Have Nice Things.

Stephanie Kelton served as an economic advisor on the Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign. But she differs with her former boss (with whom she also worked in the U.S. Senate) on a key economic positioning point—it is not necessary to couple “taxing the rich” with investment in the American economy or in the American people.

This should be simple enough for everyone to understand. Maybe even a politician could understand this.

New Economic Perspectives has the article Doing What the Market Can’t.

The only real option, therefore, is to eliminate the semantic mistakes, overcome the delusion, and begin thinking and talking about direct sovereign spending to achieve the essential but unprofitable goals of America’s democracy. Please note this does not require progressive leaders to disparage, in any way, the Market Economy. Indeed, they can earnestly champion and cherish it just as loudly as any conservative. Now, however, they can add the proposition that the Market Economy, so effective at providing America with much of what it needs and desires, will have a partner which can effectively provide the rest.

This goes along with my idea of “what worksism”. Let the “market” or “capitalism” do what it is capable of doing, and then add on whatever extras are needed in order to accomplish what “capitalism” is not capable of doing.

If you don;t already understand Modern Money Theory, then you won’t understand this article.

Business Insider has the article Cambridge Analytica whistleblower reveals shocking claim his predecessor was poisoned and police bribed.

He paints a picture of a lawless organization seeking to disrupt elections around the world.
.
.
.
He claims his predecessor was poisoned and the police were bribed not to investigate, though he described those claims as speculation.

WikiPedia has an entry for Cambridge Analytica.

Cambridge Analytica (CA) is a British political consulting firm which combines data mining, data brokerage, and data analysis with strategic communication for the electoral process. It was started in 2013 as an offshoot of the SCL Group. The company is partly owned by the family of Robert Mercer, an American hedge-fund manager who supports many politically conservative causes. The firm maintains offices in London, New York City, and Washington, D.C

Which side of the political spectrum seems to have verifiable evidence of election tampering and which side is more likely to use assassination by poisoning? Would it be Russia that the right wing is trying to demonize, or would it be the right wing that is trying to demonize Russia. Where do they get these ideas of what crimes to try to pin on Russia? These are crimes they have committed themselves. They know how horrible it would be if they were exposed as having committed these crimes.

Democracy At Work has the video Global Capitalism: March 2018 Live Economic Update.

Our goal: To develop all participants’ understanding and ability to explain current economic events and trends to others. We open the floor to questions and comments when time permits.

There are a lot of subjects covered, and lots of good information along the way. At the very end, he gives hints of what Socialism will look like in the 21st century compared to what it has looked like over the last 150 years. He hinted at the idea of bringing Socialism to the work place as the missing part of the previous attempts at Socialism. As he mentioned, it takes many iterations to get a new system “perfected”. He mentioned that it took capitalism about 10 iterations to get it to work. So, if this will be the second iteration of Socialism, I think that this second one won’t end up being the ultimate solution. It is easy to talk about bringing Socialism to the organization of the work place, but I think it is going to take a lot of trial and error to get it right.

I hope it is going to be possible to try Socialism in the work place on small scale efforts (sort of like alpha and beta tests of software and other products) before turning the entire world into this new organization.

Naked Capitalism has the article Resisting the Gig Economy: The Emergence of Cooperative Food Delivery Platforms.

These cooperatively run food delivery platforms would present a different vision from that of Silicon valley, a radical move away from the obsession of attracting venture capital to make short term speculative profits for a rich few. The platform economy isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and monopoly digital platforms are further reducing workers’ slice of the pie. But examples emerging from Spain, France and Germany show how the power of unions and cooperatives can be combined to push back against gig employers, and offer a glimpse of hope for the future of delivery platform work.

I have read about worker owned businesses from the likes of Richard Wolff of Democracy At Work. I have not been sure how widely applicable this could be. This example of cooperative food delivery shows at least one idea that could spread.

Here is an email from Tulsi Gabbard.

YouTube has the video Obama Data Mined Facebook Before Cambridge Analytica.

The data mining by Cambridge Analytica is nothing new. Also, Facebook was well aware of what it was allowing to happen.

The meddling that the Russians are accused of doing is child’s play compared to this.

The important part of Carol Davidsen’s talk was shown by Jimmy Dore, but if you are curious about the entire talk, it is on YouTube as Carol Davidsen | You Are Not a Target. The part that Jimmy Dore showed starts at about 19 minutes into the talk.

The Intercept has the Naomi Klein article The Battle for Paradise: Puerto Ricans and Ultrarich “Puertopians” Are Locked in a Pitched Struggle Over How to Remake the Island.

He had long warned of the risks associated with Puerto Rico’s overwhelming dependence on imported fossil fuels and centralized power generation: One big storm, he had cautioned, could knock out the whole grid — especially after decades of laying off skilled electrical workers and letting maintenance lapse.

Emphasizing the often ignored benefits of decentralization. Libertarians should be all for this benefit.