Anders Borg's confession and the false burden of debt In 2005, Anders Borg admitted that it was not welfare that caused the 1990s crisis, but a misvalued exchange rate and poorly managed macroeconomic policy. Despite this, welfare was left to bear the blame. The Moderates used this narrative to push through attacks on wage earners, privatizations and cuts. Already in 2006, when Fredrik Reinfeldt won the election,…
Category: The financial crisis
Financialization a bigger price increaser than food shortages
When rumors rule more than reality Food prices have skyrocketed in recent years, and the reasons are more complicated than they first appear. Financial market speculation and stockpiling by major players control food prices more than actual shortages of raw materials. Sweden has also made itself vulnerable by eliminating its emergency stocks and becoming increasingly dependent on imported food….
Nobel Prize on Power and Progress
An ideology in power that favors workers must guide technological development. It determines whether we get a fairer world. Technological progress has not always meant better working conditions or higher wages for everyone. We need to develop innovations that help workers become better at their tasks, not just replace them with automation. Then the technology would…
The Sweden Democrats are not social democrats
The Sweden Democrats and Neoliberalism's Discontent The far-right Sweden Democrats (SD) have emerged as a decisive political force. The Dissatisfaction Party capitalizes on the dissatisfaction that many Swedes feel with neoliberalism. Neoliberalism brings cutbacks, layoffs, market solutions, deregulation and privatization. In recent decades, this has led to widening gaps between rich and poor. Many ordinary citizens have experienced long-term unemployment,…
Piketty, Capital and the Ideology of Inequality
Thomas Piketty's "Capital in the Twenty-First Century" Summary of contents: Thomas Piketty's book "Capital in the Twenty-First Century" examines economic inequality throughout history and up to the present day. Piketty uses extensive historical data to analyze wealth distribution and income inequality, focusing on how capital and labor income have developed over time. Main thesis: Piketty argues that the world…
RFK is problematic
RFK is problematic. Trump has influenced RFK Jr.'s campaign. New data suggests strong ties between RFK Junior's campaign and Trump, possibly to divert votes from Biden. Rita Palma, RFK Junior's New York state director, openly said that having Kennedy on the ballot could undermine Biden's chances, favoring Trump in the historically Democratic state….
Why are Americans so dissatisfied and Trump-positive despite a good labor market
Why are Americans so unhappy? High costs create dissatisfaction in the US despite positive economic news during the Biden administration according to Robert Reich. Reich was the former Democratic Labor Secretary in the United States Expensive housing, food prices and child care Despite positive economic indications, including growth of 3.3 percent in the last quarter of 2023 and an unemployment rate of 3.7 percent,…
Work for all provides a more stable, state-regulated mixed economy
Work for all is the goal society must have. Brilliant text on the benefits of full employment and its positive side effects. Niklas Blomqvist questions the idea that the market itself can create full employment. For example, Blomqvist points out that attempts to follow this path in the last thirty years have not produced the desired results. He emphasizes that work for…
Why should we not say loans about government deficits
It is the term loan that is so misleading and could be misused to borrow from capitalists or abroad. Technically, it is not a loan either. The state can request that the people do the best they can and the state must help the people according to its ability. Then the state directs or helps the people by creating money…
The truth about immigration
A conservative view is that a country can either have a sustainable welfare state or high levels of immigration. But that view is wrong. The fact is that we can achieve both a well-functioning welfare state and increased immigration. By using progressive taxes and government deficits to invest in making everyone in society feel good…