In The Great Crash: 1929, John Kenneth Galbraith describes one of the defining characteristics of stock market manias as obsessive attention to stocks with the euphoric belief of making easy money on share prices rising. This recurrent obsession he later describes in his 1987 book, A Short History of Financial Euphoria, as representing “recurrent lapses…Continue reading Asking the right questions about the Robinhood, GameStop meme-stock mania
Libor rigging and ARM loans: Another realm of bank collusion?
Since I have not put up a post in over two months, I am doing this quick post to keep the blog fresh. Meanwhile, I have several posts in the works for July. The following excerpt is from a feature story I did for Dollars & Sense magazine. The article provides a summary of the…Continue reading Libor rigging and ARM loans: Another realm of bank collusion?
Why Capitalism’s “Invisible Foot” Needs An Ankle Bracelet
Open a textbook in your typical economics classroom (at the undergraduate or graduate level) and you are not likely to find any discussion of externalities outside of being a one-off problem. Textbooks tell you externalities can be fixed with regulation, a tax, or, alternatively, by establishing rights to pollute and then allowing the trading of…Continue reading Why Capitalism’s “Invisible Foot” Needs An Ankle Bracelet
Is wealth and power in the hands of a few natural and inevitable?
Robert Reich, former Labor Secretary under President Bill Clinton, last December wrote an opinion piece for the The Guardian that opens by asking how could it be that a handful of billionaires have managed to “convince the vast majority of the public” that “wealth and power in the hands of a few [is] natural and…Continue reading Is wealth and power in the hands of a few natural and inevitable?
Is the economics profession “stuck in a kind of Nash equilibrium”?
When it comes to climate change and research related to what many consider to be the most pressing issue of our times, the economics profession appears to have its head in the sand. Based on a 2019 study of leading journals of economics, only a handful of articles have been published related to climate change.…Continue reading Is the economics profession “stuck in a kind of Nash equilibrium”?
Re: Critical thinking in economics classrooms.
Assessing critical thinking skills at the post-secondary level of education has long been on the radar of educators. After several decades, however, despite valiant attempts by many, outcomes don’t appear to be matching the efforts. While nearly ten years old, the book, Academically Adrift, published in 2011 by Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa, showed that little…Continue reading Re: Critical thinking in economics classrooms.
UVM’s Aggressive Evidence Suppression Efforts Pay Off
My appeal of the Vermont Labor Relations Board’s decision dismissing a grievance I filed for wrongful denial of reappointment as an economics teacher was stopped dead in its tracks on April 3, 2019 when the Supreme Court refused to allow incriminating evidence into the record. The evidence I argue proves the University of Vermont (UVM),…Continue reading UVM’s Aggressive Evidence Suppression Efforts Pay Off
VTdigger nixes interview with UVM’s Faculty Standards Committee whistleblower.
During an interview that the news outlet VTdigger did with me, in the wake of the ruling by Vermont’s Supreme Court affirming the Vermont Labor Relations Board’s (VLRB) dismissal of my wrongful termination grievance, the reporter asked for evidence to support statements I made in my press release following the high court’s decision. The following…Continue reading VTdigger nixes interview with UVM’s Faculty Standards Committee whistleblower.
“When I fought with the Economics Department to integrate ecological economics and other schools of thought, it was only so that the University could be better,” says a former student in UVM’s Department of Economics
I recently interviewed Kevin Sterling, a former economics student at the University of Vermont, who helped organize and lead a student coalition to diversify UVM’s Department of Economics core curriculum before he graduated in 2015. He is currently writing a book about ecological economics, inspired by his experiences at UVM and what he sees as…Continue reading “When I fought with the Economics Department to integrate ecological economics and other schools of thought, it was only so that the University could be better,” says a former student in UVM’s Department of Economics
High Court’s Decision In Favor of UVM Leaves Lecturers With No Protection Against Retaliation by Tenured Faculty
The April 3, 2019 decision by the Supreme Court of Vermont to side with the University of Vermont (UVM) and UVM’s department of economics following my appeal for wrongful denial of reappointment only confirms what many already know — non-tenured lecturers at UVM have no protection against prejudicial treatment and retaliation from motivated faculty, backed…Continue reading High Court’s Decision In Favor of UVM Leaves Lecturers With No Protection Against Retaliation by Tenured Faculty