Bruce Judson

The economic crisis began with the housing crisis, and it will only end when the housing crisis also ends. Unfortunately, the evidence of the past five years suggests that the Obama administration and Congress have never actually understood this connection. Despite massive numbers of foreclosures, the loss of almost...

Capitalism is not an abstract idea. It is an economic system with a distinct set of underlying principles that must exist in order for the system to work. One of these principles is equal justice. In its absence, parties will stop entering into transactions that create overall wealth for our...

It’s now a near certainty that Wall Street executives committed felonies.

The recently released audits of robo-mortgage activities by the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) details shocking behavior at the five banks constituting the Federal Housing Administration’s largest...

The phrase "Wall Street" is evocative in American culture. For generations, it has referred to the showcase of American capitalism: our financial services system that ensured the efficient use of funds by channeling capital to its most productive use. Indeed, the governing ethos in America is that Wall Street is...

Extreme economic inequality is among the most destructive forces in a society. As inequality grows, it undermines the effective functioning of the economy, the basic tenets of capitalism, and the foundations of democracy.

Unfortunately, the housing crisis and now the housing settlement increasingly look like an example of...

Banks agreed to change their behavior as part of the robo-mortgage settlement announced last week. The announcement, however, left open critical questions: How will the new settlement be enforced? Does the settlement include new, pre-defined penalties for banks that fail to uphold their new promises?

Since changes in...

The terms for the settlement of the robo-mortgage scandal and the states participating in the settlement are expected to be resolved soon. Unfortunately, as this settlement approaches, new and grave questions have emerged. These questions raise the possibility that the government may be turning a blind eye to tax evasion...

Tomorrow is the deadline for state attorneys general to sign on to a joint federal and multi-state $25 billion settlement of the robo-mortgage scandal. The settlement will involve Ally Financial Inc. (formerly GMAC), Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., and Wells Fargo...

In early December, the Justice Department confirmed that it was investigating the pricing of e-books and the related activities of major publishers and online retailers, such as Amazon.com and Apple. As a print and digital author, participant in the publishing industry, and graduate of the Yale Law School,...

These days it's hard to be surprised by anything: Each new day seems to bring news of additional bank malfeasance, a foreclosure scandal, another indicator that our politicians lack a sense of moral decency, and further evidence that no one in the public eye suffers from an old fashioned sense...

As we start the New Year, the executive branch and Congress continue to pretend the gravest risk to our economy and social stability does not exist: the ongoing foreclosure crisis. The financial crisis began with the housing crisis and it will not end until we resolve housing. Government policymakers...

In an earlier column, I wrote about the intersection of equal justice under the law and capitalism. The idea of fair bargain is central to a capitalist economy: Both the buyer and seller in any transaction must believe they fully understand the nature of the good being bought or...

Salon recently reported that the Occupy movement is planning to begin a nationwide action protesting the foreclosure crisis, called Occupy Our Homes. Whatever your views of the movement itself, they are casting a bright light on the place where capitalism, our democracy, and our society have...

As the dysfunctional nature of our economy becomes ever clear more apparent, the media is appropriately focusing on the whether the ideas of economic thinkers from earlier eras can help to solve today's problems. Recently, NPR devoted a segment to the thinking of Ayn Rand.

The NPR...

From the beginning there are aspects of the Occupy Wall Street movement that have been widely misunderstood. With the current turmoil in New York City, these misunderstood aspects of the movement are, in part, the key to understanding what will happen next.

The protesters are, in large part, college graduates...

There are two fundamental values that are essential to any working capitalist economy: accountability and the rule of law. The reported outlines of the proposed settlement of the robo-mortgage scandal (no official details have been released) by 46 state attorneys general working together shows how far we have diverged...

Since the start of the financial crisis, Americans have wondered why, if laws were broken, none of the occupants of Wall Street or other financial centers have been arrested. Now arrests are starting to happen with growing frequency. To date, an estimated 2,511 people have been arrested on Wall Street...

Today, some of the leading capitalists in the nation are located on Wall Street. Sadly, it is the protesters outside who are literally on the street who embody the ideal rewards and responsibilities of capitalism, not the financiers who occupy the buildings.

This is the first in a s series...

I recently posted the note below the line at the blog for my new book, It Could Happen Here. By taking a quote from my book out of context, "Conservative" writers have suggested I support their views. I do not.

(In fact, the ideas in the book...

As American consumers and small businesses look for cost-saving opportunities, Internet-based phone services have emerged as a leading opportunity. Millions of families and small businesses can easily save $485 to $725 per year with these services, as compared to existing costs with traditional phone companies. At the same time, the...