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Free Market

Bankers and Their Lies: Are We Really That Stupid?

Martin Luz | Posted 05.25.2011 | Business
Martin Luz

The central pillar of this narrative is the idea that the recession was no one's fault. These things just happen. No one was "personally" responsible.

'Invisible Hands': The Dangerous Power of Business

Kim Phillips-Fein | Posted 05.25.2011 | Books
Kim Phillips-Fein

"Invisible Hands" is about how they were able to grow their ranks over time, so that today business interests are able to exercise immense power regardless of which political party is in the White House.

Wanted: Free-Market Mouthpieces

Rob Warmowski | Posted 05.25.2011 | Politics
Rob Warmowski

For my entire adult life, I have watched free-market fundamentalists do their thing. They demonize government, run for government, capture government, then dismantle and privatize government.

Bush: 'I Went Against My Free-Market Instincts'

George's Bottom Line | Posted 05.25.2011 | Politics

"I went against my free-market instincts." That's what former President Bush said today in explaining why he signed off on the bailout for Wall Stree...

Stephen Colbert Author Interview: Raj Patel On The Perils Of Free Market Economy (VIDEO)

Comedy Central | Posted 05.25.2011 | Books

Raj Patel, author of the new book "The Value of Nothing," spoke to Stephen Colbert last night about the hidden costs behind almost everything we consu...

Lessons For US Economic Policy From The Fall Of The Berlin Wall

Newsweek | Michael Hirsh | Posted 05.25.2011 | Politics

The abrupt and miserable end of the socialist experiment--it all happened so fast, with East Germany getting absorbed into West Germany on Oct. 3, 199...

Economists are Irrational!

Dr. Jim Taylor | Posted 05.25.2011 | Business
Dr. Jim Taylor

Given what has happened to our economy in the last decade, it's hard to believe that any of the "freshwater," "efficient market" economists still have jobs, much less, credibility in how the economy actually works.

Individualism Run Amok

Susan Smalley, Ph.D. | Posted 11.17.2011 | Healthy Living
Susan Smalley, Ph.D.

I was surprised to read the other day that in some cultures if you are asked 'how are you?' the answer never begins with the pronoun 'I' but rather with a 'we' as in 'we are fine or not fine'.

The Orphan Of The American Political Spectrum

Patrick Maines | Posted 05.25.2011 | Politics
Patrick Maines

Were one to design a political philosophy calculated to appeal to large numbers of "conservatives" and "liberals," it might look very much like contemporary libertarianism.

For The Shadow Elite Failure Often Guarantees Future Rewards

Janine R. Wedel | Posted 05.25.2011 | Books
Janine R. Wedel

Today's power brokers are still at the top of their game because they are said to "have the credentials." No matter that they are the credentials of a shadowy elite--and of failure.

The Debate About Health Care Reform Is Not About Health Care

Henryk A. Kowalczyk | Posted 05.25.2011 | Politics
Henryk A. Kowalczyk

It is about the underlying concepts of our political system. Do we want to stick to the concepts that made America strong and rich? Or do we want abandon them and experiment with new political concepts?

Measuring Measurements: Rising GDP in the Great Recession

Harry Moroz | Posted 05.25.2011 | Business
Harry Moroz

It is so easy in our current political environment to forget that GDP, the unemployment rate, the income tax burden -- a whole slew of measurements -- are freighted with judgments.

The Mystique of "Free-Market Guy" Obama

Jeff Cohen | Posted 05.25.2011 | Politics
Jeff Cohen

Liberal activists need to be smart enough to see Obama for the status quo politician he is -- and to act accordingly.

We Need Life Cycle Health Risk Insurance

Henryk A. Kowalczyk | Posted 05.25.2011 | Politics
Henryk A. Kowalczyk

The trick in reforming the health insurance system lies not in taking away profits from insurance companies, but in changing the paradigm in such a way that their greed would guide them to provide better health care.

Technology Rx for Health Care Reform

Gary Shapiro | Posted 05.25.2011 | Business
Gary Shapiro

The consumer electronics industry is defined by rapid innovation and falling prices. Advocates on every side should consider these market-based lessons, as they are relevant to the current health care debate.

Joshua Cooper Ramo: Surprise! Global Financial Crisis Could Turn China Into A Superpower

Diane Tucker | Posted 05.25.2011 | World
Diane Tucker

The Chinese banking system has been through so much stress during the last few decades, they are in a much better position than the U.S. to deal with the global financial crisis, says Joshua Cooper Ramo.

It's Not a "Free Market" System When Taxpayers Are Financing the Profits

David Sirota | Posted 05.25.2011 | Politics
David Sirota

Obama praising banks for being "profitable in a free market system" is like him transferring $1 million into my bank account, then sending me a letter for having mustered the brilliance to earn $1 million.

From Death Panel to Death Spiral

Jeff Schweitzer | Posted 05.25.2011 | Politics
Jeff Schweitzer

The GOP is not the party of small government and lower taxes. They are the Party of borrow and spend, big government and sex scandals.

10 Reasons Why People of Faith Should Support Healthcare Reform

Edward J. Murray | Posted 05.25.2011 | Politics
Edward J. Murray

We must help the President and Congress do what we sent them to Washington to do: reform healthcare insurance coverage in the U.S. now. Even faith demands it. Doesn't it?

Senator Baucus: "Uniquely American" Is Not an Answer

Jonathan Tasini | Posted 05.25.2011 | Politics
Jonathan Tasini

What industry has done more to deny our citizen the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?

Free-Market Conservatives Are Just Wrong

Dave Johnson | Posted 05.25.2011 | Business
Dave Johnson

Conservative free-market conservative ideologues manage to make a bad thing out of paying American workers good wages and benefits.

Firefighting in the 1800's: A Corrupt, Bloated, Private For-Profit Industry

Tina Dupuy | Posted 05.25.2011 | Politics
Tina Dupuy

Less government is not always good. The private sector is not always first-rate. And free market capitalism does not cure all.

The "Loan Arrangers" Will Not Ride Again

Rep. Barney Frank | Posted 05.25.2011 | Politics
Rep. Barney Frank

We will prove that the best thing you can do for capitalism is to have rules that give investors the confidence to get back into the system, that protect the great majority of decent people from abuses.

The Yes Men Fix The World One Prank at a Time

Liza Weisberg | Posted 05.25.2011 | Entertainment
Liza Weisberg

In their new HBO documentary The Yes Men Fix the World, the eponymous pranksters take aim at unapologetic free market profiteers.

Health Care Reform is Very, Very Good to You

Alan Rosenblatt | Posted 05.25.2011 | Politics
Alan Rosenblatt

It is essential for government to play a role in health care. Market forces alone are simply not up to the task of ensuring good health for the nation while containing costs.