Laissez Faire

Wanted: Free-Market Mouthpieces

Rob Warmowski | Posted 11.17.2009 | 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.

One Year Later: The Lessons of a Failed Economic Philosophy

Alexi Giannoulias | Posted 11.15.2009 | Chicago


Alexi Giannoulias

We are no more insulated from a financial crisis today than we were one year ago. Congress has not changed a single rule, habit or practice to stop this economic calamity from happening again.

Thanks Glenn Beck -- This 'Socialism' Sounds Great!

Paul Raushenbush | Posted 11.09.2009 | Politics


Paul Raushenbush

Capitalism has been given a pass while Americans struggle. When will capitalism be a word as dirty as socialism?

House of Chutzpah, House of Cards, or Back to the Future Again

Jessica Catto | Posted 04.18.2009 | Politics


Jessica Catto

The disgust burbled up at the callousness of Enron; it has been simmering ever since, and with AIG it has boiled over.

Blue Dog Democrats and Republican Triangulation

Joseph A. Palermo | Posted 04.16.2009 | Politics


Joseph A. Palermo

We must not allow the Blue Dogs to slow down President Obama's momentum or water down the sweeping reforms the nation needs in these trying economic times.

Grassley and the Chorus of Doubt

Stephen Herrington | Posted 04.14.2009 | Politics


Stephen Herrington

How is it possible to disprove anything more thoroughly than Supply Side economics, and all its attendant Laissez Faire excesses, have been disproved,...

Food Crisis: A Regulatory Meltdown No Bailout Can Save

Andrew Kimbrell | Posted 02.15.2009 | Politics


Andrew Kimbrell

The problems we face in food safety are familiar when viewing the unfolding financial crisis. We see cuts in agency budgets, weakening of regulations, and the fox being put in charge of the henhouse.

The 'Market' Isn't So Wise After All

Thomas Frank | Posted 01.31.2009 | Business


Thomas Frank

By and large the free-market medicine men seem determined to learn nothing from this awful year. Instead they repeat their incantations and retreat deeper into their dogma.

Laissez-Faire Capitalism Should Be as Dead as Soviet Communism

Arianna Huffington | Posted 01.22.2009 | Business


Arianna Huffington

It's time to drive the final nail into the coffin of laissez faire capitalism. If not, the Dr. Frankensteins of the right will surely try to revive the monster and send it marauding through our economy once again.

I Have a (Christmas) Dream

Lance Simmens | Posted 01.07.2009 | Politics


Lance Simmens

The need to act and act forcefully is now. Obama realizes this, the American people realize this, Congress realizes this, and even Dubya has inkling that something is not right.

Capitalism & the Capitalists

Edward J. Murray | Posted 12.27.2008 | Business


Edward J. Murray

Let's start with a re-thinking our fundamental economic philosophy: capitalism. In order to run effectively over time, democracies need robust economic systems.

Sarah "Frodo" Palin and The Cancer School of Economics

Bill Cusack | Posted 11.16.2008 | Business


Bill Cusack

Anyone who wants no rules at all is an adolescent. Like a bratty teenager caught up in a rebellious tantrum, Republicans can't see any regulation as healthy.

"Free Market?" R.I.P. and Good Riddance!

Warren Goldstein | Posted 11.08.2008 | Business


Warren Goldstein

Not only are there no "free markets" on Wall Street--there never have been. There have only been institutions and markets receiving varying degrees of protection from the mass of American citizens.

$700 Billion Wise, Several Trillion Foolish

James Berman | Posted 11.01.2008 | Business


James Berman

The divide between a severe recession and a depression is vast. It's important to keep this divide in mind, because an error in the measure of that gap can lead to major mistakes.

The Economic Shock: An Interview With Naomi Klein on the Current Crisis

Wajahat Ali | Posted 10.26.2008 | Politics


Wajahat Ali

"There are a lot of things the taxpayers have a right to ask of Wall Street in exchange for these bailouts." (Klein)

I Got Mine

Sam Greenfield | Posted 07.26.2008 | Politics


Sam Greenfield

Bush doesn't think Americans need to be told to conserve. He thinks they are pretty smart and will know what to do. Now THAT'S leadership.

Cramer: The Terrible Dollar Is Housing's Fault

TheStreet.com | Jim Cramer | Posted 03.28.2008 | Business


I am tired of reading that the dollar's decline is a function of our interest rates and their need to decline further on the short end. The dollar is...