[PEN-L:8266]
([EMAIL PROTECTED] [132.241.3.10]) by for [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Thu, 16 Jan 1997 20:48:16 -0600 (CST) by pitbull.ecst.csuchico.edu (8.8.4/8.8.4) with internal id SAA03881; Thu, 16 Jan 1997 18:48:10 -0800 (PST) Date: Thu, 16 Jan 1997 18:48:10 -0800 (PST) From: Mail Delivery Subsystem [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: PHILLPS boundary="SAA03881.853469290/pitbull.ecst.csuchico.edu" Subject: Returned mail: User unknown Auto-Submitted: auto-generated (failure) This is a MIME-encapsulated message --SAA03881.853469290/pitbull.ecst.csuchico.edu The original message was received at Thu, 16 Jan 1997 18:48:09 -0800 (PST) from hircismus.net.CSUChico.EDU [204.119.194.10] - The following addresses had permanent fatal errors - [EMAIL PROTECTED] (expanded from: [EMAIL PROTECTED]) - Transcript of session follows - ... while talking to spam.ecst.csuchico.edu.: RCPT To:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 550 [EMAIL PROTECTED]... User unknown 550 [EMAIL PROTECTED]... User unknown --SAA03881.853469290/pitbull.ecst.csuchico.edu Reporting-MTA: dns; pitbull.ecst.csuchico.edu Received-From-MTA: DNS; hircismus.net.CSUChico.EDU Arrival-Date: Thu, 16 Jan 1997 18:48:09 -0800 (PST) Final-Recipient: RFC822; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Action: failed Remote-MTA: DNS; spam.ecst.csuchico.edu Last-Attempt-Date: Thu, 16 Jan 1997 18:48:10 -0800 (PST) --SAA03881.853469290/pitbull.ecst.csuchico.edu Return-Path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] id SAA03879 for [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Thu, 16 Jan 1997 18:48:09 - From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ([EMAIL PROTECTED] [130.179.16.47]) by for [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Thu, 16 Jan 1997 20:48:00 -0600 ( Date:Thu, 16 Jan 97 20:01 CST To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] OMDear Pen-lers, As many of you know, there is in preparation the Encyclopaedia of Political Economy (EPE) under the general editorship of Phil Ohara at Curtin University in Perth Australia which involves quite a number on this list and also PKT. This major volume is to be published by Routledge. Unfortunately, (for various reasons) there are still a number of entries that do not have authors and as the publishing deadline is fast approaching, Phil is seeking writers and asked me to post the list of items wanting authors to this list. Now, from the discussion on this list, I know there are experts here that could write these entries in an evening, or who know who can. I appeal to them to e-mail Phil at [EMAIL PROTECTED] and offer your expertise. Paul Phillips 51. Entries in Need of Writers (as of 16 Jan 97) 53. 54. Business Cycles: Major Contemporary Themes [2000 words] 55. 56. Work, labor and Production: Major Contemporary Themes [2000 words] 57. Unions [1400 words] 58. 59. Increasing Returns to Scale [1500 words] 60. Verdoorn's Law [1200 words] 61. Okun's Law [1200 words] 62. Capital Reversing [1500 words] 63. Rate of Return Controversy [1000 words] 64. 65. Methodology: Major Contemporary Themes [2000 words] 66. Methodology: History of in PE [1700 words] PAUSE: 67. Foundationalism and Anti-Foundationalism in PE [1200] 68. International Network for Economic Methodology [400 words] 69. 70. Environmental Ecological PE: History Nature of [1700 words] 71. Environmental Accounting [1200 words] 72. Quality of Life [1 500 words] 73. 74. New Institutionalism [1400 words] 75. Social Control of Business [1200 words] 76. Centralised Private Sector Planning System [1400 words] 77. 78. Finance Capital [1000] 79. Financial Innovation [1500 words] 80. Crime [1500 words] 81. Justice [1400] 82. Rent Seeking and Vested Interests [1400 words] 83. Overhead Costs (J.M. Clark)[1200] 84. Conference of Socialist Economists [1000 words] 85. 86. Please do let me know if you are interested, or can suggest 87. possible writers. They would have to be written by mid-late 88. February at the latest. 89. PAUSE: 90. 91. 92. = 93. 94. Phillip O'Hara, Department of Economics 95. Curtin University of Technology 96. GPO Box U1987, Perth. 6001 Australia 97. email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 98. Fax: +61-9-351-3026 99. Tel: +61-9-351-7761 (work - message machine) 100.: 451-2618 (home) --SAA03881.853469290/pitbull.ecst.csuchico.edu--
[PEN-L:8265] RE: Interest rates
At 6:05 PM 1/16/97, DICKENS, EDWIN (201)-408-3024 wrote: And to my mind the theory of interest rate determination is crucial to filling in that lacunae. OK, Tom - so what's the Dickens theory of interest rates? Doug -- Doug Henwood Left Business Observer 250 W 85 St New York NY 10024-3217 USA +1-212-874-4020 voice +1-212-874-3137 fax email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] web: http://www.panix.com/~dhenwood/LBO_home.html
[PEN-L:8261] Re: inflation deflation
Lynn Turgeon writes: Passell also concludes that most people
seem to win as a result of overall deflation just as most people
seem to lose from overall inflation and therefore tend to go
along with fighting inflation as a national policy. No wonder
there is inertia among Japanese policy-makers when it comes to
reversing deflation.
How can Passell say such things?? How can he talk about "most
people"? Debtors win in (unanticipated) inflations and lose in
(unanticipated) deflations. Creditors get the flip side, losing
in (unant) inflations and winning in (unant) deflation. The
Japanese deflationary hegemony seems to me to be similar to that
of the 1920s (on a more global scale), partly due to the power of
the creditors and partly a reaction to past inflation.
Adding to Jim:
i am amazed that there hasn't been a consideration of the unemployment that
accompanies deflation and the strong employment growth that typically
accompanies inflation (though not always of-course).
the distributional changes that accompany unemployment (which is always
disproportionately borne by low wage groups anyway) are major. poverty doesn't
seem to stem from losing real income as your holdings of credit diminish with
inflation.
but it sure does correlate strongly with not having an income at all due to
unemployment.
give me inflation any time. all i have to do is to index the nominal economy. a
much easier option that what is confronted in the labour market when a
deflation is on.
kind regards
bill
--
## William F. Mitchell
### Head of Economics Department
#University of Newcastle
New South Wales, Australia
###* E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
###Phone: +61 49 215065
# ## ###+61 49 215027
Fax: +61 49 216919
## http://econ-www.newcastle.edu.au/~bill/billyhp.html
[PEN-L:8262] Re: Japan as a wave of our future
This is interesting because I was always under the impression that state intervention has been rather high in Japan. Perhaps this intervention does not show up as a budget deficit, but directing the economy to raise aggregate demand has always been a Japanese feature. This has been done largely through industrial policy, in an environment of favorable macro policies. It could be argued that industrial policy could generate longer term growth (intergenerational) than fiscal policy which is by definition aimed to deal with the short term. I am aware of course that separating growth rates over the long haul from ind policy and Keynesian policy may be difficult. On a related note my discussion with Japanese academics and ministry officials also gave me an impression that Keynesian ideas are quite strong in the establishment. Public spending, particularly in infrastaructural development, has been common. Perhaps the change is a new twist, delighting the NYT which loves to see the rest of the world emulate the US:). Anthony P. D'Costa Associate Professor Senior Fellow Comparative International Development Department of Economics University of WashingtonNational University of Singapore 1103 A Street 10 Kent Ridge Crescent Tacoma, WA 98402 USASingapore 119260 On Thu, 16 Jan 1997 LYNN TURGEON, PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF ECONOMICS, HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY, [EMAIL PROTECTED]@anthrax.ecst.csuchico.edu wrote: Peter Passell's Economic Scene (NYT, p. D-2, January 16, 1997) correctly points out that deflationary expectations on the basis of Japanese price movements in recent years has produced high real (inflation-adjusted) interest rates despite low nominal rates today. Passell also concludes that most people seem to win as a result of overall deflation just as most people seem to lose from overall inflation and therefore tend to go along with fighting inflation as a national policy. No wonder there is inertia among Japanese policy-makers when it comes to reversing deflation. What the Japanese have forgotten is their Keynesian roots in the Great Depression. The Japanese finance minister before his assassination in 1936 was Korekiyo Takahashi, who was a practicing Keynesian before Hitler. His deficit-spending permitted the Japanese economy to grow during the Great Depression. Japan thus avoided the sharp deflation found in the Unit ed States and Germany until 1933. In their zeal to remove any taint of fascism in postwar Japan and Germany, the allied control authorities created a postwar bias against deficit-spending in both countries. The German bias disappeared after the first postwar German recession in 1966-67, but the Japanese bias has remained. Japanese recent pump-priming produced a short-term spurt in Japanese growth which has now ended. We should be reminded of Franklin Roosevelt's disappointing experience with pump-priming in the 1930s and its general failure to generate significant growth until after Pearl Harbor. Japanese insistence on going through with their plans to raise both the income and sales taxes in April thus represents a continued failure of the Japanese to remember their Keynesian experience in the thirties. deflation.
[PEN-L:8260] Economists Oppose the Balanced Budget Amendment
Fellow Economists, What follows are a cover letter, text of a petition, and list of initial endorsements. The petition urges the defeat of any amendment to the U.S. Constitution requiring a balanced budget. It was written by Professor Robert Eisner of Northwestern University in consultation with Nobel Laureate Professors Robert M. Solow and James Tobin. If you would like to join the list of endorsers, please send a note indicating agreement that includes your signature, and the following printed information: full name, professional affiliation, and title. For verification purposes, we would also like voice phone number, e-mail address, and mailing address. The fax number is 202-331-5545. If you prefer to use e-mail, the address is [EMAIL PROTECTED] Who Should Sign? Anyone who has done substantive professional work in the field of economics and thus feels confident in being described as an economist. An advanced degree in economics per se is not required. No graduate students, please--your turn will come! We welcome endorsements from those working in the field of economics in trade unions, government, corporations, and non-profit organizations, as well as academics. Thank you for your interest and support. Feel free to repost this message to relevant mailing lists and newsgroups. DO NOT send endorsements to the orginator of this e-mail message. The text of the cover letter follows: January 2, 1997 Dear Colleague: We believe that it is generally inappropriate to try to put specific economic policy into the Constitution. We view proposed balanced budget amendments, in particular, as contrary to the best current judgment of most economists. That is why we have drawn up the attached statement and recruited others to join us. May we urge you to add your names to the list of initial endorsers of our statement, Economists Oppose Balanced Budget Amendment. Please fax back the attached sheet with your signature and those of your colleagues to 202-331-5545. The deadline for signatures is January 24. We will accept signatures after the deadline, but late names may not appear in the official announcement. Robert Eisner Northwestern University Robert M. Solow Massachusetts Institute of Technology James Tobin Yale University THE TEXT OF THE PETITION FOLLOWS: We condemn the proposed balanced-budget amendment to the federal Constitution. It is unsound and unnecessary. 1. The proposed amendment mandates perverse actions in the face of recessions. In economic downturns, tax revenues fall and some outlays, such as unemployment benefits, rise. These so-called built-in stabilizers limit declines of after-tax income and purchasing power. To keep the budget balanced every year would aggravate recessions. 2. Unlike many state constitutions, which permit borrowing to finance capital expenditures, the proposed federal amendment makes no distinction between capital investments and current outlays. Private businesses and households borrow all the time to finance capital spending. The amendment would prevent federal borrowing to finance expenditures for infrastructure, education, research and development, environmental protection, and other investment vital to the nation's future well-being. 3. The amendment invites Congress to require states and localities and private businesses to do what it cannot finance itself. It also invites more cosmetic accounting, such as increased sales of public lands and other assets counted as deficit-reducing revenues. Disputes on the meaning of budget balance could end up in the courts. 4. The amendment does contain escape hatches, but they require super-majorities in peacetime, three-fifths of the whole number (including absentees and non-voters) of each House to adopt an unbalanced budget or to raise the debt and a majority of these whole numbers to pass a bill to raise taxes. These provisions are recipes for gridlock and opportunities for irresponsible minorities to insist on their agendas. 5. The amendment is not needed to balance the budget. The measured deficit has fallen dramatically in recent years, from $270 billion in 1992 to $107 billion in 1996, to some 1.3 percent of gross domestic product, a smaller proportion than that of any other major nation, none of which hobbles its economy with a balanced-budget mandate. Congress and the President can reduce the deficit to zero, that is, balance the budget, or even create budget surpluses, without a constitutional amendment. There is no need to put the nation in an economic strait-jacket. Let the President and Congress make fiscal policies in response to national needs and priorities as the authors of our Constitution wisely provided. Initial Endorsers of Statement Opposing Balanced Budget Amendment Henry J. Aaron, Brookings Institution Moses Abramovitz, Stanford University Marcus Alexis, Northwestern University Kenneth J. Arrow, Stanford University William Baumol, New York University Barbara R.
[PEN-L:8259] FBI Racism
I am writing an article in which I could use some reference material concerning the racist employment practices of the FBI during the 1980s. Any help would be appreciated. Robert Cherry
[PEN-L:8258] inflation deflation
Lynn Turgeon writes: Passell also concludes that most people seem to win as a result of overall deflation just as most people seem to lose from overall inflation and therefore tend to go along with fighting inflation as a national policy. No wonder there is inertia among Japanese policy-makers when it comes to reversing deflation. How can Passell say such things?? How can he talk about "most people"? Debtors win in (unanticipated) inflations and lose in (unanticipated) deflations. Creditors get the flip side, losing in (unant) inflations and winning in (unant) deflation. The Japanese deflationary hegemony seems to me to be similar to that of the 1920s (on a more global scale), partly due to the power of the creditors and partly a reaction to past inflation. BTW, the Economic Policy Institute's home page (http://epn.org/epi/) has a feature called "Reading Between the Lines" where they comment on current journalistic economics in the semi-official NY TIMES and Washington POST (such as Passell's columns). Sometimes the EPI's views seem infected by the influence of the Marquis de Sawicky ;-), but it's good to see a different slant that that of the establishment consensus. (NB: Doug Henwood has his own home page, which I'll let him tell you about.) in pen-l solidarity, Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Econ. Dept., Loyola Marymount Univ. 7900 Loyola Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90045-8410 USA 310/338-2948 (daytime, during workweek); FAX: 310/338-1950 "It takes a busload of faith to get by." -- Lou Reed.
[PEN-L:8257] Re: The Wrecking Activity Of Imperialism And All
Shawgi writes; See previous and future posts. Check PEN-L archives. If you like I can forward you some material on the necessity for an authentic working class party, what its character should be, etc. At any rate, yes, the advanced elements of the working class must point the way forward. An authentic Communist party must be miltant, enthusiastic, a stranger to frustration, etc. Above all, an authentic Communist party must ideologize, politicize and organize the broad masses of the people. A genuine Communist party must bring the people to power, the exact opposite aim of bourgeois parties, which seek only to come to power themselves. The vanguard of the working class and working people must create the subjective conditions for revolution, especially at this time when revolution is in retreat and the objective conditions are screaming for deep-going social, as well as political, transformation. In order for the transition from capitalism to Communism to take place successfully, the proletariat must at once expand democracy and suppress all enemies of the people, the exploiters of yesterdaty. This is why, for example, the standing army must be dissolved and replaced by a peoples' army, by the self-acting armed organization of the population. Socialism is an extremely unique and special tranistory historical period. The resistance of the capitalists will still exist under socialism, as may commodity production depending on the ratio of class forces. Further, all "bourgeois rights" do not disappear under socialism. But, the exploitation of persons by persons will end (has ended) under socialism. Only Communism renders the State, the organ of suppression, absolutely unneccesary. Only under Communism will antagonisms between large sections of the population cease to exist. Under socialism the working class and people will enthusiastically suppress all that is Old and give rise to the New. Talking to Soviet Workers. The Soviet workers have suffered a terrible defeat of a world-historical significance. First, they had given away political power to the bureaucracy, had lost the Soviets as the instrument of proletarian dictatorship and ceased to exit politically as class. Then they had given away plants and factories--all the means of production and the riches of the country created by them. You were told: Think only about your work, leave politics to us, rely on us; we know the road, we see farther. With us, you'll reach communism without upheavals, evolutionary, gradually as down the Volga river. This is what the ruling caste used to tell workers and peasants, while behind their backs it made deals with the dealers of shadow economy, with the world bourgeoisie, with the petty-bourgeois professional class. It had colluded with them until the day came when they together struck the working class in the back and unleashed the open class warfare against it. Like a werewolf, they have shown you their true image: the cynical snout of the bourgeois philistine! How easily, how scornfully they have done with you! But he laughs best who laughs last. Now it is your turn, now you have to make a move. Proletarian revolutions ruthlessly criticize themselves, learn from their victories, and most of all from their defeats. What is themain lesson of your terrible defeat? Winning power is not enough. One must be able to hold it. Freedom and dignity cannot be preserved simply by the right of inheritance. They must be defended again and again. Until the power of Labor triumphs globally, until the International becomes the master of the planet and class society disappears into the past forever, until then--every generation of workers will have to confirm its right for dictatorship again and again. Neither God, nor Tsar, neither Hero nor the Party will accomplish for the workers what only they themselves can accomplish. Only the working class itself can become its own liberator. And it can do so only by having recognized its historical mission and united on its basis. What then prevents the class organization of Russian workers at present? There is a number of objective problems. Yet the main one is subjective. It is the widespread illusion that such organization, such unity can be achieved through the top, i.e. by the existing upper-level political organizations and institutions: parties, unions, and parliaments in which you cannot find a single worker. In other words, it is the illusion that some "good uncles" over there will do what only the working class itself can. Yet all these organizations, all these "good uncles" are creatures of the past and carry over from it the thinking, psychology, methods, and above all, the interests of the bureaucracy, the sworn enemy of workers. That is why the political vanguard of the Russian working class must be created from within. The class must concentrate, gather itself together, gain confidence in its own
[PEN-L:8256] Re: Without Modern Communism The Workers And People
Shawgi writes; This does not speak to the point. and This does not speak to the point either. and This, too, does not speak to the point. The Ticking Bomb! In a large sal with every seat filled, a Social Democratc Representative of parliment met with the unemployed in this Commune in northern Sweden. The meeting, and atomsphere of rage and indignation by the very heart of the Social Democratic base in the workers movement against its own leaders... A broad range of young and old, women and men, the grey mass of now over 1 million (!) people in a population of 8 and a half million who for years have supported the Social Democrats are now beginning to move. Immediately after the parlimentry member made her presentation defending the present policies of the Social Democratic government, the fireworks started. In a statement made by the author of this article who said that the present policies of the Social Democratic goverment are directed against the workers movement, and against the trade unions and are policies, that they have worked out together with the bosses has put the Social Democratc leadership on the other side of the barricades with their guns pointed at the head of the working class. There policies of attacking the trade union laws of "first in last out", there cuts in unemployment, everything they have done is in principle a direct declaration of war againt the workers movement. Against this policy we purpose a 6 hour working day, a mobilisation of the working class to combat unemployment. We purpose that trade union candidates be purposed in the coming elections on a program to stop the dismantling of the welfare state. We purpose a broad educational program to combat the passivity of sitting home on the dole. And these purposals are in direct contradiction to the present policies of the Social Democratic government. Only a government with these goals in mind will do. This barrage against the leadership was met by stormy applause in the whole room! Speaker after speaker attacked the leadership for selling out the workers movement. For selling out the youth. For throwing women out on unemployment. For cutting health care. For cutting in the schools. Speaker after speaker in a growing sense of rage attacking the people that they have voted for for years! The Social Democratic leadership tried to counter with that she understood all of this ,but that we have to understand that the Social Democrats inherited the situation from the previous government. Speaker after speaker stood up and said it is you who are passing the anti-worker and anti-trade union legislation with your partners in the bougeois Center Party. (A party which represents the farmers in Sweden and who have made billions off the entry into the common market through common market subventions to farmers in Europe). The gap between the Social Democratic top and its working class base as never been as large as it is today. Although the conciousness of these social democratic workers is on the level of seeing all of the reforms being wripped down around them and a million people out of a job. This conciousness is economic thinking at this point. There anger is directed at the party which they have voted for for years, as being responsible. And rightly so! Although these workers do not understand at present that the leadership of there party has deserted them. They do understand what mass unemployment and the cuts mean in everyday life for themselves and there families. These workers do not understand that their leaders have joined the German push for a monetary union and a united imperialist bougeoisie led by the Germans in europe is the goal. They do not realise that the Social Democratic leadership of professional bureaucrats and people who came straight out of a college somewhere have taken over the reins of leadership. That this leadership in a few short years has taken Sweden to the brink of a gigantic disaster of poverty and unemployment. But they do know that something has gone wrong. Very seriously wrong with the politics and the leadership they have voted for. What we have here is a broad mass of anger and frustration against the treacherous leaders of Social Democray that has betrayed them. They demand answers and a new political line which favors the working class. For the first time in years militants who before would be laughed at are being applauded and clapped on the back. Statements of we should march on Stockholm and throw the whole bunch of them out and other wise remarks were very common at this meeting. The Social Democratic leadership no longer has a monopoly on the workers movement. Workers are moving to the left as the situation everyday worsens for them and the party leadership is moving to the right. The trade union leadership feeling the pressure is somewhere in the middle. Afraid to slap
[PEN-L:8259] FBI Racism
I am writing an article in which I could use some reference material concerning the racist employment practices of the FBI during the 1980s. Any help would be appreciated. Robert Cherry
[PEN-L:8263] RE: Interest rates
Trevor Evans believes that Marx's theory of the interest rate is more or less "complete." As an example of what this means, Trevor points to Marx's rejection of a natural rate of interest. Trevor then speculates that Marx might have a loanable funds type theory of interest rate determination that would support a crowding out argument. Trevor, crowding out implies a natural rate theory of interest rate determination in the sense that it assumes that the level of the interest rate is determined in the long run by real factors alone--the essence of natural rate doctrine. So much for completeness. Trevor suggests that I reduce Marx's theory to a question of the relative strengths of industrial and financial capital. Someone called attention to Van der Pijl's excellent work in this area. I would be most interested in how they think Van der Pijl's work applies to interest rate determination. But I don't think Marx argued that the relative strengths of financial and industrial capital would determine the interest rate. It is hardly profound to point out that people who lend money want a high interest rate while people who borrow money want a low interst rate. To reduce Marx's theorizing to such nostrums is embarrassing. I argued that Marx had intuitions about the determinants of the interest rate that did not pane out when he applied his dialectical method to them. Rather than trying to construct a complete theory from the shards of Marx's tentative efforts, which is the dominant tendency in the extant literature, we are better served by examining why Marx broke off his analyses at the points where he did, what new points of departure he tried, where his results were taking him, and why research in this area kept dropping further and further down Marx's list of priorities. My point still stands whether or not one interprets Marx's book on the state as the capstone of his economic writings. But insofar as I'm concerned, the lack of well-developed links between his economic writings and his political writings is the fundamental lacunae in Marx's oeuvre. And to my mind the theory of interest rate determination is crucial to filling in that lacunae. Edwin Dickens
[PEN-L:8256] Re: Without Modern Communism The Workers And People
Shawgi writes; This does not speak to the point. and This does not speak to the point either. and This, too, does not speak to the point. The Ticking Bomb! In a large sal with every seat filled, a Social Democratc Representative of parliment met with the unemployed in this Commune in northern Sweden. The meeting, and atomsphere of rage and indignation by the very heart of the Social Democratic base in the workers movement against its own leaders... A broad range of young and old, women and men, the grey mass of now over 1 million (!) people in a population of 8 and a half million who for years have supported the Social Democrats are now beginning to move. Immediately after the parlimentry member made her presentation defending the present policies of the Social Democratic government, the fireworks started. In a statement made by the author of this article who said that the present policies of the Social Democratic goverment are directed against the workers movement, and against the trade unions and are policies, that they have worked out together with the bosses has put the Social Democratc leadership on the other side of the barricades with their guns pointed at the head of the working class. There policies of attacking the trade union laws of "first in last out", there cuts in unemployment, everything they have done is in principle a direct declaration of war againt the workers movement. Against this policy we purpose a 6 hour working day, a mobilisation of the working class to combat unemployment. We purpose that trade union candidates be purposed in the coming elections on a program to stop the dismantling of the welfare state. We purpose a broad educational program to combat the passivity of sitting home on the dole. And these purposals are in direct contradiction to the present policies of the Social Democratic government. Only a government with these goals in mind will do. This barrage against the leadership was met by stormy applause in the whole room! Speaker after speaker attacked the leadership for selling out the workers movement. For selling out the youth. For throwing women out on unemployment. For cutting health care. For cutting in the schools. Speaker after speaker in a growing sense of rage attacking the people that they have voted for for years! The Social Democratic leadership tried to counter with that she understood all of this ,but that we have to understand that the Social Democrats inherited the situation from the previous government. Speaker after speaker stood up and said it is you who are passing the anti-worker and anti-trade union legislation with your partners in the bougeois Center Party. (A party which represents the farmers in Sweden and who have made billions off the entry into the common market through common market subventions to farmers in Europe). The gap between the Social Democratic top and its working class base as never been as large as it is today. Although the conciousness of these social democratic workers is on the level of seeing all of the reforms being wripped down around them and a million people out of a job. This conciousness is economic thinking at this point. There anger is directed at the party which they have voted for for years, as being responsible. And rightly so! Although these workers do not understand at present that the leadership of there party has deserted them. They do understand what mass unemployment and the cuts mean in everyday life for themselves and there families. These workers do not understand that their leaders have joined the German push for a monetary union and a united imperialist bougeoisie led by the Germans in europe is the goal. They do not realise that the Social Democratic leadership of professional bureaucrats and people who came straight out of a college somewhere have taken over the reins of leadership. That this leadership in a few short years has taken Sweden to the brink of a gigantic disaster of poverty and unemployment. But they do know that something has gone wrong. Very seriously wrong with the politics and the leadership they have voted for. What we have here is a broad mass of anger and frustration against the treacherous leaders of Social Democray that has betrayed them. They demand answers and a new political line which favors the working class. For the first time in years militants who before would be laughed at are being applauded and clapped on the back. Statements of we should march on Stockholm and throw the whole bunch of them out and other wise remarks were very common at this meeting. The Social Democratic leadership no longer has a monopoly on the workers movement. Workers are moving to the left as the situation everyday worsens for them and the party leadership is moving to the right. The trade union leadership feeling the pressure is somewhere in the middle. Afraid to slap
[PEN-L:8266]
([EMAIL PROTECTED] [132.241.3.10]) by for [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Thu, 16 Jan 1997 20:48:16 -0600 (CST) by pitbull.ecst.csuchico.edu (8.8.4/8.8.4) with internal id SAA03881; Thu, 16 Jan 1997 18:48:10 -0800 (PST) Date: Thu, 16 Jan 1997 18:48:10 -0800 (PST) From: Mail Delivery Subsystem [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: PHILLPS boundary="SAA03881.853469290/pitbull.ecst.csuchico.edu" Subject: Returned mail: User unknown Auto-Submitted: auto-generated (failure) This is a MIME-encapsulated message --SAA03881.853469290/pitbull.ecst.csuchico.edu The original message was received at Thu, 16 Jan 1997 18:48:09 -0800 (PST) from hircismus.net.CSUChico.EDU [204.119.194.10] - The following addresses had permanent fatal errors - [EMAIL PROTECTED] (expanded from: [EMAIL PROTECTED]) - Transcript of session follows - ... while talking to spam.ecst.csuchico.edu.: RCPT To:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 550 [EMAIL PROTECTED]... User unknown 550 [EMAIL PROTECTED]... User unknown --SAA03881.853469290/pitbull.ecst.csuchico.edu Reporting-MTA: dns; pitbull.ecst.csuchico.edu Received-From-MTA: DNS; hircismus.net.CSUChico.EDU Arrival-Date: Thu, 16 Jan 1997 18:48:09 -0800 (PST) Final-Recipient: RFC822; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Action: failed Remote-MTA: DNS; spam.ecst.csuchico.edu Last-Attempt-Date: Thu, 16 Jan 1997 18:48:10 -0800 (PST) --SAA03881.853469290/pitbull.ecst.csuchico.edu Return-Path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] id SAA03879 for [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Thu, 16 Jan 1997 18:48:09 - From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ([EMAIL PROTECTED] [130.179.16.47]) by for [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Thu, 16 Jan 1997 20:48:00 -0600 ( Date:Thu, 16 Jan 97 20:01 CST To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] OMDear Pen-lers, As many of you know, there is in preparation the Encyclopaedia of Political Economy (EPE) under the general editorship of Phil Ohara at Curtin University in Perth Australia which involves quite a number on this list and also PKT. This major volume is to be published by Routledge. Unfortunately, (for various reasons) there are still a number of entries that do not have authors and as the publishing deadline is fast approaching, Phil is seeking writers and asked me to post the list of items wanting authors to this list. Now, from the discussion on this list, I know there are experts here that could write these entries in an evening, or who know who can. I appeal to them to e-mail Phil at [EMAIL PROTECTED] and offer your expertise. Paul Phillips 51. Entries in Need of Writers (as of 16 Jan 97) 53. 54. Business Cycles: Major Contemporary Themes [2000 words] 55. 56. Work, labor and Production: Major Contemporary Themes [2000 words] 57. Unions [1400 words] 58. 59. Increasing Returns to Scale [1500 words] 60. Verdoorn's Law [1200 words] 61. Okun's Law [1200 words] 62. Capital Reversing [1500 words] 63. Rate of Return Controversy [1000 words] 64. 65. Methodology: Major Contemporary Themes [2000 words] 66. Methodology: History of in PE [1700 words] PAUSE: 67. Foundationalism and Anti-Foundationalism in PE [1200] 68. International Network for Economic Methodology [400 words] 69. 70. Environmental Ecological PE: History Nature of [1700 words] 71. Environmental Accounting [1200 words] 72. Quality of Life [1 500 words] 73. 74. New Institutionalism [1400 words] 75. Social Control of Business [1200 words] 76. Centralised Private Sector Planning System [1400 words] 77. 78. Finance Capital [1000] 79. Financial Innovation [1500 words] 80. Crime [1500 words] 81. Justice [1400] 82. Rent Seeking and Vested Interests [1400 words] 83. Overhead Costs (J.M. Clark)[1200] 84. Conference of Socialist Economists [1000 words] 85. 86. Please do let me know if you are interested, or can suggest 87. possible writers. They would have to be written by mid-late 88. February at the latest. 89. PAUSE: 90. 91. 92. = 93. 94. Phillip O'Hara, Department of Economics 95. Curtin University of Technology 96. GPO Box U1987, Perth. 6001 Australia 97. email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 98. Fax: +61-9-351-3026 99. Tel: +61-9-351-7761 (work - message machine) 100.: 451-2618 (home) --SAA03881.853469290/pitbull.ecst.csuchico.edu--
[PEN-L:8257] Re: The Wrecking Activity Of Imperialism And All
Shawgi writes; See previous and future posts. Check PEN-L archives. If you like I can forward you some material on the necessity for an authentic working class party, what its character should be, etc. At any rate, yes, the advanced elements of the working class must point the way forward. An authentic Communist party must be miltant, enthusiastic, a stranger to frustration, etc. Above all, an authentic Communist party must ideologize, politicize and organize the broad masses of the people. A genuine Communist party must bring the people to power, the exact opposite aim of bourgeois parties, which seek only to come to power themselves. The vanguard of the working class and working people must create the subjective conditions for revolution, especially at this time when revolution is in retreat and the objective conditions are screaming for deep-going social, as well as political, transformation. In order for the transition from capitalism to Communism to take place successfully, the proletariat must at once expand democracy and suppress all enemies of the people, the exploiters of yesterdaty. This is why, for example, the standing army must be dissolved and replaced by a peoples' army, by the self-acting armed organization of the population. Socialism is an extremely unique and special tranistory historical period. The resistance of the capitalists will still exist under socialism, as may commodity production depending on the ratio of class forces. Further, all "bourgeois rights" do not disappear under socialism. But, the exploitation of persons by persons will end (has ended) under socialism. Only Communism renders the State, the organ of suppression, absolutely unneccesary. Only under Communism will antagonisms between large sections of the population cease to exist. Under socialism the working class and people will enthusiastically suppress all that is Old and give rise to the New. Talking to Soviet Workers. The Soviet workers have suffered a terrible defeat of a world-historical significance. First, they had given away political power to the bureaucracy, had lost the Soviets as the instrument of proletarian dictatorship and ceased to exit politically as class. Then they had given away plants and factories--all the means of production and the riches of the country created by them. You were told: Think only about your work, leave politics to us, rely on us; we know the road, we see farther. With us, you'll reach communism without upheavals, evolutionary, gradually as down the Volga river. This is what the ruling caste used to tell workers and peasants, while behind their backs it made deals with the dealers of shadow economy, with the world bourgeoisie, with the petty-bourgeois professional class. It had colluded with them until the day came when they together struck the working class in the back and unleashed the open class warfare against it. Like a werewolf, they have shown you their true image: the cynical snout of the bourgeois philistine! How easily, how scornfully they have done with you! But he laughs best who laughs last. Now it is your turn, now you have to make a move. Proletarian revolutions ruthlessly criticize themselves, learn from their victories, and most of all from their defeats. What is themain lesson of your terrible defeat? Winning power is not enough. One must be able to hold it. Freedom and dignity cannot be preserved simply by the right of inheritance. They must be defended again and again. Until the power of Labor triumphs globally, until the International becomes the master of the planet and class society disappears into the past forever, until then--every generation of workers will have to confirm its right for dictatorship again and again. Neither God, nor Tsar, neither Hero nor the Party will accomplish for the workers what only they themselves can accomplish. Only the working class itself can become its own liberator. And it can do so only by having recognized its historical mission and united on its basis. What then prevents the class organization of Russian workers at present? There is a number of objective problems. Yet the main one is subjective. It is the widespread illusion that such organization, such unity can be achieved through the top, i.e. by the existing upper-level political organizations and institutions: parties, unions, and parliaments in which you cannot find a single worker. In other words, it is the illusion that some "good uncles" over there will do what only the working class itself can. Yet all these organizations, all these "good uncles" are creatures of the past and carry over from it the thinking, psychology, methods, and above all, the interests of the bureaucracy, the sworn enemy of workers. That is why the political vanguard of the Russian working class must be created from within. The class must concentrate, gather itself together, gain confidence in its own
[PEN-L:8258] inflation deflation
Lynn Turgeon writes: Passell also concludes that most people seem to win as a result of overall deflation just as most people seem to lose from overall inflation and therefore tend to go along with fighting inflation as a national policy. No wonder there is inertia among Japanese policy-makers when it comes to reversing deflation. How can Passell say such things?? How can he talk about "most people"? Debtors win in (unanticipated) inflations and lose in (unanticipated) deflations. Creditors get the flip side, losing in (unant) inflations and winning in (unant) deflation. The Japanese deflationary hegemony seems to me to be similar to that of the 1920s (on a more global scale), partly due to the power of the creditors and partly a reaction to past inflation. BTW, the Economic Policy Institute's home page (http://epn.org/epi/) has a feature called "Reading Between the Lines" where they comment on current journalistic economics in the semi-official NY TIMES and Washington POST (such as Passell's columns). Sometimes the EPI's views seem infected by the influence of the Marquis de Sawicky ;-), but it's good to see a different slant that that of the establishment consensus. (NB: Doug Henwood has his own home page, which I'll let him tell you about.) in pen-l solidarity, Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Econ. Dept., Loyola Marymount Univ. 7900 Loyola Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90045-8410 USA 310/338-2948 (daytime, during workweek); FAX: 310/338-1950 "It takes a busload of faith to get by." -- Lou Reed.
[PEN-L:8255] Re: Euphoria Is One Of The Main Features Of The Wrecking Which Is The
Shawgi writes! Some communist parties and organizations at this time are behaving as if the counter-revolution, the present period of retreat of revolution is actually a golden opportunity for them to make a headway. How can this be the case? Turmoil in the Swedish CP! (Euro-Communist) Something is going on in the former Swedish Communist Party.(Euro-Communist) In my articles on the Swedish CP recently i said that they were making a turn to the right in changing their name and program to include feminism and the envionmental activists in the Greens in their future plans. But also to become the reformist Social democracy that the Social Democrats once were during the late 60ties and early 70ties. As the Social Democrats leap into the arms of the bougeois parties. The CP party leadership (based in Stockholm) and the south of Sweden are trying not unlike the Mandelite USec to build a broad "left" current based on the politics of the new left and the traditionalists and back to the good old days of Social Democracy. However a "left" opposition is developing up here in the north of Sweden. The north of Sweden has historically always been both the proletarian and red belt of both the Social democracy and the Swedish CP. As the militant voices of protests from the workers up here in the north begin to grow louder and louder especially among the mine workers and building trades the pressure on the CP cadre up here in the north is growing. It is partially anti Stockholm and anti-southern Sweden feelings that run through the workers movement up here. Partially because all of the base industries are in the north (mines, electricity, papper and forestry industries) and all of the profits and decisions are down South in the capitol of Stockholm. On the other hand it is the proletarian bastions of both the Social Democracy and the Swedish CP that are being hit the hardest by the cuts in just about everything. And the workers are starting to not only grumble, but are getting very very angry! Thus the Northern districts of the Swedish CP have come out in and open fight about the right turn of the Swedish CP against the central party bodies in the south. It is also centered around how many places in the governing party bodies that the representatives from the north recieved at the recent Congress. In fact 1 position on the central apparatus. While at the same time they represent both the historical proletarian base and natural left wing of the party. And in fact have some of the largest sections of the party in the country! Now they say that they are preparing a program in opposition to the right wing politics of the CP leadership in Stockholm who are completely capitulating to the Social Democracy in order to gain bougeois respectability and cover their pro Stalinist past. Naturally this coming from the Euro Communists CP means that they want to sound a little more to the left because they are feeling the pressure of the proletarian rage that is growing up here. As to how this will develop we will have to wait and see. The same process is takling place in the Social democracy up here. Naturally a Trotskyist party of anyworth would intervene in this new and developing situation in order to win the best cadre to a vanguard party and program for revolution. Perhaps the possibility of a short term entry could arise or cooperation on a program of struggle against the cuts and unemployment. In fact a tactical electoral alliance could be possible under the conditions of being very clear that any such electoral program is not nearly enough to solve the crisis but However at this point it is unclear as to how this all will evolve. Partially because their is no Trotskyist party in this country. We have two "trotskyist" groups of any size here. A Mandelite Usec group. And a militant group. Both are unfortunately completely incapable of seeing or doing anything other then perhaps building a rotten electoral block on a minumum program at best. Both of these groups have given up on the politics of Trotsky and the TP as being outdated. In fact they are just tailing the backwardness of the workers long dominated by Social Democratic and Stalinist politics. Unless a Trotskyist cadre develops here who are prepared to fight around the politics of the LO and TP in the present turmoil on the left, a great opportunity if not the best since the Stalinists ursurped the October Revolution will be missed, thus opening the door to a *real* revolutionary Trotskyist party here in Sweden or a whole new round of defeats for the workers movement. Forward to a Trotskyist Party in Sweden. Forward to the creation of Trotskyist Parties everywhere. Towards a new and reforged Communist International. Bob Malecki Check Out My HomePage where you can, Read the book! Ha
[PEN-L:8262] Re: Japan as a wave of our future
This is interesting because I was always under the impression that state intervention has been rather high in Japan. Perhaps this intervention does not show up as a budget deficit, but directing the economy to raise aggregate demand has always been a Japanese feature. This has been done largely through industrial policy, in an environment of favorable macro policies. It could be argued that industrial policy could generate longer term growth (intergenerational) than fiscal policy which is by definition aimed to deal with the short term. I am aware of course that separating growth rates over the long haul from ind policy and Keynesian policy may be difficult. On a related note my discussion with Japanese academics and ministry officials also gave me an impression that Keynesian ideas are quite strong in the establishment. Public spending, particularly in infrastaructural development, has been common. Perhaps the change is a new twist, delighting the NYT which loves to see the rest of the world emulate the US:). Anthony P. D'Costa Associate Professor Senior Fellow Comparative International Development Department of Economics University of WashingtonNational University of Singapore 1103 A Street 10 Kent Ridge Crescent Tacoma, WA 98402 USASingapore 119260 On Thu, 16 Jan 1997 LYNN TURGEON, PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF ECONOMICS, HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY, [EMAIL PROTECTED]@anthrax.ecst.csuchico.edu wrote: Peter Passell's Economic Scene (NYT, p. D-2, January 16, 1997) correctly points out that deflationary expectations on the basis of Japanese price movements in recent years has produced high real (inflation-adjusted) interest rates despite low nominal rates today. Passell also concludes that most people seem to win as a result of overall deflation just as most people seem to lose from overall inflation and therefore tend to go along with fighting inflation as a national policy. No wonder there is inertia among Japanese policy-makers when it comes to reversing deflation. What the Japanese have forgotten is their Keynesian roots in the Great Depression. The Japanese finance minister before his assassination in 1936 was Korekiyo Takahashi, who was a practicing Keynesian before Hitler. His deficit-spending permitted the Japanese economy to grow during the Great Depression. Japan thus avoided the sharp deflation found in the Unit ed States and Germany until 1933. In their zeal to remove any taint of fascism in postwar Japan and Germany, the allied control authorities created a postwar bias against deficit-spending in both countries. The German bias disappeared after the first postwar German recession in 1966-67, but the Japanese bias has remained. Japanese recent pump-priming produced a short-term spurt in Japanese growth which has now ended. We should be reminded of Franklin Roosevelt's disappointing experience with pump-priming in the 1930s and its general failure to generate significant growth until after Pearl Harbor. Japanese insistence on going through with their plans to raise both the income and sales taxes in April thus represents a continued failure of the Japanese to remember their Keynesian experience in the thirties. deflation.
[PEN-L:8260] Economists Oppose the Balanced Budget Amendment
Fellow Economists, What follows are a cover letter, text of a petition, and list of initial endorsements. The petition urges the defeat of any amendment to the U.S. Constitution requiring a balanced budget. It was written by Professor Robert Eisner of Northwestern University in consultation with Nobel Laureate Professors Robert M. Solow and James Tobin. If you would like to join the list of endorsers, please send a note indicating agreement that includes your signature, and the following printed information: full name, professional affiliation, and title. For verification purposes, we would also like voice phone number, e-mail address, and mailing address. The fax number is 202-331-5545. If you prefer to use e-mail, the address is [EMAIL PROTECTED] Who Should Sign? Anyone who has done substantive professional work in the field of economics and thus feels confident in being described as an economist. An advanced degree in economics per se is not required. No graduate students, please--your turn will come! We welcome endorsements from those working in the field of economics in trade unions, government, corporations, and non-profit organizations, as well as academics. Thank you for your interest and support. Feel free to repost this message to relevant mailing lists and newsgroups. DO NOT send endorsements to the orginator of this e-mail message. The text of the cover letter follows: January 2, 1997 Dear Colleague: We believe that it is generally inappropriate to try to put specific economic policy into the Constitution. We view proposed balanced budget amendments, in particular, as contrary to the best current judgment of most economists. That is why we have drawn up the attached statement and recruited others to join us. May we urge you to add your names to the list of initial endorsers of our statement, Economists Oppose Balanced Budget Amendment. Please fax back the attached sheet with your signature and those of your colleagues to 202-331-5545. The deadline for signatures is January 24. We will accept signatures after the deadline, but late names may not appear in the official announcement. Robert Eisner Northwestern University Robert M. Solow Massachusetts Institute of Technology James Tobin Yale University THE TEXT OF THE PETITION FOLLOWS: We condemn the proposed balanced-budget amendment to the federal Constitution. It is unsound and unnecessary. 1. The proposed amendment mandates perverse actions in the face of recessions. In economic downturns, tax revenues fall and some outlays, such as unemployment benefits, rise. These so-called built-in stabilizers limit declines of after-tax income and purchasing power. To keep the budget balanced every year would aggravate recessions. 2. Unlike many state constitutions, which permit borrowing to finance capital expenditures, the proposed federal amendment makes no distinction between capital investments and current outlays. Private businesses and households borrow all the time to finance capital spending. The amendment would prevent federal borrowing to finance expenditures for infrastructure, education, research and development, environmental protection, and other investment vital to the nation's future well-being. 3. The amendment invites Congress to require states and localities and private businesses to do what it cannot finance itself. It also invites more cosmetic accounting, such as increased sales of public lands and other assets counted as deficit-reducing revenues. Disputes on the meaning of budget balance could end up in the courts. 4. The amendment does contain escape hatches, but they require super-majorities in peacetime, three-fifths of the whole number (including absentees and non-voters) of each House to adopt an unbalanced budget or to raise the debt and a majority of these whole numbers to pass a bill to raise taxes. These provisions are recipes for gridlock and opportunities for irresponsible minorities to insist on their agendas. 5. The amendment is not needed to balance the budget. The measured deficit has fallen dramatically in recent years, from $270 billion in 1992 to $107 billion in 1996, to some 1.3 percent of gross domestic product, a smaller proportion than that of any other major nation, none of which hobbles its economy with a balanced-budget mandate. Congress and the President can reduce the deficit to zero, that is, balance the budget, or even create budget surpluses, without a constitutional amendment. There is no need to put the nation in an economic strait-jacket. Let the President and Congress make fiscal policies in response to national needs and priorities as the authors of our Constitution wisely provided. Initial Endorsers of Statement Opposing Balanced Budget Amendment Henry J. Aaron, Brookings Institution Moses Abramovitz, Stanford University Marcus Alexis, Northwestern University Kenneth J. Arrow, Stanford University William Baumol, New York University Barbara R.
[PEN-L:8264] BESI Conference
** * BUSINESS ECONOMICS SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL * * 1997 CONFERENCE * ** ATHENS / GREECE July 18-22, 1997 Hotel Grande Bretagne CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS (Deadline for Abstracts and Early Registration: March 20, 1997) The Business Economics Society International invites you to participate in its 1997 Conference to be held in Athens, Greece, at the Hotel Grande Bretagne, July 18-22, 1997. The conference welcomes academics (business/economics professors and administrators), as well as corporation/government executives and economists. Participants may organize panels (please ask for the "Panel Organizer Guidelines"), present papers, participate in poster sessions, chair sessions, discuss papers, participate in round-table discussions, or simply observe. All papers will pass a blind peer review process for publication consideration in the book BUSINESS ECONOMICS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY - VOLUME I. The program will consist of: - small concurrent seminar-type sessions with: chairperson, presenters, and at least one discussant assigned to comment on each paper; - poster sessions; - round-table thematic discussion sessions with moderator; - workshops and panels; - invited speakers. Time allocated for each session is one hour and 30 minutes. * To ORGANIZE PANELS please ask for "Panel Organizer Guidelines". The fee for each participant in the panel, except the organizer, is $250. The fee for the panel organizer is $100. * To participate as a PRESENTER please submit ABSTRACTS and/or PAPERS: ABSTRACT/PAPER SUBMISSION AND REGISTRATION DEADLINE: MARCH 20, 1997. - Please, submit 3 copies of your abstract (of no more than 300 words) by MARCH 20, 1997; - You may submit abstracts for no more than 2 papers; - Abstracts/papers must not have been published, accepted, or submitted for publication elsewhere; - The categories that best fit your paper must be typed on the top right corner of the front page (see "Subject Categories" below); - For co-authorships please include names, affiliations, and addresses of all authors and indicate who will serve as presenter; - All abstracts submitted will be evaluated for presentation and publication in the Book of Abstracts which will be available at the Conference. If possible, please use Laser Printing, WordPerfect 7.0 for Windows or WordPerfect 3.5 for Macintosh and include a nonreturnable computer disk. [Font: Times, Size: 10, Style: Plain Text (no Italics or Bold), Margins: Bottom 1.25" (remaining 1"), Spacing: Triple after the title and before and after the authors' name (single for the abstract's body), Paragraphs: Indent five spaces]; - The title of your abstract(s) or paper(s) is(are): __ __ FINAL PAPER SUBMISSION DEADLINE: APRIL 20, 1997. - Please submit 4 copies of the paper(s) by April 20, 1997; - Manuscripts of more than 12 single-spaced pages of text will not be considered; - Papers must not have been published, accepted, or submitted for publication elsewhere; - All papers submitted will be evaluated using a blind review process for publication in the book BUSINESS ECONOMICS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY, VOLUME I. Format instructions will be attached to the acceptance letter; - Authorship should be identified only on a removable cover page; - The categories that best fit your paper must be typed on the top right corner of the cover page (see "Subject Categories" below); - For co-authorships please include names, affiliations, and addresses of all authors on your cover page and indicate who will serve as paper presenter; - The title of your paper(s) is(are): __ __ CONFERENCE REGISTRATION FORM Please mail form to: BUSINESS ECONOMICS SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL c/o Helen Kantarelis 64 Holden Street Worcester, MA 01605 USA Last Name__ First Name and M.I. Nickname for Badge_ Position/Title/Rank Affiliation Mailing
[PEN-L:8261] Re: inflation deflation
Lynn Turgeon writes: Passell also concludes that most people
seem to win as a result of overall deflation just as most people
seem to lose from overall inflation and therefore tend to go
along with fighting inflation as a national policy. No wonder
there is inertia among Japanese policy-makers when it comes to
reversing deflation.
How can Passell say such things?? How can he talk about "most
people"? Debtors win in (unanticipated) inflations and lose in
(unanticipated) deflations. Creditors get the flip side, losing
in (unant) inflations and winning in (unant) deflation. The
Japanese deflationary hegemony seems to me to be similar to that
of the 1920s (on a more global scale), partly due to the power of
the creditors and partly a reaction to past inflation.
Adding to Jim:
i am amazed that there hasn't been a consideration of the unemployment that
accompanies deflation and the strong employment growth that typically
accompanies inflation (though not always of-course).
the distributional changes that accompany unemployment (which is always
disproportionately borne by low wage groups anyway) are major. poverty doesn't
seem to stem from losing real income as your holdings of credit diminish with
inflation.
but it sure does correlate strongly with not having an income at all due to
unemployment.
give me inflation any time. all i have to do is to index the nominal economy. a
much easier option that what is confronted in the labour market when a
deflation is on.
kind regards
bill
--
## William F. Mitchell
### Head of Economics Department
#University of Newcastle
New South Wales, Australia
###* E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
###Phone: +61 49 215065
# ## ###+61 49 215027
Fax: +61 49 216919
## http://econ-www.newcastle.edu.au/~bill/billyhp.html
[PEN-L:8265] RE: Interest rates
At 6:05 PM 1/16/97, DICKENS, EDWIN (201)-408-3024 wrote: And to my mind the theory of interest rate determination is crucial to filling in that lacunae. OK, Tom - so what's the Dickens theory of interest rates? Doug -- Doug Henwood Left Business Observer 250 W 85 St New York NY 10024-3217 USA +1-212-874-4020 voice +1-212-874-3137 fax email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] web: http://www.panix.com/~dhenwood/LBO_home.html
