Michael appears on Capital Account to discuss his two most recent articles, Democracy & Debt and Europe’s Transition from Social Democracy to Oligarchy.
Hudson comes in at about the 03:29 mark.
Eurozone leaders scramble for a solution to the european debt crisis, with Timothy Geithner joining the party now, and as Obama makes his rounds to small towns in the US asphyxiated with debt. S&P issues downgrade warnings for europe, as the technocratic governments of Greece and Italy hope that unelected unity governments can help ward off the attack of bondholders unwilling to continue funding their nation’s debt at sustainable prices. Could this be why the CEO of Deutsche bank received a parcel bomb in the mail today from none other than the European Central Bank? We wonder out loud if this is all just an excuse for Europe’s elite to consolidate personal and national wealth on the continent into an oligarchy of the rich and well-connected?
We talk to economist Michael Hudson about this, as well as his views on whether or not it should be the 99.99% vs the .01%. Do most of the people in the one percent actually have more in common with the other ninety-nine percent than meets the eye? And is tax evasion really the problem, or is it governments colluding with banks to rob the people blind that is to blame? Lastly, we get into why you may want to register your name with an .XXX domain, now that they are going on sale. Maybe a job in the porn industry is the best way to weather this recession? And speaking of weather, the pharmaceutical industry doesn’t have to weather many storms either. After all, in a down economy where vices like sexy and booze do well, a new hangover pill that helps you recover after a night of heavy drinking — dubbed the blowfish — may be just the pill for you. And although it has been approved by the FDA, don’t expect to get this one at your local Walmart in India. The Indian government has refused Walmart from setting up shop in their country. We tell you all about it.