Elon Musk, $50 billion, and Financialization – from production to extraction

Much is being made of a Delaware court blocking Musk’s $50 billion compensation contract. See the reporting in the NYTimes: Elon Musk’s Tesla Pay Package Is Voided by Judge. The court found that the compensation was set by a Board … Continue reading

Three charts that define the last 45 years in the US

Its the time of year for summations, usually for just the previous year. My selection of charts explains much of the past 45 years for the rich, middle-class, and poor in America. The Great Divide The dark blue line describes … Continue reading

Video Post – the $47 Trillion Rip Off

A video version of the earlier post, “$47 Trillion – the ripoff by the rich and corporations – in two charts – maybe a few more…..” is available on YouTube:

$47 Trillion – the ripoff by the rich and corporations – in two charts – maybe a few more…..

I was already 31 years old when the rip-off of America began in 1979. I was busy, and the changes in American life were only occasionally to be noticed.  By the mid-1980s my management life started to feature the early … Continue reading

What is $47 trillion – 47,000,000,000,000 – a comparative exploration?

My previous post, “$47 Trillion – the ripoff by the rich and corporations – in two charts – maybe a few more…..” raises the question of exactly what 47,000,000,000,000 amounts to. There are so many “0”s! Let’s work with a … Continue reading

The Waterworks of Money – how money and the financial sector work

  By chance, I saw an exhibition titled “The Future of Money” (thru 9.9.2023) at the Art Museum of The Hague, Netherlands in May 2023. The central work is a very large drawing that illustrates the flows of money through … Continue reading

Wealth & Poverty course from Robert Reich – UC Berkeley

Reich is offering an online course, “Wealth & Poverty”, that started today. I watched the first lecture, “What Happened to Income and Wealth?” Looks like this will be worth some ongoing effort. I suggest being ready at the fast forward … Continue reading

Private Equity, Housing, and the Extraction Economy

In the last couple of years articles have begun to appear with titles like: When Private Equity Becomes Your Landlord Where Have All the Houses Gone: Private Equity, Single-Family Rentals, and America’s Neighborhoods Meet the Latest Housing-Crisis Scapegoat Wall Street … Continue reading

Sources of Poverty in the US – Matthew Desmond article – Updated

Original posting – 3.6.2023 Matthew Desmond, author of Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City[note]Matthew Desmond, Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City (Penguin Books, 2016)[/note], has a new book Poverty, by America set to be released shortly. … Continue reading

Financialization and going off the rails with Norfolk Southern

Financialization is an awful word. It sounds clumsy in the mouth and refers to a process that has been underway for over 40 years but is nearly unknown to most of us. Before we get to Norfolk Southern, the railroad … Continue reading