Economics Fri Oct 23 2009

MarketWatch.com Predicts Capitalism's Demise

On Tuesday, Paul B. Farrell of Market Watch.com, a site for investors and businessmen, posted an article on Tuesday that had an eerily similar ring to things you'd read on Socialist Worker.org. Detailed is the inevitable collapse of the U.S. capitalist system--which we've heard a lot about in recent times. The interesting spin on this story is the source.

— Timothy Morin / Comments (0)

Chicagoland Thu Oct 08 2009

Chicago Metro 2020 Briefing Calls for Big Picture Answers

I had the pleasure yesterday, in between e-mail and a client meeting, to take in the 7th Annual lunchtime media briefing by Chicago Metropolis 2020. CM2020 is a non-profit organization originally established by the Commercial Club of Chicago "to promote long-term planning, better regional cooperation, and smart investments in the Chicago region and its people." The briefing, attended by a number of notables on the Chicago journalism scene, promised presentations on criminal justice reform; campaign finance limits; housing policy, early childhood education, and the Burnham Plan Centennial.

Adele Simmons, VP of the Burnham Plan Centennial, combined a general welcome with an overview of the mission of the Centennial, which is to carry on the legacy of legendary planner Daniel Burnham by focusing on innovative regional solutions for the Chicago metro area, saying, "The choices we make today will shape the future." While that statement might seem tautological at first, the emphasis was on bringing to the forefront of our decisionmaking the long-range, rather than short-term drivers.

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— Jeff Smith / Comments (0)

Economics Thu Jul 23 2009

The Chicago Boys Go To Washington

2008: President Obama grandly alludes to a new day in America by using allegory and eloquence in speeches to excite the electorate. 2009: Congressional Democrats can barely shut down another pointless spending spree on the military by Republicans while other Democrats seek to enact laws that would allow for permit-holders to carry concealed weapons across state lines into states that do not currently allow them. The economy hasn't recovered as expected, universal health care still sounds like a pipe dream, and Wall Street's profits and bonuses are coming roaring back. What gives?

To be certain, Barack Obama brought a sense of optimism to this country with his groundbreaking 2008 election. The trouble is, the massive problems in America, caused by 30+ years of neoliberal and neoconservative policy, aren't scared of Obama's words - as eloquent and well-chosen as they may be. It's going to take a nice, hard fight on the part of working people to keep our politicians on the straight-and-narrow and fighting for our interests.

Politico reported recently that at a worst-case scenario, the tax-paying populace could be on the hook for over $23 trillion dollars as a result of the bailouts. As they point out, that's more than all of the wars that we've ever fought, combined. And this being America, that's a lot of money spent on wars.

What does this have to do with Chicago? As Chicago citizens, we need to be mindful that problems here and problems nationally are interconnected, especially when some of the same players are involved. There are many parallels between the way that Barack Obama has chosen to run our country and the way that Chicago does its political business. Sure, Obama has not visibly engaged in the kind of crony capitalism that ol' W and our man Daley are so fond of. But the public's concern about a lack of transparency and broken election promises are starting to sound like an echo chamber of Chicago's own political dissenters. Furthermore, the massive budgets that Obama inherited are being stretched even further with all of the industry bailouts and haphazardly-planned stimulus packages that Obama's team has come up with, without evidence of a real recovery.

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— Timothy Morin / Comments (1)