William Greider -- Great at Explaining What's Happening

[Armstead]

One of the most astute analysts of the modern political economy is William Greider. For many years he wrote for Rolling Stone. Now he's at The Nation.

If you want to educate yourself, it's definetly worth an investment of time to read his articles. Here's the page at The Nation where links to his articles are. He's of the left -- but he adds so many dimensions to his writing that it is not merely platitudes.

http://www.thenation.com/directory/bios/bio.mhtml?id=2

He is brilliant at analyzing and explaining what is happening in today's world, in trms of economics, politics and the Big Picture effects of specific policies.

[sendero]

1. I'd forgotten...

... just how good a writer Mr. Greider is. Thanks for the link.

[Armstead]

2. He was exposing the things going on now long ago

He is always ahead of the curve.


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http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20030630&s=greider

article | Posted June 12, 2003

Deflation
by William Greider


At the risk of sounding like Chicken Little, I am going to describe the economic situation in plain English. The United States is flirting with a low-grade depression, one that may last for years unless the government takes decisive action to overcome it.

This would most likely be depression with a small d, not the financial collapse and "grapes of wrath" devastation Americans experienced during the Great Depression of the 1930s. But the potential consequences, especially for the less affluent and the young, would be severe enough--a long interlude of sputtering stagnation, years of tepid growth and stubbornly high unemployment, punctuated occasionally with a renewed recession. Depression means an economy that is stuck in a ditch and cannot get out, unable to regain its normal energies for expansion. Japan, second-largest economy in the world, has been in this condition for roughly twelve years, following the collapse of its own financial bubble. If the same fate has befallen the United States, the globalized economy is imperiled, too, since America's market for imports and its huge trade deficits keep the global trading system afloat.

Most authorities, I should add, do not regard any of this as likely. The great difficulty for policy-makers is that this doesn't much feel like a crisis--not yet anyway, for most Americans. So where's the urgency to undertake radical remedies?

<snip>

The "market signal" of small-d depression might be saying: Don't invest more in the old stuff since we've already got too many shopping centers. Start investing in "problems" the country has long neglected--see these really as economic opportunities. Invest in the energy technologies and industrial transformations required for the posthydrocarbons age of ecologically sustainable prosperity. Invest in healthcare and transportation and production systems to deliver safe, healthy food. Invest in the smaller, more nimble firms ready to do things differently. Invest in people--the human development that begins with children at a very early age. These and other investment opportunities are where the future jobs and higher returns are most likely to be found. The status quo interests will naturally resist such shifts in purpose and deploy their political muscle to block any promising departures. But a fundamental restructuring at least would open the way to think anew, to strive for a different kind of politics. If the Chicken Littles turn out to be right, a pivotal moment is approaching, one that may be both dreadful and promising.


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[SOteric]

3. Wow.

Cool stuff! Thanks.