Broadly speaking, there are two ways to come at theories of economic justice and economic viability. There are normative approaches that focus on moral arguments, and there are “scientific” approaches that focus on the flaws within economic systems. I tend to favor the first approach, but at times relying on the latter approach can be… Continue reading A problem with laissez-faire political equilibriums
Author: Matt Bruenig
The contraceptive debate and our dysfunctional healthcare system
I have another article over at Oklahomans for Reproductive Justice: Implementing a universal healthcare system — such as the single-payer system used in Canada — would remove employers from the healthcare game altogether. Under such a system, individuals would be covered directly as individuals, not as employees. This would get religious employers out of the… Continue reading The contraceptive debate and our dysfunctional healthcare system
Confusion about old-age entitlement programs
The Sunday edition of the New York Times ran a long piece on social safety net programs. There are a lot of gems in it, and I would recommend reading the whole thing. With that said, I was troubled by one aspect of the article. In parts of the piece, the author talks about financing… Continue reading Confusion about old-age entitlement programs
Frustrations with traditional journalism
More and more I turn to political blogs to find interesting information, data, and analysis — not newspapers. There are many reasons for this: blogs are more targeted to the issue areas I track, they are often shorter, and their analysis is usually deeper. On top of all of that, the way journalists are taught… Continue reading Frustrations with traditional journalism
Corporate taxes at record low, profit margins at record high
The right-wing canard that corporations are buckling under high corporate taxes has always been misleading. Although the U.S. has a 35% corporate tax rate, few if any corporations actually pay that statutory rate. In reality, the United States has the second lowest ratio of corporate tax revenues to GDP in the entire 34-country OECD. In… Continue reading Corporate taxes at record low, profit margins at record high