This is the conclusion of my three-part series on how governments finance themselves. The aim is to clear up the popular misconception that the state’s budget is similar to that of a corporation or a household, that government borrowing is always necessarily a bad thing. Previously we talked about taxation and borrowing–today is all about printing. Continue reading “The 3 Ways Governments Raise Money Part III: Printing”
Tag: Austerity
The 3 Ways Governments Raise Money Part II: Borrowing
Today I’m continuing my three-part series on how governments finance themselves. The aim is to clear up the popular misconception that the state’s budget is similar to that of a corporation or a household, that government borrowing is always necessarily a bad thing. Previously we talked about taxation–today is all about borrowing.
Continue reading “The 3 Ways Governments Raise Money Part II: Borrowing”
13 Terrible Tory Counterarguments
A few days ago, I wrote a post called Britain: For the Love of God, Please Stop David Cameron. I didn’t expect much out of it, because my usual audience is predominately American, and many Americans take little interest in the British elections. So I was pleasantly surprised when it went semi-viral in the UK, quickly becoming the most popular post I have written. Naturally, with a larger audience comes more critical (and sometimes just aggressively hostile) comments, and my usual policy of responding to every critical or interesting comment I receive is increasingly no longer practical. So instead, I’ve decided to write this all-purpose response to the most common bad critiques I’ve seen levied at my post. If you’re one of the wonderful people who read my post and deemed it worth sharing, I hope that this post will help you deal with any Tory supporters you may run across who may try to give you grief about it. So let’s get started.
Britain: For the Love of God, Please Stop David Cameron
On May 7 (this Thursday), Britain has a general election. I care deeply about British politics–I did my BA over there and will return to do my PhD there this fall. But more importantly, David Cameron’s government has managed the country’s economy with stunning fecklessness, and I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t do my part to point this out.
Continue reading “Britain: For the Love of God, Please Stop David Cameron”
Syriza vs. The Troika: What’s Going on in Greece
With the recent election of Syriza (Coalition of the Radical Left) in Greece, it’s time to revisit the Eurocrisis. I’ll be trying to answer several questions:
- What’s going on in Greece right now?
- What does Syriza want to do?
- What does the troika want Syriza to do?
- What happens if Syriza and the troika can’t agree?
Continue reading “Syriza vs. The Troika: What’s Going on in Greece”
Benjamin Studebaker 