In the United States, the real meaning of May Day has been largely forgotten. To be sure, there is a “Labor Day,” a time for picnics and various festivities, but May 1 has been converted—not without reason and not without malice—into “Law Day.” In 1921, following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, May Day was renamed “Americanization Day.” In 1958, May Day became “Loyalty Day,” and later that year, President Eisenhower proclaimed May 1 “Law Day.”

Readers, I can think of no better way to celebrate May 1st as International Labor Day, than to re-publish this article. In effect the economic and fiscal reforms were markedly post Keynesian-like but actually prior to Keynes's General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money in Feb. 1936, or Adolph Lowe, Abba Lerner, Hyman Minsky, or the rest of the authentic post-Keynesian lineage. Note Well that Milton Friedman and Paul Krugman et al are effectively bastard-Keynesians. for now, Tadit Anderson

This is the second part of my discussion of N. Gregory Mankiw’s column asserting that governmental competition is desirable for the same reason that private competition is. Mankiw was Chairman of President Bush’s Council of Economic Advisors from 2003-2005. He was one of the principal architects of the perverse incentive structures that proved so criminogenic and drove the ongoing financial crisis.

An unusual number of good articles today. There must be a cycle underneath all of this, or the seasonal spring thaw in the northern climes, maybe. I will try to come back to this, though I am engaged in a more aggressive writing spree myself currently. fast forward, Tadit

Full title of the article/review: Simon Johnson and James Kwak’s "White House Burning: Progressives in the Grip of 'Hard Money' Ideology"

This is a re-working of my second talk at the Rimini MMT conference, as heard on Guns and Butter.

Readers, this is a much needed takedown of the politics of Krugman's faux liberal economics. Krugman is really nothing more that a willing shill in the confidence games of the New York Times in favor the NYT's actual plutocratic riche. All window dressing and pretense. This article alongside of Steve Keen's points made in the recent "debate" with Krugman pretty much places Krugman for what he actually is a pretentious and well paid courtier to the neo-feudalists. Tadit Anderson

Social Security and Medicare are hugely important for the security of the non-rich population of the United States. For this reason, Robert Samuelson and the Washington Post hate them.

As we know, this is a question of basic political philosophy. In the view of Samuelson and the Post, a dollar that it is in the pocket of low or middle class people is a dollar that could be in the pocket of the rich. And Medicare and Social Security are keeping many dollars in the pockets of low and middle class people.

LOUISIANA SUES BANKSTERS UNDER RICO LAWS: Will the Biggest Banks Finally Go the Way of the Gambinos?

It’s about time. One state has finally found the guts to go after the banks that created the MERS monster, invoking RICO laws.

Yes, MERS was part of a vast criminal conspiracy by the biggest banks (including the GSEs) to cheat counties out of property recording fees and to speed foreclosures while destroying the Western property law tradition.

This is a piece of a larger project to present the Community Reserve Exchange as an autonomous economic initiative. Feedback is generally welcomed, Tadit

“…everyone but an idiot knows that the lower classes must be kept poor, or they will never be industrious.”

—Arthur Young; 1771