Michael Hudson
Michael Hudson
recovery
We're still in the collapse that began after 2008. There's not a new collapse, there hasn't been a recovery.
safe-haven people gold
There are so many currency exchange rate problems that people are buying gold as a safe haven. Right now, gold looks like a safe haven if international exchange rates break down.
nice agency government
In housing you have jingle mail and you can walk away and leave the bank holding the bag. In the case of student loans, the debt follows you through life, and the banks or government will turn it over to collection agencies that are not very nice people and can do all sorts of harassing things to you. It's becoming a nightmare.
making-money plunge lots-of-money
If a lot of money goes into the stock market, it'll push up prices, making money for stock speculators. Then the insiders can decide that it's time to sell out, and the market will plunge.
adam avoiding banks care central debts dollar foreign fund government health intend paying pension private repay smith trillion
They're never going to be repaid. Adam Smith said that no government had ever repaid its debts and the same can be said of the private sector. The U.S. government does not intend to repay its trillion dollar debt to foreign central banks and, even if it did intend to, there's no way in which it could. Most of the corporations now are avoiding paying their pension fund debts and their health care debts.
greece
To save the banks, you would have to turn the entire Eurozone into Greece.
wages helping economy
Inflation usually helps the economy at large, but not the 1% if wages rise. So the 1% says that it is terrible.
problem deficit solutions
To the deficit commission, a depression is the solution to the problem, not a problem.
looks saving way
If you look at payments to labor as a proportion of national income or gross domestic product, you find profits going way up, investment and savings going up.
leader looks united-states
Most of the European leaders look at themselves as having to follow the United States, because if the US opposes them, there will be a regime change.
trying financial mathematics
No price is too high to pay to try to make the financial system go on a little bit longer. But ultimately it can't be saved, because of the mathematics that are involved.
loss people house
The aim of promoting low down payments is to push prices back up so that fewer houses are going to be in negative equity and fewer people are going to walk away from the mortgages. That will save the from taking a loss on their junk mortgage loans.
party europe creating
Europe is creating the flight of refugees that's tearing it apart politically, and leading rightwing nationalist parties to gain power to withdraw from the Eurozone.
trying business-plan
The banks' product is debt. They try to tell customers that "debts are good for you," but the customers can't afford any more debt, so there's no way the banks can continue their current business plan.