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Jeff Faux

Jeff Faux is a distinguished fellow at the Economic Policy Institute, which he founded. His latest book, The Servant Economy (Wiley), was published in June 2012.

Recent Articles

America's Trade Policy of the Absurd

Saving middle-class America will require a radically different conception of trade and the national interest.

Jeff FauxFeb 07, 2011

For three decades, both Democratic and Republican administrations have been making trade deals with elites of other countries that favor the interests of multinational investors over the interests of American producers and workers. U.S.-based banks and corporations get access to cheap labor and to the financial systems of other nations. In return, U.S. workers are exposed to competition from countries where wages are suppressed (Mexico) or where government runs effective industrial policies (Germany) or both (China).

Industrial Policy: The Road Not Taken

In the 1970s, Wall Street and its economists defeated manufacturing.

Jeff FauxDec 20, 2009

By the mid-1970s, cracks in the American industrial base were already visible. For the first time in the 20th century, the United States began running trade deficits. Factory closings that had earlier been limited to apparel, shoes, and plastic toys spread to steel, small appliances, and auto parts. And the decision by the Arab states to control oil prices signaled that the era of cheap energy that had fueled American manufacturing was coming to an end.

These early signs of trouble set off this country's last serious debate over the question of whether the government should have a policy for supporting a healthy manufacturing industry -- that is, an "industrial policy."

One More Bubble to Go

We've relied on a robust dollar to see us through the crisis, but that cushion is about to disappear.

Jeff FauxNov 20, 2009

The word from Washington and Wall Street is that the worst is over.

Sure, it will take a while for jobs to recover, for housing to come back, and for wages to rise. But we are definitely on the road to recovery from the biggest debt-bubble collapse since 1929.

The Ultimate Bear Market

The uncouth bankers who brought down Bear Stearns make for an entertaining story. But the real responsibility for the crisis lies elsewhere.

Jeff FauxJun 26, 2009
(iStockphoto)

House of Cards: A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street by William D. Cohan, Doubleday, 468 pages, $27.95

"We all fucked up," says Alan Schwartz in the final paragraph of House of Cards. "Government. Rating agencies. Wall Street. Commercial Banks. Regulators. Investors. Everybody."

What to Really Do About Immigration

Half a million Mexicans will cross the border annually for the next 15 years. Here's a plan to enable them to stay home.

Jeff FauxDec 17, 2007
Art by John Ritter

The backlash against illegal immigration -- which looks like the Republicans' only hope for a wedge issue in next November's election -- is largely aimed at Latinos, of whom the vast majority are Mexicans. In fact almost 60 percent of all undocumented workers in the United States are from Mexico, and close to 12 million of that country's nationals now live in the U.S. Fix the Mexican part of the problem and the divisive politics of illegal immigration shrink dramatically.

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