There are so many scandals in this Enron era that sometimes it is hard to connect the dots. What ties them all together is the broad acceptance of conflicts of interest as a way of life. Consider the emblematic scandal of our time: Stockbrokers were supposed to serve the interests of their customers, but many […]
Robert Kuttner
Robert Kuttner is co-founder and co-editor of The American Prospect, and professor at Brandeis University’s Heller School. His latest book is Notes for Next Time: Surviving Tyranny, Redeeming America. Follow Bob at his site, robertkuttner.com, and on Twitter.
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Comment: The Road to Enron
For the past quarter-century, America has been deregulating capitalism in expectation of a more dynamic and efficient economy. In fact, average economic growth since 1976 has slightly lagged that of the previous quarter-century, when capitalism was more highly regulated. But there has been a much more serious set of consequences–widening inequality, the dismantling of public […]
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Enronomics, Anyone?
Many economists and Bush administration officials are declaring the recession over. Their evidence is a slight improvement in some economic indicators, such as unemployment and business inventories. But my bet is that the economy will be weak for the remainder of the year and that it will be many years before we return to the […]
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What Voters Really Want
What do voters really want from government? Despite years of government-bashing, several recent polls suggest that voters still count heavily on government for social and economic security. And, while the Bush administration wins broad support for its antiterrorism program, liberal economic themes on other issues resonate with voters. Pollster Celinda Lake, in a new series […]
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Comment: Second Thoughts
When the World Trade Center was attacked, some progressives went, almost reflexively, into antiwar mode. Most, however, supported military action, because the incineration of innocents in the heart of Manhattan was so appalling; because the Taliban regime was so brutal; and–somewhat less nobly–because dissent in a time of national outrage courted political isolation. After nearly […]
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A Time for Dissent
After Sept. 11, nearly all Americans rallied round our president. The act was so barbaric that we had little choice. Yet some of us supported military action against the Taliban with grave forebodings. Among our concerns were these: Treating the World Trade Center attacks as an act of war rather than a criminal conspiracy would […]
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Nader Had It Right All Along
If one political figure looks prophetic these days, it is Ralph Nader. The Enron collapse is having a ripple effect on the rest of Wall Street, reflecting years if not decades of corporate balance-sheet abuses, insider enrichments at the expense of workers, pensioners, and communities, and bipartisan regulatory defaults. President Bush’s new budget cuts outlays […]
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Wrong Address:
Bait-and-switch is almost too kind a description for the economic portion of President Bush’s State of the Union address Tuesday night. Much as he did in the 2000 presidential campaign, Bush put forth an economic message that sounded like the work of a liberal Democrat. The centerpiece of his program, he declared, would be good […]
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In Today’s Capitalism, Regulators Not Relics
Don’t you just hate it when the phone rings during dinner and it’s a ”courtesy call” offering anything from credit cards to mortgage deals? Well, one of those archaic government agencies that it’s so fashionable to hate – the Federal Trade Commission – has a fine, simple solution. Under the FTC’s plan, you just sign […]
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Comment: Fool Me Twice
“Fool me once, shame on you,” says a wise political maxim. “Fool me twice, shame on me.” In his State of the Union address, President Bush will perpetrate a consumer fraud that makes his feint to the center in the 2000 campaign seem like truth-in-advertising. You’ll recall that the kinder, gentler Bush of the […]
