South By North Strategies, Ltd.

“Profit, But Fairly”

Adam Levitin of Credit Slips argues that “the fundamental rule of American capitalism is ‘profit, but fairly’.”

Bottom line here is that the benefits of increasingly specialized financial intermediation are questionable, and the role of government in financial intermediation and development is often overlooked. Privatized financial intermediation often means privatization of gains and socialization of losses, as we have recently seen. More critically, though, absent vigorous regulation, it easily dissolves into a system of profit über alles, in which rules of fair play (and we can debate just what those should be) are disregarded as inconvenient. For capitalism to work in a democracy, it is necessary that everyone play by the rules of the game.

Around The Dial – January 18, 2012

Economic policy reports, blog postings, and media stories of interest:

• AlterNet debunks the economic principles espoused by Adam Davidson of NPR.
• Crooked Timber rounds up arguments about the ideal length of the work week.
• The Center for American Progress rounds up inequality statistics.
• Nancy Folbre explains the tax system’s marriage penalties and bonuses. 
• Felix Salmon is skeptical of for-profit colleges.

Discussing Poverty In North Carolina

A recent episode of the WUNC radio program “The State of Things” discussed the problem of poverty and North Carolina.

Click here to listen to the 15-minute segment.

Mapping The Top 1 Percent

As part of a long-form story about America’s top 1 percent of income earners, The New York Times created an interactive map that allows people to compare the distribution of money income in different metropolitan areas.

Around The Dial – January 17, 2012

Economic policy reports, blog postings, and media stories of interest:

• E.J. Dionne points out the need for a debate about capitalism.
• Economist’s View notes that Democrats really aren’t anti-market.
• Jeff Madrick worries about economists practicing politics.
• Paul Krugman says that “America isn’t a corporation.”
• Nouriel Roubini is not optimistic about 2012.