Fecha: Lunes, Mayo 23, 2022 - 19:52

For decades, the mainstream of both the Democratic and Republican parties favored expanding trade between the U.S. and other countries. Greater globalization, these politicians promised, would increase economic growth — and with the bounty from that growth, the country could compensate any workers who suffered from increased trade. But it didn’t work out that way.

Instead, trade has contributed to the stagnation of living standards for millions of working-class Americans, by shrinking the number of good-paying, blue-collar jobs here. The incomes of workers without a bachelor’s degree have grown only slowly over the past few decades. Many measures of well-being — even life expectancy — have declined in recent years.

All along, many politicians and experts continued to insist that trade was expanding the economic pie. And they were often right. But struggling workers understandably viewed those claims as either false or irrelevant, and they refused to support further expansions of trade.

Fuente:
Fecha: Miércoles, Mayo 18, 2022 - 21:40

Headlines are abuzz with the return of inflation, which, according to some measures, is now reaching 40 year highs. Considering that vanquishing inflation is supposed to be the one undisputed achievement of neoliberalism, why is it rising? Many explanations – from excessive money creation to disrupted supply chains to tightening labour markets and a post-lockdown surge in demand are offered.

The view that it would be a short term affair is giving way to a more sobering assessment of its persistence, particularly since geopolitical conflict gave inflation a booster shot. As for its solution, one thing is clear, dealing with it as Paul Volcker famously did in the late 1970s is not a politically affordable option for governments beholden to elites whose outrageous fortunes depend on low interest rates.

This panel will seek to examine this phenomenon by asking question such as why is inflation rising? Can we expect it persist? What are the major policy-options being discussed and what are their political implications of each? How should socialists think about this new problem?

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Análisis del OBELA         /          ( english version )

México ante el TLCAN

Resumen:

México continúa una senda de estancamiento económico, donde la creación de empleos es muy lenta y, por ende, el bienestar de la población no está garantizado.

La renegociación del TLCAN que ofrece el gobierno de EEUU es una oportunidad para que México replantee su relación económica y política con el exterior, pero la élite no parece estar enterada de cuáles son los problemas nacionales.

El gobierno no se ha planteado la pregunta de si (o por qué) conviene a México mantener un acuerdo comercial que implica la integración económica con EEUU y –a partir de allí- la subordinación política. 

El Proteccionismo y la Renegociación del TLCAN

Resumen:

El cambio de la dinámica del comercio estadounidense con el mundo fue una de las más poderosas promesas de campaña que llevó a Trump a la presidencia de EEUU. No obstante, su postura antiglobalizadora-unilateral “América First” no se ha definido por completo.

La política estadounidense para reactivar la economía y recuperar el nivel de empleo se propuso el aumento del gasto público en infraestructura y defensa, y la restricción de la movilidad laboral. Sin embargo, esta política puede tener un efecto contrario y estimular la fuga de empresas al exterior.

El TLCAN, según Trump, ha sido el culpable de la desindustrialización, el creciente desempleo y los bajos salarios estadounidenses. Su renegociación tendrá, por la importancia de la economía estadounidense en el mercado mundial, consecuencias sobre todos los países que tengan acuerdos de libre comercio con EEUU.

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