Catch up on year end events in my latest December Alternative Vision radio shows on the US and global economy and global changes in the Ukraine and Syria.
Key Economics Events of 2024: December 20, 2024 Show
Today’s show discusses the key economic events of recent weeks and their relevance to economic policy in 2025. Why did the debt-ceiling deal collapse and then pass last week. What does it mean. Trump’s fiscal strategy taking shape: tariffs, tax cuts, and austerity social spending cuts coming. Musk-Swarmy’s DOGE. Why it won’t resolve the chronic $1 trillion plus annual budget deficits, rising national debt, and $ trillion annual payments to rich bondholders. Neoliberalism fiscal contradictions and crisis will continue. What’s Musk’s DOGE plans? Why the Fed cut interest rates but admitted inflation is rising into 2025. Why inflation will continue to rise. As rates rise will a rising dollar in turn precipitate a global currency war? (Next week show: review of key events of 2024 and my predictions for 2024 made December 2023 last year)
The Empire Strikes Back: December 13, 2024 Show
https://alternativevisions.podbean.com/e/alternative-visions-the-empire-strikes-back/
As follow up to last week’s show Ukraine war is center topic. But in past week pro-NATO forces opened up new ‘fronts’ well beyond the conflict. Not by accident rebel forces, coordinating with Turkish, Israeli and US forces accelerating an attack in Syria opening a new front Russia must commit forces to. Another front is Georgia as CIA-US NGO forces continue street demonstrations to try to overthrow that country’s elected government, in a ‘color revolution’ effort much like Ukraine 2014. Yet a third front is the events in So. Korea where the pro-US president attempted to declare martial law, reversed by the Parliament, but supported by the Korean and US occupation military. The show explains how all three events are best understood as events related to US empire counters to Russia-China. Trump’s latest tariff moves against China and BRICS also part of the counter strategy. Show concludes with analysis of Trump’s several anti-war initial nominees being rejected as US neocons & Biden admin. buy time to restore aid & weapons to Ukraine
Dr. Jack Rasmus @drjackrasmus









A timely summary of the economic policies of neoliberalism. So the question is why do I have such a hard time learning those policies—–this must be the 20th time I have reviewed them. Part of it is the problem of Orwellian doublethink: the economic policies underpinning neoliberalism are neither new or liberal. More importantly is that they are—-fundamentally—-a vicious unrelenting class war. Which is why the Krugman’s and Reich’s of the world just don’t get it. But as the mild Lord Skidelsky tells us, “Every once in a while, you have to dust off Marx to understand what is going on.” And Exhibit A is the vicious top tax of social security: it isn’t 75% it’s 85% which is a sadistic economic payback for the progressive tax policies of the New Deal: not only did Reagan do a double tax on social security, first the payroll tax and then a tax on the benefits finally received, but he raised the top tax on social security to 85% as if the people who are receiving $30,000 in social security should be treated the same as if Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Warren Buffet et al ad nauseam who pull down at least $15 million a year.