As of today, the U.S. government’s current deficit and debt are indeed currently at unprecedented levels for peacetime—once we account for them appropriately.
(1) Greece: In addition to the great video by Alicé Anil embedded above (well worth watching; includes clips with Krugman, Stiglitz, and Rick Wolff!), whose "Know Bullshit!" project looks great, these items were of interest:
(2) Mexico: The cover story for our Sept/Oct annual labor issue, which is in layout and will be out soon, is on the crisis of labor in Mexico. It's by Dan La Botz. The issue will also have a beautiful photo essay by David Bacon on the occupation of a public park in Tijuana. So these items caught my eye:
Emilio Godoy, Inter Press Service, Mexico’s Anti-Poverty Programmes Are Losing the Battle. One thing that comes out in Dan La Botz's article is how much wages have gone down over the years in Mexico, and how that is a deliberate strategy of the oligarchs and their bought-and-sold political class. So this report from Inter Press Service about the failure of government anti-poverty initiatives is not surprising, since government policies are at odds with each other.
Steve Horn, DeSmog Blog, Hillary Clinton State Department Emails, Mexico Energy Reform and the Revolving Door. Hat-tip to TM. This is also very interesting given what La Botz says about how elites in Mexico have been pushing for energy-sector "reform" (including union-busting), apparently with help from the U.S. State Dept. under Clinton.
Robert Reich, his blog, The Revolt Against the Ruling Class, an interesting take on why people are supporting Trump. It's not the kind of revolt I would have wanted, though!
(4) SEC ruling on CEO pay: Some of the coverage of the SEC finally implementing the Dodd-Frank rule requiring publicly traded companies to disclose the ratio of CEO pay to median worker pay:
Inside Higher Ed, What Illinois Kept Secret. The day after Phyllis Wise resigned, we found out why: a trove of emails was released, including some showing that Salaita had been considered hired, and apparently also that donor pressure was what led them to fire him.