Links: SEC and CEOs, Greece, Mexico, Trump, Salaita

(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:

• Adam Davidson, New York Times Magazine, Why Greece's Lenders Have to Suffer.  I find it bizarre that Adam Davidson, whose work is usually pretty clueless, wrote this insightful piece. Maybe the conversation he had with Doug Henwood back in June 2012 has sunk in somehow?
• John Weeks, Triple Crisis, Third Bailout and the Third Punic War. From our sister blog. Great classical references.
• Mark Ames interviews Yves Smith at Pando Daily, Naked Capitalism: "We Are In the Business of Making Trouble". Interesting interview.

(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.

(3) Trump:  Three post-debate items:

• Andrew Prokop, Vox, Donald Trump made one shockingly insightful comment during the first GOP debate, about Trump's admission that he and other rich people donate to politicians to get favors, and that that shows that the system is corrupt.
• Bill Black, New Economic Perspectives, The Republican Candidates Agree that the System is Rigged for the Rich. Great piece on the other revealing thing Trump said, that he and other rich people take advantage of bankruptcy law to avoid paying their creditors.
• 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:

• Lawrence Mischel, EPI, SEC Rule is a Solid Step in Recognizing the Contribution Skyrocketing CEO Compensation Makes to Inequality.
• Sam Pizzigatti, Inequality.org, A U.S. Pay Ratio Disclosure Victory!.
• Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge, Stock Buybacks Set To Soar After SEC Forces Companies To Compare CEO And Worker Pay.  This was roundly criticized on the list-serves I'm on as being wrong, and having factual errors. In particular, I think socks and options are counted as part of CEO pay, so this perverse consequence won't happen.

(5) U. of Illinois, Phyllis Wise, Steven Salaita:  This sequence of events made me happy:

1. The Nation, Steven Salaita, Professor Fired for ‘Uncivil’ Tweets, Vindicated in Federal Court
2. Chicago Tribune, After tumultuous year, U. of I. chancellor abruptly steps down. For a while, I wondered why, and then:
3. 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.