UNFTR Weekly Roundup

What You Missed

This week in our Members Only Newsletter you missed:

• Max Notes on convention vibes and Juan González.
  
  
• The Tuesday Top Five news articles everyone should be reading.
  
  
• An original essay from News Beat’s Rashed Mian on Bobby and Tulsi.
  
  
• And Ryan Stanco’s “Not for Nothing” on Trump’s cash grift and a Taliban ban.

So I guess the question is…what are you waiting for? Sign up today to become a member and level up to unlock a slew of additional perks!

Max Notes

I have Libya on the brain. This week the government of Libya announced the suspension of oil production and the markets aren’t sure how to deal with it. It’s fascinating to look at the intersectionality of the global economy particularly when set against the backdrop of the U.S. election. Here’s what I mean. 

Libya is removing upwards of 1m barrels of oil per day from the global market. That’s not a ton but it’s a bit of a shock due to the abruptness of it all. As a result, oil prices surged briefly. Not a great sign for the American economy in an election cycle if prices suddenly increase and then show up at the pump several weeks from now. Then again, crude prices dropped almost immediately thereafter on investor fears that the American economy might be in for a “hard landing” given the revised job figures and slowing growth. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. 

It’s like immigration. Leave the floodgates open at the border and cheap labor floods the market and suppresses inflation in certain sectors of the economy such as farming and retail. Close the border to appease the anti-immigrant voices and risk capacity issues and disruptions in the same sectors. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. 

Most of you probably know that I don’t fully subscribe to the economic theories that underpin these kinds of market reactions. But it’s a reminder that we live in an interconnected world and actions have consequences. The particular consequences I’m thinking of now is how we propped up the authoritarian Libyan government when it was a client state then overthrew it when they fell out of our control. 

Anyway, that’s why I have Libya on my mind. And now you know how episodes are born…

Other things I’m obsessing over…

• Tragically Hip song in the series finale of Umbrella Academy. Love the show or not, the music supervisor for the series deserves an award. 
  
  
• Israeli settlers are excited to colonize Gaza. (Love the new Bradley cam on TMR btw.)
  
  
• Floor 7 ½

-Max

Chart of the Week

Source: U.S. Treasury

Slightly dated but a great reminder ahead of Labor Day of the inverse relationship between union membership and income inequality.

Headlines

Stay Classy You Hillbilly Fraud

In case you need a refresher on how disgusting the GOP has become and what a shitgibbon Trump’s VP pick is. Only the best people.

From the article:

“The Ohio senator went further, telling Harris that she could ‘go to hell’ for criticizing Trump’s visit to the cemetery. The choice words came despite Harris having never publicly commented on the incident, contrary to Vance’s claim that Harris ‘wants to yell at Donald Trump because he showed up’ at Arlington. When asked for comment, Steven Cheung, communications director for the Trump campaign, claimed that Vance had been referring to Harris’ campaign team—not the VP herself.”

Mother Jones: JD Vance Responds to Trump Team’s Arlington Altercation With Lies and Telling Harris to “Go to Hell”

Lina Khan Is a Legit Superstar

Imagine being so good at your job that billionaires on both sides of the political spectrum want you fired. Just below the Kroger/Albertsons headlines Khan has another big deal brewing to potentially scuttle another food conglomerate mega-merger.

From the article:

“In 2013, Khan wrote a piece for Time Magazine blaming the ‘chocolate oligopoly’ for a lack of candy makers. At the time she was a junior staffer at New America, a progressive, Washington-based think tank. Of the 40-odd brands of candy available at her local Safeway, ‘almost all of them are produced by one of three companies: Hershey, Mars, and Nestle, with a specialty product or two by Ferrara and Palmer’s Company,’ Khan wrote… Over a decade later, Khan is on the forefront of the push to reinvigorate competition from her perch at the helm of the U.S. antitrust and consumer protection agency.”

Financial Post: Mars’ US$36 billion deal faces tough review from Lina Khan’s FTC

Obama Warned Dems About This on His Way Out the Door

When Obama left office he warned fellow democrats against leaning too much into corporatism and being seen as “latte sipping coastal elites.” Two full terms have passed since then and this sentiment rings true more than ever. Economic populism is there for the taking.

From the article:

“If Democrats hope to win back working-class voters in an environment of elite distrust, which they should, more of them will have to acknowledge and validate that distrust. This is a tall order, as there are major forces militating against them. Party messaging naturally caters to the base, so deploying anti-elite rhetoric has only become more difficult as Democrats have begun to transform into an upper-class party. Wealthy donors from elite and corporate backgrounds continue to fund Democratic campaigns.”

In These Times: To Win Over Working-Class Voters, Harris and Other Democrats Should Embrace Economic Populism

This Week on the Pod

Et tu, Krugman?

I’ve long been an admirer of Paul Krugman of The New York Times as he’s a rational and accessible liberal economist who genuinely seems to have the best interests of the public at heart. But a recent column smacked of establishment rhetoric that bordered on gaslighting. Democrats ignore economic realities at their own peril and while most leftists expect little from sources like The New York Times, Krugman has often risen above partisan talking points making this even more disappointing.

Here’s a snippet from the pod:

Max: “Krugman employs a typical tactic among elite opinion writers: My information is better than yours. Your financial stress doesn’t matter. You might be struggling to pay your bills but that’s not what the charts and graphs say. Inflation is down to pre-pandemic levels. It’s lower than other countries. We won. Stop complaining. The Biden administration did its job. If you don’t believe it then you’re a truther engaging in conspiracy-level denial.”

Resources

Pod Love

“On this week’s Economic Update, Professor Richard Wolff discusses Kate Pickett’s and Richard Wilkinson’s best-selling study in the book ‘The Spirit Level’ (2009), showing how economic inequality correlates with most of the major social problems of our time.”

Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff: Worsening Economic Inequality Yields Worsening Social Conditions

Book Love

“Rousseau demonstrates how civilization’s growth corrupts man’s natural happiness and freedom by creating artificial inequalities of wealth, power, and social privilege. Contending that primitive man was equal to his fellows, Rousseau believed that as societies become more sophisticated, the strongest and most intelligent members of the community gain an unnatural advantage over their weaker brethren and that constitutions set up to rectify these imbalances through peace and justice in fact do nothing but perpetuate them.”

A Discourse on Inequality by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Unf*cker Comment of the Week

From Bo W.:

“We have a living, breathing, Mid-Western 60-something white guy that hunts, is a teacher, football coach, military vet, loving dad, and seemingly all around All-American guy running for the second highest position in the land! And he is a proud Progressive and embraces that title. Sweet Jesus! We can effectively counter the existing narrative and perception!”

Progressive Corner

Progressive Spotlight: Briahna Joy Gray.

The leftist political commentator is known for challenging the status quo and conducting insightful interviews that often center on power dynamics in politics.

Progressive Organization of the Week: Highlander Center Bookstore.

“Highlander serves as a catalyst for grassroots organizing and movement building in Appalachia and the South. We work with people fighting for justice, equality and sustainability, supporting their efforts to take collective action to shape their own destiny.”

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