Economics for Everyone

NOVEMBER 1, 2008 -- There's nothing like a good old-fashioned financial panic to inspire a lot of popular interest in economics.  If it weren't for the huge amount of fear and suffering this crisis is imposing on average people, I'd say this was a great time to be an economist!  I'm getting an incredible number of inquiries, from reporters, union members, and readers, all wondering what it means.

SEPTEMBER 19, 2008 -- I am gradually making some progress at getting the supplementary curriculum material and other resources for Economics for Everyone posted up here.

Check the Resources page for the latest -- including a set of "How-To" guides for those who are inspired enough to try their own crunching of the economic numbers (there are guides for GDP, inflation, labour market, and corporate financial data).

Jim Stanford will be giving public talks based on Economics for Everyone in several Canadian cities this fall.  Here are the first confirmed dates:

Winnipeg: Wednesday, Sept. 10, 7:30 p.m., Millenium Library (Buchwald Room, 2nd Floor), 251 Donald Street.  Sponsored by Fernwood Publishing and CCPA-MB.  Info: 204-474-2958.

Regina: Thursday, Sept. 11, 7:00 p.m., SGEU Hall, 1440 Broadway Ave.  Sponsored by CCPA-Saskatchewan.  Info: 306-586-5177.

JULY 20 2008: I hadn't yet waded into the Saturday book section of the Globe and Mail when I bumped into my friend Paul Weinberg (the progressive technology journalist) in the park yesterday.

He told me about the Globe's review of my book ... and then expressed his condolences -- which initially got me worried! No need to fret, however.  Andrew Allentuck, the reviewer, is a regular business columnist for the paper, so he was a tough audience, but I'd say his comments helped more than they hurt (among my target audience, anyway).

JUNE 26 2008: We held a most excellent book launch in Ottawa on June 23 at the National Arts Centre.  Many thanks to the good folks at the CCPA for handling all the logistics.  Good crowd (75 people), good food, good wine.  I warned everyone that, just like the Salvation Army, the audience had to be prepared to hear the sermon before they got the free meal.  However, at least the Sally Ann gives its clients chairs to sit in!  (I, on the other hand, made most of my audience stand up for 45 minutes of haranguing.)  Left-wing luminaries Maude Barlow (who already provided a lovely "blu

JUNE 18 2008: Pluto Press has arranged for a Korean-language edition of Economics for Everyone to be published (by Bookie Publishing House) in the coming months.  The Korean labour movement and student movement are among the most determined and militant in the world -- I hope this work will make some contribution to their continuing activism!

JUNE 14 2008: The first launch event for Economics for Everyone was held in Toronto on June 12, and it was a roaring success.  Over 100 people attended -- about half were delegates from the just-concluded CAW convention (wearing the red 'Made in Canada Matters' t-shirts that we've all been wearing in solidarity with the GM blockade in Oshawa), the other half from the broader community.  There was a great spirit in the room.  I'm convinced that progressives from all walks of life will really get excited about the potential for economic change, if the ideas and alter

JUNE 5 2008: I want to thank the great folks at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and Raised Eyebrow (funky web design people in Vancouver) for their great work on designing this site.  They've even trained me in how to add content, which is saying something.  (My 12-year old daughter Maxine thinks I am technologically over the hill.  But even she is now impressed.)

JUNE 1 2008: Nick van Praet at the Financial Post, a very fair reporter even if he does work for a right-wing rag, penned a generous profile of yours truly as a follow-up to our recent round of major auto bargaining with the Big Three.

Here's the link:

http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=549743

Apart from a near-full-body photo (I should have jutted my chin out further, don't you think?), the most noteworthy aspects of the article were: