Dynasties of Inequality: Rolling Stone

The power of an idea is intense, just so long as it improves people’s lives. It’s the emotional quotient that counts most, and that comes back to leadership. As American political theorist Benjamin Barber said: “Above all we need smart mayors and smart citizens, not smart cities.”


The real story of inequality in Australia

A World Without Poor People (Sort of) Ian Welsh 

Taibbi: Government Misled Public on Fannie/Freddie Takeover Rolling Stone 

Grenfell Tower: Sixty blocks ‘fail new fire test’ BBC

Grenfell Tower: Council could be charged with corporate manslaughter Politico

Dynasties, diamonds and trusts: politics is increasingly a family affair

The SMH

Half of Malcolm Turnbull's front bench use trusts of some kind

The Australian Financial Review 

Family trusts run deep

Trusts and tax minimisation explained

ack of Hope in America: The High Costs of Being Poor in a Rich Land

Tying the loss of economic mobility to the loss of hope and personal despair...

Former Georgian president Saakashvili could seek asylum in the US New Europe. Micael: “The dude that attacked Russia.”

Transatlantic fallout over Russian sanctions is dangerous Financial Times

How to Ease Europe’s Fears About the New U.S.-Russia Relationship Time. Do not read if you’ve just eaten.

Amazon has a secret health care team called 1492 focused on medical records, virtual doc visits CNBC

Wells Fargo Lawyer Who Released Client Information Wants It Back Bloomberg L: “Another Wells Fargo innovation in customer disservice.”

FOMC Review: No Hike, No Balance Sheet Move, Timing Clearer Roubini Global Economics

Skyrocketing Rents in California Signal a Broader US Housing Crisis Truthout 

How work changed to make us all passionate quitters aeon. IMHO this is a big reason  productivity isn’t growing. Turnover is a big cost to a business. And employees with their  eye on the door won’t go that extra mile for their company. By contrast, Goldman has very  low turnover and it is very adept at getting employees to invest psychologically in the firm.   

The Cartel: Collusion Between Germany’s Biggest Carmakers Der Speigel

Elizabeth Warren Tears Apart Another Trump NomineeVanity Fair

The White House has become the craziest reality show on TV New York Post (resilc)

Why the Trump dynasty will last sixteen years Edward Luttwak, Times Literary Supplement

Senators Prepare Bill to Block Mueller Firing Daily Beast. Resilc: “The cracker backer bill of 2017, thank you for your service.”

Anthony Scaramucci Called Me to Unload About White House Leakers, Reince Priebus, and Steve Bannon New Yorker. Lambert: “So he didn’t know to take himself off the record?”

Boy Scouts apologise for Trump’s speech BBC

Bannon Has a Good Idea, Not That He’ll Do Anything About It New York Magazine (resilc)

Conservative Woman Publicly Humiliates Trump American Conservative. Resilc flags:

The president’s primary problem as a leader is not that he is impetuous, brash or naive. It’s not that he is inexperienced, crude, an outsider. It is that he is weak and sniveling. It is that he undermines himself almost daily by ignoring traditional norms and forms of American masculinity.

I dunno. Trump is a lot like the first big TV star from Queens: Archie Bunker. I don’t recall anyone saying he wasn’t masculine.

Four Lloyds Bank workers and three ‘bespoke money launderers’ who raided £750,000 from the accounts of rich clients and lavished it on luxury lifestyles are jailed for 38 years Daily Mail. Look at how the authorities pounce on people who steal from the wealthy! Too bad for the rest of you