2009 Summer Institute
After the Economic Meltdown:
Building a Solidarity Economy

World Fellowship Center, Conway, N.H.
July 12-17, 2009

The CPE Summer Institute is a week-long intensive training in economics for activists, educators, and anyone who wants a better understanding of economics. Our Summer Institute attracts participants from across the U.S. and around the world. (Click here for more).

CPE forums on the financial crisis

• December 12, 7:00: "Why We Need a People's Bailout" Pioneer Valley Central Labor Council, 640 Page Blvd (Route 2A), Springfield. Beginning this week, Jobs with Justice launches an emergency campaign over the next 2½ months to get Congress and the new administration to enact a People's Bail-Out. Prof Gerald Friedman and Helen Scharber, of the UMass Economics Dept and the Center for Popular Economics will lead off a discussion of: What caused the economic meltdown? What should a recovery plan or People's Bailout include? and What strategies and tactics should we in Western Mass use to win? Info: Jobs with Justice, 827-0301, wmjwj@wmjwj.org, www.jwj.org/bailout/index.html.
  
• October 30, 6:30-8:30: "Boom, Bust and Bailout: What happened and what to do about it" with CPE economists James Crotty and Gerald Friedman. Unitarian Universalist Meetinghouse, 121 N. Pleasant St, Amherst.
  
• October 23, 7:00-8:30: "The Financial Crisis: Implications for the Labor Movement" with CPE economist David Kotz. First Congregational Church, 43 Silver St., Greenfield.

CPEers on the current economic crisis

• Gerald Epstein | Truthout: Bad Bank: Bad Idea
  "The irresponsible, and even fraudulent, behavior of bankers and the financial regulators we trusted to monitor them have left the rest of us in deep trouble with no good financial options. Major banks, including Citibank, Bank of America and others, are on the verge of bankruptcy, if not already insolvent, despite the commitment already made on behalf of US taxpayers to pend or guarantee billions of dollars to rescue them. Meanwhile, the economic vortex is dragging the rest of us down."
• Radio interview with Prof. James Crotty on the origins and impact of the financial crisis (short and extended versions available)
• Analysis of the current financial bail-out plan by Prof. Crotty (Pdf)
• Al-Jazeera interview with Prof. Gerald Friedman on "Is This The End of US Capitalism?"
• "Ending Casino Capitalism", Prof. Robert Pollin, The Nation (pdf)
• "The Market Meltdown", UMass Econ. Profs. on the financial crisis including CPEers Bob Pollin, Jerry Friedman and David Kotz. (video clips)
• "Proposals for Regulating the U.S. Financial System to Avoid Yet Another Meltdown", Professors Jim Crotty and Gerald Epstein, Oct. 2008

And from other sources:

• Notes on the bailout Univ. of Michigan, Prof. Thomas Weisskopf (pdf)
• Economic Crisis, Ideological Debates, UMass. Prof. Rick Wolff. His pieces appear regularly at : mrzine.monthlyreview.org
• What Dream? We're All Renters Now, Rick Wolff on rising home mortgage debt and housing crisis.
• Dollars & Sense collection of articles on the financial crisis.