Institute for the Critical Study of Society
www.tifcss.org
6501 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609

Sunday, May 11th,  10am-12 noon.

"The Subprime Debacle: New Problems and Dilemmas for the US ruling class" 

The recent meltdown of subprime mortgage market has sent shock waves through US and global financial markets. Estimates of the eventual loss of wealth in the US household sector from write-downs and foreclosures range from $300 billion to $1.2 trillion dollars. The crisis has called forth an unprecedented expansion of the degree, form and scope of intervention by Central Bank, and will eventually require a public bailout of the losses created by predatory – and in many case criminal – lending practices implicitly condoned by leading US banks. Of equally significance, the current crisis has badly tarnished the legitimacy of the US financial model based on deregulation, financial liberalization, and the proliferation of myriad forms of "structured" financial products that lie at the root of the subprime debacle.  

The subprime crisis raises a series of profound questions this lecture and discussion will seek to address. Is the crisis merely a bump on the road to a renewed phase of credit-fueled growth? Or does it portending to a much deeper dislocation in the finance-led model of accumulation? How will the US domestic economy adjust, and what are the implications for US imperial and financial power given the impact of the crisis on foreigner's confidence in the dollar? Most importantly, what are the implications for the US – and global – working class?  Please join us for a discussion on these and related issues.  

Karl Beitel holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of California at Davis. He has written several articles on international finance, US hegemony, and financial crisis. Recent publications have appeared in the journals Historical Materialism and Monthly Review.