From The Daly News blog

by Herman Daly

There may well be a be a better name than “steady-state economy”, (SSE) but both the classical economists (especially John Stuart Mill) and the past few decades of discussion, not to mention CASSE’s good work, have given considerable currency to “steady-state economy” both as concept and name. Also both the name and concept of  a “steady state” are independently familiar to demographers, population biologists, and physicists. The classical economists used the term “stationary state” but meant by it exactly what we mean by steady-state economy-briefly, a constant population and stock of physical wealth. We have added the condition that these stocks should be maintained constant by a low rate entropic throughput, one that is well within the regenerative and assimilative capacities of the ecosystem. Any new name for this idea should be sufficiently better to compensate for losing the advantages of historical continuity and interdisciplinary familiarity. Also, SSE conveys the recognition of biophysical constraints and the intention to live within them economically-which is exactly why it can’t help evoking some initial negative reaction in a growth-dominated world. There is an honesty and forthright clarity about the term “steady-state economy” that should not be sacrificed to the short-term political appeal of vagueness.

John Fullerton of the Capital Institute, and formerly an executive of JP Morgan Chase, calls for a holistic, ecological approach toward a new economy. Sounds like he should think about the political alternatives that agree.

By KYLE SMEALLIE AND HARVEY SILVERGLATE

From the Boston Phoenix, March 24, 2011

Chuck Turner reports to prison Friday. If his sentence sticks, that’s where the 70-year-old former Boston city councilor will spend the next three years.

Turner was convicted of attempted extortion, for accepting a bribe from a paid FBI informant, and also of giving false statements to federal officials, for lying about it to investigators. But there is much more to the case. Stepping back, it becomes clear that Turner was targeted by the FBI because he refused to play ball and build the government’s case against another Massachusetts politician, former state senator Dianne Wilkerson. This is all about federal power – the power to destroy any who won’t cooperate with the government’s agenda.

by Jason Pramas, March 25, 2011

Open Media Boston Editorial

The scene at Northeastern Law School yesterday – as Chuck Turner gave his last speech before starting a three year term in federal prison – was sad on a number of levels. First, NU students did a very poor job of organizing the event – with the result that over 100 people were forced to leave the building where the event was being held, after a number of reasonable proposals to provide overflow space or use another facility on the large campus were rebuffed by the students and a couple of administrators who happened to be on hand. Second, most of the Boston press corps was also kept out of the event – this despite my public plea on behalf of the assembled journalists pointing out that failing to let us in was effectively preventing a large audience from being aware of the event at all – plus making the unfortunate treatment of the press part of the few stories that did ultimately get produced.

Germany’s Merkel Suffers Election Blow Over Nuclear Policy

Greens and Social Democrats Make Big Gains on Nuclear Debate

by Christiaan Hetzner, Reuters

STUTTGART, Germany – Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives appeared set to lose power in a major regional stronghold on Sunday after early results suggested the anti-nuclear Greens were surging to their first ever state premiership.

Supporters of the German Green Party react as they watch the first exit poll predictions for the state elections in Baden-Wuerttemberg Photo: AP

In Baden-Wuerttemberg state, where anti-nuclear sentiment has been mobilised by Japan’s nuclear crisis, the Greens and Social Democrats (SPD) were set to win 48.3 percent, eclipsing the Christian Democrats who have held power for six decades.