Columns, OpEds, Occasional Journalism

I'm no Marx or Keynes, but like them I do try to accompany most of my scholarly, policy advocacy, and legislative work with more accessible journalistic companion pieces. Here are some of my regular columns for Forbes, The Hill, FT, and Huffington Post, along with other occasional journalism.

Image: Ben Franklin at his printing press, 18th century Philadelphia

What Is the New Economic Patriotism? Hint: It's About the Production, Forbes, June 5, 2023

Biden Can, and Should, Ignore the GOP's Debt-Suicide Attempt (with Laurence Tribe), The Hill, May 18, 2023

Seven Legal Reasons the Federal Budget is Its Own 'Debt Ceiling' - and 'Floor,' Forbes, May 11, 2023

This is What Happens if Biden Ignores the Debt Ceiling and Calls McCarthy's Bluff, New York Times. May 9, 2023

The Liberty Bond Act of 1917 Is No Longer Good Law: Declare the 'Debt Ceiling' Null & Void, Forbes, May 7, 2023

From John Pierpont Morgan to JP Morgan to ... Rudolf Hilferding?, Forbes, May 2, 2023

Restoring Our Home-Owning Republic: Fannie Back In, 'Asset Managers' Out, Forbes, April 25, 2023

Quantitative Easing Needs Qualitative Tightening - Why the Fed's Scissors Require Two Blades, Forbes, April 24, 2023

Internalizing Offshoring's Costs: The Outsourcing Cost Defrayment Act of 2023, Forbes, April 23, 2023

How to Centralize National Redevelopment Permitting: The Expedited National Redevelopment Permitting Act of 2023, Forbes, April 20, 2023

There Is No Need to 'Pack' Our Courts: The Need is to Un-Pack Them, Forbes, April 20, 2023

Making Resurrection More than Metaphor: Mystics, Futurists, and 'The Philosophy of the Common Task,' Forbes, April 9, 2023

Ricardian Resentment, Forbes, April 6, 2023

Make It Easier to Invest Directly inTreasuries, Financial Times, March 29, 2023.

Put the Fed, FDIC, and OCC Back in Their Places, Forbes, March 28, 2023

 

Why Uncapped Federal Deposit InsuranceIs Our Safest Bet, The Hill, March 24,2023.

 

How to Spark a Nationwide Main StreetIndustrial Renewal with Universal Deposit Insurance, Forbes, March 18, 2023.

 

Sheila Bair, Not Jamie Dimon, ShouldSucceed Janet Yellen as Treasury Secretary, Forbes,March 17, 2023.

 

Universal Deposit Insurance: The FederalDeposit Insurance Completion Act of 2023, Forbes, March 14, 2023.

 

No, It Isn’t a ‘Bailout’ – and It’s Timeto Afford Risk-Priced Deposit Insurance to All Bank Deposits in Full, Forbes,March 13, 2023.

 

‘Boring’ Silicon Valley Bank Isn’t theRelevant Culprit – Extend Full FDIC-Coverage to All Premium-Paying Banks, Forbes,March 11, 2023.

 

Stop the Charade: The Federal Budget IsIts Own ‘Debt Ceiling,’ Forbes, January19, 2023.

 

Why Is Uber Über Alles? Public PlatformInfrastructure for the ‘Gig Economy,’ Forbes, January15, 2023.

 

Reorganizing to Make America Make Again:The National Development Strategy and Coordination Act of 2022, Forbes,December 13, 2022.

 

This Doesn't Have to Hurt: Against BDSM Economics, The Nation, July 13, 2022.

 

You Have Far More than a Hammer,America: Produce Your Way Out of Inflation, Forbes,June 23, 2022.

Liquidity Reserves and CommodityReserves: A Marriage Proposal, Forbes, June 13,2022.

 

US Energy Independence is Real, 'GlobalPrices' are Not: A Short-Term Oil Production and Price Mitigation Plan, Forbes,June 7, 2022.

 

The 'Strategy' Part of 'StrategicStockpiling': From Mere 'Rainy Day Funds' to Disruption-Free Mass Production, Forbes,June 5, 2022.

 

Prices, Preclusive Purchases, andProduction: Some Forgotten Solutions to Forgotten Inflation Problems, Forbes,May 13, 2022.

 

On the 61st Anniversary of His 'VastWasteland' Speech, Honor Newton Minow with a Public Option for Social Media, Forbes,May 8, 2022.

 

Make America Make Again, Forbes,May 1, 2022.

 

Central Banks Can, Must, and Will Collar CommodityPrices, Forbes, March 23, 2022.

 

What to Make Great Again: On the Difference BetweenExplaining and Excusing, Forbes, March 20, 2022.

 

Of Digits & Dignity: Ro Khanna’s PragmaticProductive Progressivism, Forbes, February 9, 2022.

 

Fine-Tuning Monetary Easing, Part 2 – The Fed’s NewChicago Trading Facility, Forbes, January 31, 2022.

 

Fine-Tuning Monetary Easing, Part 1 – To ReverseInflation Today and Prevent It Tomorrow, the Fed Must Short-Sell Commodities as WeSpeed-Up Production for Later, Forbes, January30, 2022.

 

War on Inflation, Part 3 – Resuming Leadership in HighCapacity Battery Manufacture, Forbes, November15, 2021.

 

War on Inflation, Part 2 – Restoring Leadership inSemiconductor Production, Forbes, November 14, 2021.

 

War on Inflation, Part 1 – The Lesson of World War II,Forbes, November 12, 2021.

 

All Money is ‘Fiat Money,’ Most Money is ‘CreditMoney,’ Forbes, July 4, 2021.

 

So Long, Cryptopians – Greet the New DigitalGreenback, Forbes, June 28, 2021.

 

The Golden Rule of a ‘Fighting Democracy’ – Don’tTolerate Intolerance, Forbes, April 7,2021.

 

The Specter of ‘The Specter of Inflation,’ Forbes, April 4, 2021.

 

The Once and Future Fed – and Treasury (Part 2), Forbes, March 24, 2021.

 

The Once and Future Fed – and Treasury (Part 1), Forbes, March 23, 2021.

 

Bernie’s Back Better on CEO Pay, Forbes, March 17, 2021.

 

‘Building Back Better’ Phase Two – Time Now to JumpstartDomestic Production, Forbes, March 3,2021.

 

Wall Street’s ‘OK Boomer’ Moment – What They’re NotSaying About GameStop,  Forbes, January 31, 2021.

 

Building Back Better Forever: The NationalReconstruction and Continuous Development Act of 2021, Forbes, January 28, 2021.

Platforms, Presidents, & Politics – What the FirstAmendment Requires, Forbes,

January 24, 2021.

 

What is ‘The Comptroller of the Currency,’ and WhyDoes It Matter?, Forbes, January 19, 2021.

 

What ‘Backs’ the Dollar? Easy: Production, Forbes, January 19, 2021.

 

Why Joe Biden Can Stop Worrying and Start SpendingLike Crazy, TheNew Republic, December 1, 2020 (withAaron James).

 

General Sherman, Meet Mr. Keynes, Forbes, December 22, 2020.

 

Building Back Better With or Without a Senate Majority– Further Details, Forbes, December 11, 2020.

 

CARES Act Continuation Without Steve Mnuchin – An OpenLetter to Fed Chairman Powell, Forbes, November27, 2020.

 

Treasury’s ‘Gift’ to the Fed – And to our States,Cities, and Small Businesses, Forbes, November20, 2020.

 

The InvestAmerica Plan – Reconstruction With orWithout Senate Help, Forbes,  November 9, 2020.

 

Modern, Pre-Modern, or Post-Modern Money? A BriefGuide for the Perplexed, Forbes, October26, 2020.

 

Our Nation’s Next Money – From Ledgers to Tokens andBack, Forbes, October

20, 2020.

 

National Investment in National Renewal – Three Why’s and Three How’s, Forbes, October 14, 2020.

 

The Fed is a Development Bank – Make It Our DevelopmentBank Again, Forbes, September 30, 2020.

 

Optimize Community QE: An Open Letter to Fed Chairman Powell, Forbes, June 2020.

 

Financial Inclusion and Dollar Digitization: An OpenLetter to House Financial  Services, Forbes,June 2020.

 

Reconstruction 2.0, Forbes, June 2020.

 

Community QE – Illinois Signs On, And EligibilityFurther Expands, But ‘Penalty Rates’ Still Have to Go, Forbes,June 2020.

 

Our Next ‘Roaring 20s – Boom or Kaboom? Forbes,May 2020.

 

What to Make of Community QE – Look Now to New York, Forbes,May 2020.

 

Treasury Growth Dividends, Forbes,May 2020.

 

Spread the Fed,Forbes, May 2020.

 

Digital Greenbacks, Forbes, May 2020.

 

America’s Digital Sputnik Moment, The Hill,May 2020.

 

Productive Public-Private Partnering in Times ofPublic Crisis, Forbes, May 2020.

 

Community QE2 – New Terms, New Opportunities, Forbes,May 2020.

 

A Digital Dollar – Why, How, and Why Now, VentureBeat,April 2020.

 

Community QE: An April ‘Game Plan’ for States andCities, Forbes, April 2020.

 

Welcome to Community QE – Now Let Us Put It to Use, Forbes,April 2020.

 

Digital Dollars for All, Wall StreetJournal, April 2020.

 

We Are at War and Need Wartime Institutions to KeepOur Economy Afloat, The Hill, April 2020.

 

Why Now for a Digital Treasury Dollar? BecauseCoronavirus, Forbes, March 2020.

 

The US Must Ramp Up Production by the World Wars I& II Playbook, not the 2008 Playbook,’Business Insider, March 2020.

 

The US Must Take Equity Stakes in the Companies itRescues, Financial Times, March 2020.

 

How to Keep the Digital Dollar Democratic: A TreasuryDirectPlan, Forbes,March 2020.

Our Corona Response’s Missing Ingredient – Mobilize the Supply Side, Forbes, March 2020.

 

Managing Coronavirus’s Economic Fallout – Demand andSupply Side Measures, Forbes, March 2020.

 

Money, Payments, & Commercial Infrastructure, Forbes,February 2020.

 

Choose Your ‘Socialism, Forbes, February 2020.

 

The Devaluation of American Labor, Bloomberg,December 2019,  (with Dan Alpert).

 

Public Housing’s Green New Deal, Forbes,November 2019.

 

Sanders, Lee, and Tlaib on CEO Pay, Forbes,November 2019.  

 

Our Money is Not Green Enough, Forbes,November 2019, (with NY Assemblyman Ron Kim and Senator Julia Salazar).

 

Bernie Sanders on Corporate Democracy, Forbes,October 2019.

 

Redesigning Money to Capture More Value, New York DailyNews, 28 October 2019, (with NY Assemblyman Ron Kim).

 

Dynamic Inclusive Money for a Dynamic InclusiveEconomy, American Prospect, 17 October 2019 (with NY AssemblymanRon Kim ).

 

Bernie Sanders on Corporate Democracy, Forbes,14 October 2019.

 

Sanders and Warren on Debt Cancellation and HigherEducation Finance – An Early Assessment,Forbes, June 2019.

 

Facebook’s Proposed Crypto-Currency: More Pisces ThanLibra for Now, Forbes, June 2019.

 

Trump’s Tariffs Are Half-Hamiltonian; The Missing HalfIs the Green New Deal, Forbes, May 2019.

 

Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez Offer Real ‘FinancialChoice’ with Their Loansharking Prevention Act, Forbes,May 2019.

 

Sovereign Wealth Funds Must Choose a Different Path, FinancialTimes, April 2019.

 

Trump’s Fed Pick is a Serious Problem – Here’s Why itMatters, Forbes, March 2019.

 

Please, Self-Styled Progressives, … Enough with the RentierEconomics,’ Forbes, March2019.

 

Green New Deal Funding: Remember Finance is aPublic-Private Franchise, Not a Big Broker in the Sky, Forbes,February 2019.

 

Who Will Make the Green New Deal? Literally All of Us, Forbes,February 2019.

 

The Green New Deal is What We and the Planet Have BeenWaiting For, The Hill, January 2019.

 

Pay for the Green New Deal Now or Spend More Later, FinancialTimes, January 2019.

 

The Green New Deal: ‘How to Pay for It’ Isn’t ‘aThing’ – and Inflation Isn’t Either, Forbes, January 2019.

 

Backing Trump on Syria, American Progressives AreEnabling a Kurdish Genocide, Ha’aretz, January 2019 (with Anna-SaraMalmgren).

 

When is Social Credit Orwellian?, Forbes,December 2018.

 

Money’s Past is Crypto’s Future, Forbes,December 2018.

 

Raise the Tide, Don’t Sink the Boats, IrelandBusiness Post, November 2018.

 

Senator Warren’s Ben Franklin Capitalism, Forbes,August 2018.

 

Accountable Capitalism, The Hill,August 2018.

 

To Make America Great Again, Make Our CapitalismAccountable Again, Forbes, August 2018.

 

Volcker, Glass-Steagall, and Beyond, Jacobin,August 2018.

 

Money’s Past is Fintech’s Future, ForbesAugust 2018.  

 

Feminism Across Borders, Jerusalem Post,March 2018 (with Anna-Sara Malmgren).

 

Make Trade Policy Strategic, not Dogmatic, ForbesMarch 2018.

 

Guns and Reconciliation in the Trump Era, The Hill,February 2018 (with Dan Alpert).

 

Forget the Nunes Memo – Demand Transparency of Trump’sFinances, The Hill, February 2018.

 

Forget Birthers and Girthers – We Must All Now beWorthers, Forbes, February 2018.

 

Betting on Betacoin, Forbes, December 2017.

 

Mr. Trump’s First Coup Attempt, Forbes,December 2017.

           

Trump Will Be Remembered as ‘the Opioid President,’ The Hill,November 2017.

 

The Opioid President, Huffington Post,November 2017.

 

Corporate Tax Reform for American Industry: TaxAccess, not ‘Income,’ Forbes, October 2017.

 

Mr. Trump, Tweet This, Forbes,September 2017.

 

Warren, Yellen, and Bank Regulation’s ForgottenToolkit, Forbes, June 2017.

 

Let’s ‘Get REAL’ about ‘Financial CHOICE,’ Forbes,June 2017.

 

Please Postpone the Acceptance, Judge Gorsuch,Forbes, April 2017.

 

Build Past the Swamp, Mr. President Forbes, March 2017.

 

Mr. Trump, Where Did You Go?, Forbes, March 2017.

 

Trumpcare, Ryancare, or Medicare – It’s theEfficiency, Stupid, Forbes,March 2017.

 

Infrastructure, Trade, and Taxes – Save the Dessertfor Last, Forbes, March 2017.

 

A Fine New Beginning – Now for the Follow-Through, Forbes, March 2017.

 

Repeal and Replace Obamacare with Medicare, The Hill, January 2017.

 

The Fed and the Virtues of Banking Simplicity, The Hill,September 2016.

 

Wells Fargo, Glass-Steagall, and ‘Do You Want Frieswith That?’ Banking, The Hill, September 2016.

 

Why Sanders Must Continue His Campaign, The Hill,June 2016.

 

Tax Plans and Dog Kickers, HuffingtonPost, April 2016.

 

The Good, the Perfect, and the Bern, HuffingtonPost, February 2016.

 

End Turkey’s Ethnic Cleansing of the Kurds, Ha’aretz,February 2016, (with Anna-Sara Malmgren.

 

Turkish Genocide of Kurds Must Stop, TruthOut,February 2016 (with Anna-Sara Malmgren).

 

End Collective Punishment in Turkey, The Hill, February 2016, (with Anna-SaraMalmgren).

 

End Collective Punishment of Turkey’s Kurds, HuffingtonPost, February 2016 (withAnna-Sara Malmgren).

 

China’s Refugee Currency Crisis, HuffingtonPost, January 2016.

 

Why Bernie Sanders is Right on Financial Reform, The Hill, January 2016.

 

Clinton and Summers are Wrong on Sanders’ GlassSteagall Proposal, The Hill, January 2016.

 

The Cathartic Optimism of Bernie Sanders, The Hill, October 2015.

                 

Clintonian Campaigning and Casual Bernie-Baiting, The Hill, September 2015.

 

What Greece’s Troubles Really Mean, The Hill, July 2015.

 

Mother Emanuel,The Hill, June 2015.

 

Of Money, Memory, and Meaning, The Hill, June 2015.

 

Captured? By Whom?, FiscalTimes, November 2014.

 

America’s Middle East ‘Vision Thing,’ The Hill, August 2014.

 

Live From New York: Eminent Domain for UnderwaterMortgage Loans, Boston Review, July 2014.

 

National Housing Recovery Could Begin in New York, The Hill, July 2014.

 

Seize the Loans of Belly-Up Homes: Why New York CityShould Use Eminent Domain to Rescue Underwater Mortgages, New York DailyNews, June 2014.

The Republican Party as Pakistan, The Hill, June 2014.

 

Monday Morning Quarterbacking on a Sunday Afternoon:Geithner, Mian, & Sufi on the Crisis,The Hill, May 2014.

 

The Federal Budget is Its Own ‘Debt Ceiling,’ Reuters, October 12, 2013, (with Daniel Alpert).  

 

Sham Suits and Securitizers, Los Angelesand San Francisco Daily

Journals, September 2013.

 

Eminent Domain IS All Gain, No Pain, Las VegasReview-Journal, August 2013.

 

What the Eminent Domain Plan Is – and Is Not, Los Angelesand San Francisco Daily Journals, August 2013.

 

Our Eminent Domain Plan Amounts to an ‘Inverse-Kelo,’ BloombergView, August 2013.  

 

Underwater Mortgages, Drowning Cities, and RogueFinanciers, Huffington Post, August 2013.

 

David Stockman’s Alien Abduction, Salon,April 4, 2013.  

 

What the Eminent Domain Plan for Mortgages Is andIsn’t, Liberty Street Economics(New York Fed weblog), February 2013.

 

It Takes a Village, Reuters, June 2012.

 

A Bridge to Viable Mortgages, AlbanyTimes-Union, June 2012 (with Michael Campbell).    

 

Save Europe’s Marriage with a Trial Separation, Bloomberg View,June 2012.

 

A Bridge from Normal to Normal, AmericanBanker, May 2012 (with Michael Campbell).  

 

Five Angry Elephants, Benzinga, March 14, 2012.

 

How to Make QE Easier (on the Poor): Fed ShortingCommodities, Benzinga, Oct. 14, 2012.

 

Home Lease Swapping as a Mortgage Market Cure, Benzinga, Oct. 13, 2011.

 

The Way Forward,Benzinga, September 24,2011.

 

Of Bankers and Boneheads, Benzinga, Sept. 9, 2011.

 

The President’s Jobs Address: Nice Start, But …, Benzinga, August 25, 2011.

 

Delivering from De-Levering, Benzinga, August 18, 2011.

 

Deficit Attention Disorder, Benzinga, August 6, 2011.

 

It’s Come to This: Act II, Benzinga, August 3, 2011.

 

It’s Come to This: Act I, Benzinga, August 3, 2011.

 

Happy Holidays, and GiceItBackforJobs.Org, Benzinga, Dec. 17, 2010.

 

GiveItBackForJobs.Com: New Tax Cuts, New Website forConscientious Objectors, Benzinga, Dec. 10, 2010.

 

Taxes, Stimulus, and Inequality, Benzinga, Dec. 8, 2010.

 

Is the Fed Jimmy Stewart? Is It the World’s CentralBanker?, Benzinga, Dec. 4, 2010.

 

Global Currency Relations, Macro Recovery, andFinancial Stability,

Benzinga, Nov.18, 2010.

 

Check out More

The Green New Deal

The Green New Deal initiative begun in 2018 marked the beginning of a return to ambitious public-private coordination in the cause of rebuilding the American economy along more just, productive, and sustainable lines. Hockett worked with Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and her team from the start on the GND Resolution introduced to Congress in early 2019, then on the initiative's finance plan as well as much follow-up legislation found in the 'Legislation' Module of this site.

Congressional Testimony

These papers transcribe testimony Hockett has given before sundry legislative committees, regulators, and courts on his and others' plans.

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