On January 2, 2013, President Barack Obama signed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) into law, resolving the ‘fiscal cliff’ crisis by making permanent 82% of President Bush’s tax cuts—approximately $2.8 trillion of the $3.4 trillion total Bush tax cut package estimated …
Barack ObamaJoe BidenMitch McConnellJohn BoehnerHarry Reid+3 moretax-policyobama-administrationfiscal-cliffbipartisan-complicitywealth-transfer+4 more
L. Paul Bremer III, head of the U.S. Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) occupation government in Iraq, issues Order 39 on foreign investment as part of his ‘100 Orders’ imposing what economist Joseph Stiglitz calls ‘arguably the most radical market shock therapy tried …
Paul BremerCoalition Provisional AuthorityGeorge W. BushIyad Allawishock-doctrineiraq-warprivatizationcorporate-powerneoliberalism+2 more
L. Paul Bremer III, appointed head of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) on May 6, 2003, begins issuing binding orders with the force of law to radically transform Iraq’s economy from centralized planning to free-market capitalism. From May 6, 2003 until June 28, 2004, Bremer issues 100 …
Paul BremerCoalition Provisional AuthorityGeorge W. BushDonald RumsfeldDick Cheneyshock-doctrineiraq-warprivatizationcorporate-powerneoliberalism+3 more
The U.S. Department of Justice reaches a settlement with Microsoft on November 1, 2001, abandoning the structural breakup remedy ordered by Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson in favor of behavioral restrictions. The Bush administration DOJ, after taking office in January 2001, announces on September 6, …
U.S. Department of JusticeMicrosoft CorporationGeorge W. BushJohn AshcroftBill Gates+1 moreantitrusttech-monopolyregulatory-captureenforcement-failurecorporate-power+2 more
The NASDAQ Composite stock market index peaks at 5,048.62 on Friday, March 10, 2000, marking the height of the dot-com bubble before collapsing 78% to 1,114 by October 2002, erasing all gains made during the bubble. Between 1995 and the March 2000 peak, NASDAQ investments rise 600% in what becomes …
Investment BanksSecurities AnalystsSecurities and Exchange Commission (SEC)NASDAQVenture Capitalists+1 morederegulationregulatory-capturesecurities-fraudanalyst-conflictsirrational-exuberance+2 more
President Bill Clinton signs the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (Financial Services Modernization Act) into law on November 12, 1999, repealing key provisions of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 that separated commercial banking from investment banking and insurance. The Senate passes the final bill 90-8 on …
Phil GrammJim LeachThomas J. Bliley Jr.Bill ClintonRobert Rubin+4 morederegulationregulatory-captureneoliberalismbanking-deregulationfinancial-crisis-precursor+3 more
The U.S. Department of Justice, joined by Attorneys General from 20 states and the District of Columbia, files antitrust charges against Microsoft on May 18, 1998, alleging the company violated the Sherman Act by using its operating system dominance to thwart competition. The complaint charges four …
U.S. Department of JusticeMicrosoft CorporationBill GatesJoel KleinJanet Reno+1 moreantitrusttech-monopolyregulatory-capturecorporate-powerenforcement-failure+1 more
Citicorp CEO John Reed and Travelers Group CEO Sanford Weill announce on April 6, 1998, the merger of their companies to form Citigroup, a $140 billion conglomerate combining banking, securities, and insurance services under brands including Citibank, Smith Barney, Primerica, and Travelers. The …
Sanford WeillJohn ReedCiticorpTravelers GroupFederal Reserve+3 morederegulationregulatory-captureneoliberalismbanking-deregulationcorporate-power+2 more
Russian President Boris Yeltsin ordered the liberalization of foreign trade, prices, and currency, launching the radical ‘shock therapy’ economic transformation designed by Deputy Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar, a 35-year-old liberal economist advised by Harvard’s Jeffrey Sachs. The …
Boris YeltsinYegor GaidarJeffrey SachsHarvard UniversityInternational Monetary Fund+1 moreshock-therapyrussiashock-doctrineneoliberalismprivatization+5 more
On April 26, 1983, the National Commission on Excellence in Education released “A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform,” a report that fundamentally reshaped American education discourse and laid the ideological groundwork for decades of privatization efforts. The …
National Commission on Excellence in EducationSecretary of Education Terrel BellRonald ReaganHeritage Foundationeducationprivatizationreagan-eramanufactured-crisisschool-choice+1 more
Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) leader Edward Seaga wins a convincing victory over Prime Minister Michael Manley, immediately abandoning democratic socialist policies and re-engaging with the IMF after Manley had severed ties in early 1980 rather than accept the Fund’s harsh conditions. …
Edward SeagaMichael ManleyInternational Monetary FundJamaica Labour PartyWorld Bankshock-doctrineimfstructural-adjustmentjamaicaregime-change+2 more
On October 6, 1979, Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker announced dramatic steps to combat inflation, fundamentally transforming monetary policy by switching from targeting interest rates to targeting the money supply. Appointed by President Jimmy Carter in August 1979 to replace William Miller, …
Paul VolckerJimmy Cartereconomic-policyfinancial-crisisneoliberalismlabor-suppression
President Jimmy Carter signed the Natural Gas Policy Act (NGPA) into law on November 9, 1978, following Senate passage on September 27 (57-42 vote) and House passage on October 14 (231-168 vote). The legislation was part of Carter’s National Energy Act of 1978, a response to the 1973 energy …
Jimmy Carterderegulationenergy-policyneoliberalismcorporate-profit
President Jimmy Carter signed the Airline Deregulation Act into law on October 24, 1978, marking the first time in U.S. history that an industry was deregulated and removing federal control over airline fares, routes, and market entry. In 1977, Carter had appointed Cornell economics professor Alfred …
Jimmy CarterAlfred KahnEdward KennedyStephen Breyerderegulationneoliberalismlabor-rightscorporate-consolidation
On June 6, 1978, California voters approved Proposition 13 with nearly two-thirds support, fundamentally altering the state’s fiscal structure and launching a national tax revolt movement. The initiative, championed by Howard Jarvis and Paul Gann, added Article XIIIA to the California …
Howard JarvisPaul Ganntax-policyausterityneoliberalismprivatization
At the National Press Club on October 29, 1975, President Gerald Ford gave a speech refusing to provide federal assistance to New York City, which was on the verge of bankruptcy after losing nearly 600,000 jobs and hundreds of thousands of residents fleeing to the suburbs or Sunbelt. The New York …
In the aftermath of the 1973 Chilean coup, the Chicago Boys, a group of economists trained by Milton Friedman at the University of Chicago, began implementing radical free-market economic reforms under Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship. Their ‘shock therapy’ approach involved rapid …
Milton FriedmanArnold HarbergerAugusto PinochetThe Chicago BoysAmartya Seneconomic-shock-therapyneoliberalismchile-economic-policypsychological-manipulationinstitutional-capture
On August 15, 1971, President Richard Nixon announced his “New Economic Policy” in a televised address, unilaterally closing the gold window and ending the convertibility of U.S. dollars to gold at the fixed rate of $35 per ounce established under the Bretton Woods system. The …
Richard NixonJohn ConnallyPaul VolckerArthur Burnseconomic-policyfinancial-deregulationinstitutional-captureneoliberalism
Friedrich Hayek organizes the founding conference of the Mont Pelerin Society in Switzerland, establishing an international network of free-market economists and intellectuals that becomes the intellectual foundation for neoliberal economic policy worldwide. The William Volker Fund provides crucial …
Friedrich HayekMilton FriedmanLudwig von MisesWilliam Volker FundHarold Luhnow+3 moremont-pelerin-societyvolker-fundfree-market-ideologychicago-schoolcorporate-funding+2 more