Neoliberalism
Academic repression
Student loans
Fig. 1. Unattributed and undated image via James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal,[1] fair use.
The decision [striking down the Biden administration’s plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for a wide swath of borrowers] means that the White House won’t move forward with the plan for now, though it’s possible officials could try to launch a new version of the debt-forgiveness initiative using a different legal authority. Roughly 26 million borrowers applied for or were automatically eligible for debt relief under the Biden administration’s plan, which canceled up to $10,000 in student debt for borrowers earning less than $125,000 and up to $20,000 in federal loans for borrowers who met that criteria and also used a Pell grant in college.[2]
The Biden administration might attempt relief another way,[3] but for now, this is yet another failed promise for a party that makes a habit of supporting what can never pass only when it cannot pass, relying on excuses—there’s always an excuse—to retain progressive support.[4]
Jillian Berman, “Supreme Court knocks down Biden’s student-debt forgiveness plan,” MarketWatch, June 30, 2023, https://www.marketwatch.com/story/supreme-court-knocks-down-bidens-student-debt-forgiveness-plan-30ba9892
Banking
Commercial real estate
Fig. 2. “The iconic Crescent stands as recognizable landmark in the upscale neighborhood of Uptown, Dallas.” Photograph by Dallasedits [pseud.], July 5, 2016, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
There is a new blog post entitled, “The real ‘doom loops:’ intellectual fraud at the Federal Reserve, intellectual fraud in economics.”
James Mackintosh, “How Scared Should You Be About Commercial Real Estate?” Wall Street Journal, June 30, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-scared-should-you-be-about-commercial-real-estate-1ba0f913
Imperialism
Russia
Syria
Fig. 3. “Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, March 15, 2023.” Pool photograph by Vladimir Gerdo, March 15, 2023, via Reuters, fair use.
Ishaan Tharoor, “The battle in Syria that looms behind Wagner’s rebellion,” Washington Post, June 30, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/06/30/wagner-syria-russia-battle-united-states/
Imperialism
Russia
Ukraine
Wagner mutiny
Robyn Dixon and Mary Ilyushina, “Wagner mercenary boss faces arrest over ‘incitement to armed rebellion,’” Washington Post, June 23, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/06/23/prigozhin-wagner-mercenary-russia-military/
Gabriel Gavin, Tim Ross, and Zoya Sheftalovich, “Putin in crisis: Wagner chief Prigozhin declares war on Russian military leadership, says ‘we will destroy everything,’” Politico, June 23, 2023, https://www.politico.eu/article/putin-in-crisis-as-wagner-chief-prigozhin-declares-war-on-russian-military-leadership/
Yaroslav Trofimov, “Russia Issues Arrest Warrant for Wagner Chief on Charges of Mutiny,” Wall Street Journal, June 23, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/ukraine-shoots-down-russian-cruise-missile-barrage-9d9da03a
Nick Allen, “US says Wagner coup is ‘real’ and ‘serious’ as White House consults allies,” Telegraph, June 24, 2023, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/06/24/wagner-coup-russia-us-reaction-joe-biden-vladimir-putin/
Anne Applebaum, “Russia Slides Into Civil War,” Atlantic, June 24, 2023, https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2023/06/russia-civil-war-wagner-putin-coup/674517/
Peter Baker, “Short-Lived Mutiny in Russia Sheds Light on Putin’s Hold on Power,” New York Times, June 24, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/24/us/politics/us-russia-putin.html
Colin Freeman, “How Yevgeny Prigozhin went for broke — then left everyone guessing,” Telegraph, June 24, 2023, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/06/24/how-yevgeny-prigozhins-wagner-group-launched-coup-russia/
Gabriel Gavin and Christian Oliver, “Kremlin says Prigozhin will depart for Belarus after his rebellion fizzles,” Politico, June 24, 2023, https://www.politico.eu/article/wagner-group-russia-forces-turn-back-moscow-prigozhin-declares/
James Kilner, “Putin’s aura of invincibility is shattered – and in Russia, weakness is terminal,” Telegraph, June 24, 2023, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/06/24/putin-betrayal-russia-coup-armed-mutiny-wagner-prigozhin/
Ellen Nakashima and Shane Harris, “U.S. spies learned in mid-June Prigozhin was plotting Russia uprising,” Washington Post, June 24, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/06/24/us-intelligence-prigozhin-putin/
Tom Nichols, “The Coup Is Over, but Putin Is in Trouble,” Atlantic, June 24, 2023, https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2023/06/putin-russian-coup-over-prigozhin-wagner/674522/
Richard M. Nixon [Justin Sherrin], “Russia Briefing,” Patreon, June 24, 2023, https://www.patreon.com/posts/russia-briefing-85060327
Robert Tombs, “Putin is not out of the woods – he stands gravely weakened,” Telegraph, June 24, 2023, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/06/24/putin-not-out-of-woods-gravely-weakened/
Yaroslav Trofimov, “Russia’s Putin Orders Military to Crush Wagner Power Grab, Calls It Treason,” Wall Street Journal, June 24, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/ukraine-shoots-down-russian-cruise-missile-barrage-9d9da03a
Benoit Faucon, Joe Parkinson and Thomas Grove, “Why Wagner Chief Prigozhin Turned Against Putin, ” Wall Street Journal, June 25, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/wagner-prigozhin-putin-mutiny-moscow-march-7072d6ea
Michael R. Gordon and Alan Cullison, “Wagner Mutiny Revives U.S. Fears Over Control of Russia’s Nuclear Weapons,” Washington Post, June 25, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/wagner-mutiny-revives-u-s-fears-over-control-of-russias-nuclear-weapons-29319369
Richard Kemp, “Putin’s downfall is only delayed. It’s coming,” Telegraph, June 25, 2023, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/06/25/putins-downfall-is-only-delayed-its-coming/
James Kilner, “Putin disappears as allies ask how rebels got so close to Moscow,” Telegraph, June 25, 2023, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/06/25/vladimir-putin-disappears-question-how-wagner-close-moscow/
James Risen, “Prigozhin and Putin: Dead Men Walking,” Intercept, June 25, 2023, https://theintercept.com/2023/06/25/prigozhin-putin-russia-coup/
Below is a brief description of Prigozhin’s mutiny and the factors that contributed to its outcome. We, as observers, initially missed important details due to the scarcity of information and lack of time for in-depth analysis. Here’s the perspective that currently seems most plausible:
1️⃣ Prigozhin’s rebellion wasn’t a bid for power or an attempt to overtake the Kremlin. It arose from a sense of desperation; Prigozhin was forced out of Ukraine and found himself unable to sustain Wagner the way he did before, while the state machinery was turning against him. To top it off, Putin was ignoring him and publicly supporting his most dangerous adversaries.
2️⃣ Prigozhin’s objective was to draw Putin’s attention and to impose a discussion about conditions to preserve his activities – a defined role, security, and funding. These weren’t demands for a governmental overthrow; they were a desperate bid to save the enterprise, hoping that Prigozhin’s merits in taking Bakhmut (that’s why he needed it!) would be taken into account and the concerns would catch Putin’s serious attention. Now it appears that these merits helped Prigozhin to get out of this crisis alive, but without a political future in Russia (at least while Putin is in power).
3️⃣ Prigozhin was caught off-guard by Putin’s reaction and found himself unprepared to assume the role of a revolutionary. He also wasn’t prepared for the fact that Wagner was about to reach Moscow where his only option remained – to “take the Kremlin” – an action that would inevitably result in him and his fighters being eradicated.
4️⃣ Those in the elites who were able reached out to Prigozhin with offers to surrender. This likely added to his sense of impending doom. However, I don’t believe any high-level negotiations took place. Lukashenko presented Prigozhin with a Putin-endorsed offer to retreat on the condition that Prigozhin would leave Russia and Wagner would be dissolved.
5️⃣ I don’t think Prigozhin was in a position to make demands (such as the resignation of Shoigu or Gerasimov – something many observers expect today. If that happens, it will be due to another reason.) After Putin’s address in the morning of June 24th, Prigozhin’s primary concern was to find an off-ramp. The situation would have led to inevitable death in merely a few hours. It is possible that Putin has promised him safety on the condition that Prigozhin remains quietly in Belarus.
I stand by my previous assertion that Putin and the state have been dealt a severe blow (which will have significant repercussions for the regime). However, I want to emphasize that image has always been a secondary concern for Putin. Setting optics aside, Putin objectively resolved the Wagner and Prigozhin problem by dissolving the former and expelling the latter. The situation would have been far worse if it had culminated in a bloody mess in the outskirts of Moscow.
And no, Putin doesn’t need Wagner or Prigozhin. He can manage with his own forces. He’s now certainly convinced of that.
I will disclose many more details in my bulletin to be issued tomorrow evening.— Tatiana Stanovaya (@Stanovaya) June 25, 2023
Tatiana Stanovaya, “Below is a brief description of Prigozhin’s mutiny and the factors that contributed to its outcome. . . .” Twitter, June 25, 2023, https://twitter.com/Stanovaya/status/1672991911538196482
Ishaan Tharoor, “Putin is reaping what he sowed,” Washington Post, June 25, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/06/25/putin-wagner-damage-challenge-image/
Patrick Tucker, “How Prigozhin’s Baby Coup Weakened Everyone in Russia,” Defense One, June 25, 2023, https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2023/06/how-prigozhins-baby-coup-weakened-everyone-russia/387888/
Douglas Busvine, Gabriel Gavin, and Victor Jack, “Putin condemns Wagner rebellion but says Prigozhin’s men are free to go,” Politico, June 26, 2023, https://www.politico.eu/article/yevegeny-prigozhin-wagner-group-russia-ukraine-war-mutiny/
Jamie Dettmer, “Putinism’s demise will be chaotic and violent,” Politico, June 26, 2023, https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-wagner-group-rebellion-vladimir-putin-demise-will-be-chaotic-and-violent/
Robyn Dixon and Mary Ilyushina, “After Putin speech on deal with mercenaries, Russia confronts divisions,” Washington Post, June 27, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/06/27/putin-prigozhin-wagner-russia-divided/
Bojan Pancevski, “Wagner’s Prigozhin Planned to Capture Russian Military Leaders,” Wall Street Journal, June 28, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/wagners-prigozhin-planned-to-capture-russian-military-leaders-805345cf
Max Seddon et al., “Vladimir Putin freezes out hardliners after Wagner mutiny,” Financial Times, June 28, 2023, https://www.ft.com/content/1d084fc7-d249-451d-b791-56a05b9010fc
John Feffer, “The Beginning of the End for Putin?” Foreign Policy In Focus, June 29, 2023, https://fpif.org/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-putin/
Max Seddon, Henry Foy, and Polina Ivanova, “Russia detains ‘General Armageddon’ in crackdown on pro-Wagner elites,” Financial Times, June 29, 2023, https://www.ft.com/content/e937199c-a5c1-45d9-85bc-85cf75a3528d
Ishaan Tharoor, “The battle in Syria that looms behind Wagner’s rebellion,” Washington Post, June 30, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/06/30/wagner-syria-russia-battle-united-states/
Anastasia Stognei, “How Wagner’s march of fury brought the war home,” Financial Times, June 30, 2023, https://www.ft.com/content/a3b577e2-b441-474a-992c-47cdf96060f6
Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh
Infrastructure
Fig. 4. Post-collapse scene at the Fern Hollow Bridge, photograph by National Transportation Safety Board, January 29, 2022, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
Jack Troy, “New Kensington Bridge to close for 6 weeks starting in July,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 30, 2023, https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/new-kensington-bridge-to-close-for-6-weeks-starting-in-july/
- [1]Richard K. Vedder, “Eliminate or Radically Restructure Federal Student Loans,” James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal, September 16, 2020, https://www.jamesgmartin.center/2020/09/eliminate-or-radically-restructure-federal-student-loans/↩
- [2]Jillian Berman, “Supreme Court knocks down Biden’s student-debt forgiveness plan,” MarketWatch, June 30, 2023, https://www.marketwatch.com/story/supreme-court-knocks-down-bidens-student-debt-forgiveness-plan-30ba9892↩
- [3]Jillian Berman, “Supreme Court knocks down Biden’s student-debt forgiveness plan,” MarketWatch, June 30, 2023, https://www.marketwatch.com/story/supreme-court-knocks-down-bidens-student-debt-forgiveness-plan-30ba9892↩
- [4]David Benfell, “Democrats and contradiction,” Not Housebroken, December 9, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/11/18/democrats-and-contradiction/↩