As has become abundantly clear during the last couple of years, it is obvious that most mainstream economists seem to think that Modern Monetary Theory is something new that some wild heterodox economic cranks have come up with. That is actually very telling about the total lack of knowledge of their own discipline’s history these modern mainstream guys like Summers, Rogoff and Krugman have.New? Cranks? Reading one of the founders of neoclassical economics, Knut Wicksell, and what he wrote in 1898 on ‘pure credit systems’ in Interest and Prices (Geldzins und Güterpreise) soon makes the delusion go away….Lars P. Syll’s BlogMMT — the key insightsLars P. Syll | Professor, Malmo University

The UK Guardian published quite an odd article the other day (May 30, 2024) by Mr GFC Spreadsheet Fudge Man Kenneth Rogoff – Why policymakers are more likely to risk high inflation during periods of economic uncertainty – which essentially claims that economic policy has been conducted for several years by institutions that do not meet the essential requirements that are specified by the mainstream New Keynesian macroeconomic approach, upon which the institutions have claimed justification. If that makes sense. He now claims that the eulogised principle of ‘central bank independence’, which is a mainstay of the New Keynesian justification that macroeconomic counter stabilisation policy should be left to monetary authorities and that fiscal policy should play a supporting but passive role,

Investment boom, crowding out consumption.— Warren B. Mosler (@wbmosler) May 31, 2024 Odd "X" posts from Warren Mosler recently talking about "crowding out." He says business investment is "crowding out" personal consumption. This is an odd claim because crowding out is not a condition that would be claimed under MMT understanding, where money is a function of demand and where there is no theoretical limit to its creation. (Under a free-floating FX regime.)If business spending rises and personal consumption falls, so what? All that is, is a shift in the cohort doing the net spending. The economy may look a little different (factories getting built rather than expenditure on consumer goods, leisure, etc), but why is that a concern and how does he conclude, necessarily, that this is the

I invited Stephanie Kelton to speak at our Man Alternative Investment Symposium in Oxford in 2021. Kelton was Bernie Sanders’s economic advisor and a leading proponent of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), a neo-Keynesian movement that asserts that there ought to be no theoretical limit to a country’s ability to borrow, providing that it is in control of its own currency. Kelton and Sanders were near-perfect exemplars of the kind of “fiscal irresponsibility” (as their opponents would see it) that Conservatives (and, indeed, conservatives) like to hold out as a warning. Joe Biden, resolutely of the center, friend to the markets and the banks, was able to position himself as a far more rational and responsible alternative….ForbesIn Defense Of DeficitsSteven Desmyter, President of Man Group

After all these years of trying, the insights provided by Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) still haven’t cut through. One doesn’t even need to accept the complete box of MMT knowledge to know that, at least, some of it must be factual. For example, how much brainpower does a person need to realise that a government that issues its own currency surely doesn’t need to call on the users of that currency in order to spend that currency? Even if we could get that simple truth to be more widely understood it would change things. But every day, economists and journalists, that just give platforms to the economists write and say things that demonstrate even that simple understanding of the monetary system fails them. Are they stupid? Some. Are they venal? Some. What other reason is there for

Current MAGA thesis… “inflation!”…  “deficit too high!”… “the dollar is going down!”…  same shit as always…. if Trump gets back in he’s going to have a lot of trouble with these Art Degree morons on his right flank…

Perma bears are going to be FREAKING… OUT…Nvidia now worth over $2.5 Trillion, more than the market cap of the entire German stock market. pic.twitter.com/Q7sJctOeoR— Erik Brynjolfsson (@erikbryn) May 23, 2024

15-17 July, 2024 / University of Leeds, UKUK MMT Conference 2024

MMT taking hold in the Global South?The Jordan TimesThe conceptual roots of the Global South’s debt crisisNdongo Samba Sylla, head of research and policy for the Africa region at International Development Economics Associates, is a former technical adviser for the presidency of the Republic of Senegal and a co-author of “Africa’s Last Colonial Currency: The CFA Franc Story” (Pluto Press, 2021) and a co-editor of Economic and Monetary Sovereignty in 21st Century Africa (Pluto Press, 2021)

Much easier to understand by the monetarist morons figuratively as “they’re printin’ money!”…U.S. government securities clearing & settlement visualized pic.twitter.com/ngYUXHWpBu— Conks (@concodanomics) May 7, 2024

Footsoldier posted this in the comments. I am promoting it to a post. So-called de-dollarization is envisioned to happen in two major steps stages each with many incremental iterations. The first stage stage is conducting bilateral trade in the currencies of the trading partners. This is already well advanced. However, this is not actual de-dollarization, which is the establishment of a competing monetary system with a goal of eventually replacing the USD as the primary global currency. No one thinks that this will happen quickly and without growing pains, or without Western opposition. But it is a stated goal rather than simply an aspiration. The Unit plan is now on the table.Sputnik GlobeDe-Dollarization Bombshell: The Coming of BRICS+ Decentralized Monetary EcosystemPepe EscobarSee

Recently, the neglected question of why the US government borrows, given that it can print money, has arisen in the context of discussions surrounding a new documentary, Finding the Money. As L. Randall Wray observes in this one-pager, Modern Money Theory has been providing answers to this question for some time; and, he argues, it is a topic that mainstream economists are ill-equipped to address, since very few concern themselves with the monetary operations that underlie the question of why a currency-issuing government issues debt.Underground Network ONE-PAGER No. 72 | May 2024If Government Can Print Money, Why Does It Borrow?L. Randall Wray, Levy Economics Institute, 2005Also at Underground Network May 9, 2024New documentary that explains how money works and how pretty much everyone

CPI nowcast for May reporting low:

No not so fast there buddy. ..  According to MMT the US government is “borrowing money!” from the tax exempt foreign divisions of these multinationals…It’s not just transferring retained earnings into foreign UST accounts at the Fed as part of a scheme to reduce overall corporate tax liabilities… that’s not what is happening..I wonder how many people know these “buybacks” are mostly unpaid taxes distributed to investors in US 🤔In the case of $AAPL profits are kept offshore in 0% tax countries like Ireland, then $AAPL issues bonds in #US to finance these buybacks and when the bonds mature they use… https://t.co/HKwjqY8PYx— JustDario 🏊‍♂️ (@DarioCpx) May 3, 2024

Have to see if this large month end settlement pattern continues…. It may be that first of the month fiscal transfers are getting so large these days that they are destabilizing reserve assets at Depositories… so Treasury might be scheduling most of the settlements the day before to reduce reserve balances within the same regulatory period as the first of the month…Treasury issuance is not “borrowing!” despite what MMT asserts…Treasury issuance is skewed this month. There are net paydowns and one large settlement on month-end. If we exclude month-end, there’s a net paydown of $108B. O/N rates should head lower throughout the month. Every net paydown will put additional downward pressure on O/N rates pic.twitter.com/3fTwWGMwmR— Scott Skyrm (@ScottSkyrm) May 2, 2024

You know that scene in The Big Short, when after the collapse there’s a distinct vibe of "man that was so obvious, how were people so impossibly stupid?"If you are loaning money to the Federal Government (ie if you own government bonds), the *only* reason you should feel… https://t.co/KgutE7xeIv— Erik Voorhees (@ErikVoorhees) May 3, 2024

Trump getting ready to go to war with the Democrat Monetarist morons who currently run the Fed… He probably wants rates back at zero like Obama had for 8 years… This would be a catastrophe if it ever happened. It’s being reported by the WSJ so it’s legit. If Trump lowered rates into an inflationary crisis it would create a lot of pain. Especially for the middle class. pic.twitter.com/FTLfEQ1Qmu— QE Infinity (@StealthQE4) April 27, 2024

Shots fired:Japan has always been a favorite talking point for the #MMT crowd, who claim Japan’s huge debt load is totally fine. It isn’t. Japan is in a currency crisis because its debt forces the BoJ to keep interest rates pinned. A huge warning sign for debt aficionados in the Euro zone… pic.twitter.com/mnO6RUQgnq— Robin Brooks (@robin_j_brooks) April 28, 2024

So what now we have Art Degree MMT Economics people teaching rudimentary Finance and Accounting Science 101 like this is some big revelation or something?  Big deal … 🤔assets___________BANK________liabilities+ reserves + bank depositsWhat happened? 🧐— Dirk Ehnts (@DEhnts) April 15, 2024

But these JPM people are not winning the Art Degree argument though:JUST IN: 🇺🇸 JPMorgan says high interest rates are driving inflation higher – Bloomberg pic.twitter.com/ui89mAh6RG— Radar🚨 (@RadarHits) April 10, 2024 This guy is winning the argument:.@lhsummers, former US Treasury Secretary and Wall Street Week contributor, says he’s not surprised inflation rose again in March, but he says an interest rate cut in June by the Federal Reserve would be dangerous https://t.co/VVbO71W83N pic.twitter.com/enjnKsEm5Z— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) April 10, 2024

It’s Wednesday and we have discussion on a few topics today. The first relates to the new agreement between the European Parliament and the European Council that was announced on February 10, 2024, which purports to reform the fiscal rules structure that has crippled the Member States of the EMU since inception. The reality is that the changes are minimal and actually will make matters worse. I keep reading progressives who claim the EU fiscal rules are no longer operative. Well, sorry, they are and the temporary respite during the pandemic is now over and the new agreement makes that very clear. I also express disappointment that high profile progressives continue to misrepresent Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) as they advance their own agenda, which effectively provides support to the

Today, I am fully engaged in work commitments and so we have a guest blogger in the guise of Professor Scott Baum from Griffith University, who has been one of my regular research colleagues over a long period of time. He indicated that he would like to contribute occasionally and that provides some diversity of voice although the focus remains on advancing our understanding of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) and its applications. Today he is going to talk about what responsible government spending should look like. Anyway, over to Scott …William Mitchell — Modern Monetary TheoryWhat is responsible government spending?Guest post by Scott Baum, Professor at Griffith University, Queensland

The turn away from expansion, production and trade toward lending and speculation has precipitated decline for centuriesIn the vein of Michael Hudson on the transition from industrial capitalism to financial capitalism, and the implications of this transition systemically. The article is a summary of the work of Giovanni Arrighi, one of a number of economists, economic sociologist and economic anthropologists that have explored the phenomenon of capitalism and its development in terms of the world system.RT — Question More (Russian state-sponsored media) Death of empires: History tells us what will follow the collapse of US hegemonyHenry Johnston, an RT editor who worked for over a decade in finance and is a FINRA Series 7 and Series 24 license holder

It’s Wednesday and I discuss a number of topics today. First, the ‘million simulations’ that Bloomberg apparently think show that there is an impending US bond market rout. Second, the way in which neoliberal-inspired legislation ensures the private energy providers can gouge prices and make huge profits in the face of a state-owned alternative. Third, my latest podcast with Real Progressives. Fourth, the crocodile tears from the Australian government concerning Gaza when they are effective supplying the means to kill our own citizens and tens of thousands of others. Finally, to calm down after all that some great jazz.…Bloomberg published a ridiculous article yesterday (April 2) – A Million Simulations, One Verdict for US Economy: Debt Danger Ahead – which I thought might have been a

Not MMT per se but it has to do with economic modeling that is pertinent to MMT’s stock-flow modeling. When looking at Steve Keens’s claim about continuous and discrete yesterday, it seemed to me to be a bit off given that economic data is discrete despite the fact that it is reported in terms of flows that are assumed continuous. Brian explains the details of the modeling math clearly and briefly without getting overly wonkish. Bond EconomicsIn Defence Of Discrete Time ModelsBrian Romanchuk

Podcast and transcript.Money on the Left — MR OnlineEconomic Democracy with Pavlina TchernevaScott Ferguson and William Saas  interview Pavlina Tcherneva

"Finding the Money" Trailer.DeadlineGiant Pictures & Kanopy Acquire ‘Finding The Money,’ Documentary That Explodes Myth Of Deficit SpendingMatthew Carey

I’m on my way back to Nairobi. I spent the last 3 days in Rome at a UN expert group meeting on SDG2 (Ending Hunger) at the FAO, in preparation for the 2024 High-Level Political Forum
that will be help in July 2024. It was a bit ironic that the FAO
building where we held the meeting used to be the Italian Ministry of
the Colonies under the Mussolini regime, and my main message to the FAO
was about decolonizing the global economic
architecture is a prerequisite for achieving the SDGs, including SDG2 to
end hunger. It is 2024, and the global food system reflects the legacy
of colonial and post-colonial hierarchies. This blog is a brief summary
of my main message to the FAO.…Very clear presentation of the conditions of colonization in neocolonialism and of the requirements for

For years, those who want selective access to government spending benefits (like the military-industrial complex and other parasitic sectors), while claiming the government cannot afford to provide adequate income support to the most disadvantaged citizens have used various ruses to give an air of authority or legitimacy to their claims. So in the UK, the lie in 1976 by the then Labour government that it was going to have to borrow from the IMF to stay solvent has been regularly wheeled out. In Europe, it was the ‘tournant de la rigueur’ (austerity turn) introduced by the French government of François Mitterrand in 1983 that effectively cancelled the commitment to the progressive – Programme commun – that is often cited as a demonstration of the limited capacity of governments to resist

The sequel.The National (Scotland)Mark Blyth: Unionists ‘taking my words on independence out of context’Xander Elliards