Mike Norman Economics

Just a short introduction for the general public. Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) is gaining traction in American politics, energizing the progressive left and roiling deficit hawks. Stephanie Kelton, who advised Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign, explains the basics. CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/video/2019/03/01/stephanie-kelton-explains-modern-monetary-theory.html

Col. Lawrence Wilkerson says Trump is a compulsive serial liar and a crook who will most likely be going to prison when he leaves the Whitehouse. He says that although Cohen is also a serial liar, his warning that Trump may refuse to leave office is a viable concern. In fact, Wilkerson says  Trump may get his base to rise up in support of him - which is the most heavily armed group of people in the U.S.Lawrence Wilkerson says that Trump is detested by everyone in New York, where even the...

Another good article from Jonathon Cook. It is apparently racist to oppose Zionism because of its racism towards the Palestinians. It's like saying that if you don't like English Defence League skinheads because of their racism, then you being racist towards EDF skinheads. Therefore, to be anti-racist is to be racist.Everything is fixed and rigged, and everything is inverted, as the media is controlled by the elites. Maduro is said to be a dictator who imprisons and murders his enemues,...

Bill seeking to end Washington's aid to Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen is moving through Congress The mask has slipped, it's about money, but the media exposes nothing.  And Israel wants the U.S to fight Iran for them, but Iran is no threat to the U.S.  Ending American assistance to the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen would curtail Riyadh's war efforts and hasten the end of what the United Nations describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis, experts say. "If we...

The Saker describes the evilness of the US/Anglo Empire. As the empire expands it becomes richer and corrupting people get easier. I often wondered why in vassal states the elites are treacherous and will give away their country's fortune to foreigners, a fortune they could have themselves. Well, the empire will find those that will run the country for them and then pay them handsomely. I believe Tony Blair is somebody who felt that he would do very well by going along with the system.The...

Hat tip to Andrew Anderson for pointing out this excellent statement by MMT scholars on mainstream reaction to recent MMT publicity. For two decades we and our like-minded colleagues have been putting forward the idea that a monetarily sovereign country like the United States with debts denominated in its own currency and a floating exchange rate cannot “go broke”. We have been writing about this and all the myriad implications this has for macroeconomics under what has come to be known as...

Reading about MMT from devotees is great, just like it is when you're with your friends who all hold similar political views to you. But what about someone who once thought MMT was ludicrous but has now come largely onboard, and yet still holds some criticism. Well, that's going to make for some interesting reading, don't you think? If he's right, then we have some work to do to improve MMT - and improving anything is a good idea - and if he's wrong then we can strengthen and clarify our...

Visitors to MNE may have noticed that I haven't posted at all in a few days. A family emergency came up that is occupying much of my time at the moment, so I have to put blogging on hold for a while. I'll resume posting as time permits.

Stephanie Kelton in Bloomberg responds to Krugman in the NY Times. One final point. Krugman says there is an inherent tradeoff between fiscal and monetary policy. I agree, but not with the tradeoff he describes. Deficits don’t automatically drive interest rates higher, and higher interest rates don’t automatically translate into lower private spending.  That tradeoff is disputed, and not just by MMTers. The tradeoff that matters is the one that Hyman Minsky and James K. Galbraith have...

Look at Bambi here, it's hard to believe he was a serial killer. [embedded content]