Mike Norman Economics

There is a campaign on the Internet calling itself CANOO (the Campaign against nonsense output gaps) which one Robin Brooks, economist at the Institute of International Finance and former Goldman Sachs and IMF employee, is pursuing. You cannot easily access his written memos on this because the IIF forces you to pay for them. However, there is nothing novel about his claims and the points he is making are well-known. However, they are points that are worthwhile repeating at loud volume...

Removing some confusions. See the comments also.Lars P. Syll’s BlogWhat’s wrong with MMT? Nothing!Lars P. Syll | Professor, Malmo University

Fiscal realities as well as the credit situation will support economy and stocks for as far as you can see.

Risible. Of course, there is another choice: more deficit spending. Last week, I tried to educate myself on so-called “modern monetary theory.” Embraced by some Democrats, its central thesis seems to be that deficits are not nearly as dangerous as we’ve been led to believe. Here’s the case for that view, as best I can determine.“The biggest mistake we make is thinking of the federal government as a household” that has to repay its debt, says Stephanie Kelton, an economist at Stony Brook...

It's hard to believe things could be this bad, after the Russia-Gate myth they're just going to go straight into Venezuela and throw out a legitimately elected government to steal the oil, and in broad daylight in front of the whole world.It's the U.S. that doesn't have a proper functioning democracy! And neither does Europe, as the people are not informed because the media is controlled.If the Guardian was a proper progressive newspaper, if would have articles by Chris Hedges, Abby Martin,...

What Putin meant in his address about Russia targeting “centers for decision-making” was fundamentally related to NATO, not the American mainland. Russian state media today contradicts this. See SouthFront and Sputnik International. Russia will target CONUS, military terminology for continental US. A list of provided.Good analysis otherwise. Short. Asia TimesPepe Escobar: Memo from Moscow Pepe EscobarSee also When [Msgr.] Ronald Knox was born, Queen Victoria presided over an empire on...

Must-read.The GND proposal that is on the table doesn't scratch the surface of what needs to be done. Global resources must be reconfigured and deployed internationally to meet this emergent challenge. The scope and scale of a design solution is mind-boggling. Tweaking around the edges is simply a foolish delay.The alternative is massive culling.VOXThis is an emergency, damn it David Roberts See also at VOXIt is absolutely time to panic about climate change Sean IllingSee alsoWorld in...

Another straw man argument.Matt Bruenig begins with summarizing what some prominent MMT critics have said and then attacks MMT on that basis. Lame.At one time, it was prudent strategically to correct erroneous arguments against MMT. It still is when arguments are researched. But otherwise it is a waste of time now. Time can be more productively allocated.People's Policy ProjectWhat’s the Point of Modern Monetary Theory? Matt Bruenig

Personally, I’d recommend Marxists to pay MMT closer attention. It has plenty to teach us. I would say the same to MMTers. Marxism is about emancipation of workers from wage-slavery, which Marx analyzes in terms of capitalism as concentrated private ownership of the means of production being based on rent seeking and rent extract. This is free riding on the system and is parasitical.  Under capitalism, workers are in a position similar to serfs and peasants under feudalism and the...

Good summary article on MMT.Here's a teaser: With a sovereign currency, what this nation chooses to spend money on should be removed from any discussion of how a program should be paid for. Congress can authorize such spending at any time. Inflation is never a concern, so long as sufficient goods and services are available to purchase with the money spent into the economy.In fact, government spending that invests in new infrastructure, more efficient buildings and transportation, and in...