Mike Norman Economics

I note that the Hard of Accounting are out in force again pushing their fallacious line that Taxes Must Rise because we decided to use government to save the economy in the face of a nasty pandemic.There must be Fire and Brimstone. The Sin must be Purged.Clueless idiots the lot of them - particularly those at the ironically named Institute for Fiscal Studies who really ought to know better. (If they do study Fiscal they don't do it very effectively).This is how it works in reality.... New...

And the ban goes on... The US is working on regulations that will ban its government from working with contractors who use technology from five Chinese companies: Huawei, ZTE, Hikvision, Dahua and Hytera. The regulations are expected to be effective August 2020. The US Commerce Department had also announced on 15 May that any foreign entity using US chip-making equipment, intellectual property or design software to supply semiconductors would have to apply for a license before shipping chips...

"Team of rivals!"..... hahahahhhaha!!!! Kudlow, a long-time advocate of lowering taxes as a way to promote growth, is pushing for a payroll tax cut as a key part of the plan to spur economic growth...... But Mnuchin, a former Wall Street executive, is said to believe a payroll tax cut will not be approved by Congress and will face stiff opposition from Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, these people say. He is pushing for another round of individual stimulus checks and an extension of...

Zero HedgeTrump: No New Coronavirus Stimulus Without Payroll Tax CutTrump Secretly Authorized CIA To Run "Very Aggressive" Cyberwar Ops With No OversightTyler DurdenAxiosBarr accuses U.S. firms like Disney and Apple of "bowing to Beijing" Dave LawlerPoliticoBarr lambastes Apple in China speech Betsy Woodruff Swan East Asia ForumGlobal value chains aren’t going anywhere Christian Bachheimer, SingaporeBreitbart News (the voice of Steve Bannon)AG Barr: China Waging 'Economic Blitzkrieg' to...

 Must-read. Why Nathan is taking the world by storm. He is no longer an up-and-comer. He has arrived.This post shows the reason you should subscribe to his substack if you don't already. There is a free option and a paid option.Notes on the CrisisThe Federal Government Always Money-Finances Its Spending: A Restatement Nathan Tankus

Some good, some bad.Abc NewsModern Monetary Theory: How MMT is challenging the economic establishment Gareth Hutchins

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday said property rights and religious liberty are “foremost” among human rights, and that the United States must take inspiration from the Declaration of Independence as it pursues a foreign policy that realistically promotes fundamental freedoms. Has the Secretary of State has been reading Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Rise of Capitalism?The speech leaves me speechless. Is he just off his meds, or is he full on nut job.Or it is just US...

Yesterday, in one swoop, the IRS (gov't) took away all the un-taxed income that was allowed to stay in the economy since the pandemic began. The economy and stock market are about to become toast. Trade and invest using the concepts of MMT. Get a 30-day free trial to MMT Trader. https://www.pitbulleconomics.com/mmt-trader/?s2-ssl=yes/ Download my podcasts! New one every week. https://www.buzzsprout.com/1105286

 J.W. Mason wrote a review of Stephanie Kelton's The Deficit Myth. For my purposes, I am looking at various critiques of MMT, and he makes some statements about banking that are of interest....  Bond Economics Banks And MMT: J.W. Mason's CommentsBrian Romanchuk

China just reported 3.2% GDP growth in Q2. That number sounds about right to me. But I can’t help noticing that if China reported its GDP growth rates the way the US government does, it would have reported roughly 60% growth in Q2. At least I think it would have; see if you can follow my argument and correct any errors…. The Money IllusionDid China’s GDP growth 3.2% or 60%?Scott Sumner