Mike Norman Economics

The total amount of government economic aid in response to the coronavirus downturn is expected to exceed $10 trillion. Our actions today resemble Modern Monetary Theory, a belief that sovereign governments with sovereign currencies can “print” or “coin” money to support full employment or essentially any government program. As we enter the post-pandemic world, do we stay with the MMT-based philosophy of spending, or do we transition to a philosophy that deficits are dangerous? CNBCOp-ed:...

It is Wednesday so music and some snippets. I have updated the US unemployment claims data with a new map and state table. Shocking. We are working on updated estimates of what the Australian government would need to invest to run a Job Guarantee. We haven’t done that for a while because I didn’t want the press to get obsessed with dollar amounts. But as I am currently talking a lot about the Job Guarantee in the media, I thought some numbers would be useful as a comparative exercise...

This will be the only thing that will matter... in the end... anything else will be too complicated...Sweden’s Wuhan death rate: 22 per 100,000 peopleU.S.'s Wuhan death rate: 18 per 100,000 + the Great Depression.https://t.co/vTEbUqQmoP— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) April 29, 2020

We're fixated on the official data, which is bad enough. But we may be missing a bigger and more lethal picture The anti-vax, covid-19 conspiracists on twitter are saying that the government is lying about the amount of Covid-19 deaths. They say the government is mixing flu deaths into the figures, and that if people die of something else, like heart disease, but have COVID-19, then it is counted as a Covid-19 death. They say the amount is deaths is no higher than average.KV tweet We...

A Nation investigation illustrates the moral hazards surrounding the Gates Foundation’s $50 billion charitable enterprise. A good article on billionaire philanthropy. The wealthy can avoid paying taxes by giving away some of their wealth, but then invest this money into companies that greatly increase their wealth.Pharmaceutical companies looking for new markets in the third world will promote their drugs under the guise of philanthropy, when there maybe better solutions to public health...

You all know my attitude towards Michael Hudson as one the brightest economic minds of our time. Here is a quote from one of his latest interviews, as always, loaded with insights and food for thought.... Reminiscence of the FutureQuoting Michael Hudson.Andrei Martyanov

“Let us not forget that economics is a moral science,” Emmanuel Macron told the Financial Times in a recent interview. This is one of the central thoughts animating the work of Amartya Sen, a Nobel prize winner in the dismal science but also a renowned political philosopher. Kathimerini contacted the great Indian thinker at his home in Boston and asked him about that quote from the French president and about whether, in the age of Covid-19, it is finally time for economics to widen its view...

Warren is amazing in his ability to cut to the quick in a sentence or two.Tax Research UKWhy MMT? A discussion with Warren MoslerRichard Murphy | Professor of Practice in International Political Economy at City University, London; Director of Tax Research UK; non-executive director of Cambridge Econometrics, and a member of the Progressive Economy Forum

The stock market recovery continues amid record fiscal support. Invest and trade using the concepts and understandings of MMT. Get a 30-day free trial to MMT Trader. https://www.pitbulleconomics.com/mmt-trader/?s2-ssl=yes/ The US economy post 2009 stimulus. Chartbook. http://www.pitbulleconomics.com/stimulus.pdf

China’s experience may usher in a paradigm shift from “democracy versus autocracy” to “good governance versus bad governance.” A positive article about the Chinese political system. The ancient rulers felt the need for good governance is they were to retain their positions, so they rule for the people. The disasterous communist experiment has faded and China returned to its traditional system of governance but with some democratic elements. In its meritocracy, where only the best and most...