Mike Norman Economics

1. Never-Trump and "responsible" Republicans are caught in the dilemma now of supporting impeachment and risking the wrath of the large segment of the party that supports the president, risking the likelihood of winning elections in the future owing to a division in the party that will last as long as Trump supporters are alive.2. The Democratic Establishment is facing a similar dilemma of marginalizing the progressive wing of the party, which risks losing progressive support in coming...

CIA plant. I was going to use a question mark with that. Decided not to. Duh.Rolling StoneThe ‘Whistleblower’ Probably Isn’t: It’s an insult to real whistleblowers to use the term with the Ukrainegate protagonist Matt TaibbiSee also The connection between the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the Ukrainian government was veteran Democratic operative Alexandra Chalupa, “who had worked in the White House Office of Public Liaison during the Clinton administration” and then “went on to...

I am aware that almost anything written on modern monetary theory appears to be contentious, and that there are those who to seek to belittle my own contribution. I should then add that Randy Wray has already written to me about this paper, welcoming it and the contribution it makes to MMT thinking. Those seeking to dismiss it because I wrote it should, then, tread warily I suggest. That said, I am aware that I have raised difficult issues, but I hope without offending too many. Suggesting...

As many readers know, the third annual MMT conference was recently held at Stonybrook, and you can find the program as well as videos of the conference at the link: (https://www.mmtconference.org/). In addition, real-world economics review has just issued a new volume devoted to MMT (http://www.paecon.net/PAEReview/issue89/whole89.pdf). I’ll briefly address both, in two parts. I’ll talk about the conference in this one, and about the RWER papers in the second part.... New Economic...

To the dismay of the nation’s powerful oil industry and its worker unions, the opposition Labor Party over the weekend decided to withdraw its support for oil exploration offshore the sensitive Lofoten islands in Norway’s Arctic, creating a solid majority in parliament to keep the area off limits for drilling. The dramatic shift by Norway’s biggest party is a significant blow to the support the oil industry has enjoyed, and could signal that the Scandinavian nation is coming closer to the...

Yesterday, the House Financial Services Committee released its hearing schedule for October. There is not a peep about holding a hearing on the unprecedented hundreds of billions of dollars that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is pumping into unnamed banks on Wall Street at a time when there is no public acknowledgement of any kind of financial crisis taking place. Congressional committees should have been instantly on top of the Fed’s actions when they first started on September 17...

I have been catching up after travelling to the Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) Conference in Stony Brook, and see that there was a full issue on MMT in the Real-World Economic Review. Since I referred to the relationship between MMT and Post-Keynesian Economics in my talk, I might as well update my comments based on that RWER issue.... I agree with Brian. Tempest in a teapot with the world falling apart around us.  People taking themselves too seriously, but that is the story in most of...

AlternetRalph Nader: Here are 19 ways the 1 percent rules — and the 99 percent lets them Ralph NaderThe Gateway Pundit Deep State Professor Joseph Mifsud, Involved in Setting Up General Flynn and Papadopoulos, Also Involved in Drafting Pro-EU Brexit Plan Joe Hoft LobeLogHypersonic Weapons and National (In)security Rajan Menon Moon of AlabamaThe U.S. Led Coup Attempt In Iraq May Further Weaken That Country Ray McGovernAttorney General Barr’s Posse Is Mounted, Armed, & Ready, Judging...

As the eurozone’s economy sinks, the European Central Bank is thinking big. That’s worrying, says Matthew Lynn. Europe is in a pickle and has run out of ideas, so it might be tempted to give MMT a try, but some European countries are not happy that Germany will be the main benefactor again. Will MMT go mainstream? The ECB can’t cut interest rates any more and it has already bought up almost all the bonds it is allowed to. If it wants to go any further then it needs to come up with...

Why did a police officer get himself arrested? And what do the police really think about Extinction Rebellion? Film by @RubberRepublic From concern about what the police's role might be in a Climate ravaged future, to anxiety over their offspring’s disappearing futures, we uncover the emotion and truth of the police’s relationship with the groundbreaking climate movement. [embedded content]