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Stephanie Kelton – Paul Krugman Asked Me About Modern Monetary Theory. Here Are 4 Answers.

Summary:
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 highlighted. Monetary policy “works” by driving people into debt. Fiscal policy works by driving income into people’s pockets. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-03-01/paul-krugman-s-four-questions-about-mmt

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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 highlighted. Monetary policy “works” by driving people into debt. Fiscal policy works by driving income into people’s pockets.
Mike Norman
Mike Norman is an economist and veteran trader whose career has spanned over 30 years on Wall Street. He is a former member and trader on the CME, NYMEX, COMEX and NYFE and he managed money for one of the largest hedge funds and ran a prop trading desk for Credit Suisse.

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