The way in which Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) has become politicised and misrepresented is quite something. The critics have all fallen into the same pattern. They rehearse a few statements that they claim represents what MMT is about, and, which they know will shock people who read and/or listen to them to conclude that the proponents of MMT understandings are crazy. A whole host of wannabees are now jumping on the bandwagon. And last week, 5 Republican Senators in the US Congress tabled a...
Read More »Bernie and AOC are Functional Finance (and Socialists) but not necessarily MMT
Might not be MMT, but it isn't Socialism So there has been a lot written on Modern Money Theory lately. There is this piece by The Economist, Jerry Epstein's paper, and Lance Taylor's one, more on the Democratic Socialist ideas than MMT per se (here). There was also this op-ed by Robert Shiller in the NYTimes, and the two posts by Tom Palley, that I reposted here on the blog. Finally, Christine Lagarde also commented on MMT during the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings.I can and I will not...
Read More »ZEN and the Art of Modern Money (Part 2)
MMT for People in a Hurry By J.D. ALT POST #2 (See POST #1 here) FIRST: Prime the fuel-pumps As it stands, our diagram-machine has no fuel (“money”) in it, so it can’t operate. We could go through an exercise to imagine how it could prime itself in order to begin operations. But this would lead to other topics and considerations which would only distract us from our present goal—which is to simply understand HOW the diagram-machine operates—and how, and when, in the course of its...
Read More »Bill Mitchell — Some MMT considerations for an independent Scotland – Part 2
This is the second and final part of my series on Scotland as I prepare for a visit to Edinburgh and Glasgow this week. You can see the details from my – Events Page – and I urge interested readers to support the events that are run by activists. I will be talking about issues pertaining to the monetary arrangements that might accompany a move to Scottish independence. I have noted in the past that this is a controversial issue in itself that is also made more divisive because it has become...
Read More »Sushim Banerjee — Ability to grow amid global declining trend a hallmark of India
On the Indian economy, with a reference to MMT thrown in. If Ramanan sees this, perhaps he will comment.Financial Express (India)Ability to grow amid global declining trend a hallmark of IndiaSushim Banerjee
Read More »Bill Mitchell — Some MMT considerations for an independent Scotland – Part 1
What I hope to achieve is to set out a framework based on Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) principles to allow the protagonists to make their own decisions, free of the neoliberal sort of monetary myths that I think have dominated the independence debate to date. I am always cautious discussing the pro and con of situations where I have no direct material stake and a less than full understanding of specific cultural and historical influences that are at work. But the Scottish question is...
Read More »ZEN and the Art of Modern Money
MMT for People in a Hurry By J.D. ALT I’m expanding an earlier essay into a short, book-length piece I hope will be useful in the unfolding public debate about MMT. The piece will utilize the “operation” of a “diagram-machine” to illustrate how our modern money system actually works. My hope is that it will be accessible and easily understood by people who have a genuine interest in MMT, but little time or patience to delve into its operations and implications. I’m posting the narrative...
Read More »John T. Harvey — The Senate Resolution To Condemn MMT: Here Are Some Better Candidates For Condemnation
I can hardly believe that I am typing this. A resolution has been forwarded in the Senate to condemn an economic theory: “Recognizing the duty of the Senate to condemn Modern Monetary Theory and recognizing that the implementation of Modern Monetary Theory would lead to higher deficits and higher inflation.” I guess on the one hand that we should be happy that anyone is even aware of Post Keynesian economic theory. Scholars in this area have toiled largely in vain for going on a century...
Read More »Annie Gilroy — Why Ray Dalio Says Shift to Modern Monetary Theory Is Inevitable
Dalio, however, agrees that MMT has weaknesses. He said, “The big risk of this approach arises from the risks of putting the power to create and allocate money, credit, and spending in the hands of politically elected policy makers.” He states that the system has been designed in a way that “highly skilled people” are in charge of decision making rather than politically motivated people. He added, “At the same time it is inevitable that we are headed in this direction.” This is both a...
Read More »Not the Onion
US SR182 | 2019-2020 | 116th CongressUS Congress Senate Resolution 182US State Legislature page for SR182SummarySponsorsTextsVotesResearchCommentsTrackStatusSpectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 5-0)Status: Introduced on May 1 2019 - 25% progressionAction: 2019-05-01 - Referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. (text: CR S2576)Pending: Senate Banking, Housing, And Urban Affairs CommitteeSummaryA resolution recognizing the duty of the Senate to condemn Modern Monetary...
Read More »