Tag Archives: MMT

The trend towards looser fiscal policy could mark the biggest shift in economic thinking in a generation,,,, Discussion of pros and cons in which MMT gets a play, of course.Favorite paragraph: “The winning formula for the Democrats is they are going to have to endorse some of these relatively fiscally extreme positions to get nominated,” says one Democratic strategist, speaking of the 2020 presidential contenders. “The threats of debt and deficits have not panned out. We have been running...

It's difficult to project precisely what the overall economic impact of this would be. Student debt is distributed all up and down the income ladder, and people at different income levels will spend or save the freed up money in varying proportions — it's the spending that will juice job growth and economic activity. But a Levy Institute paper from early 2018 — written by economists Scott Fullwiler, Stephanie Kelton, Catherine Ruetschlin, and Marshall Steinbaum — took a crack at figuring it...

For too long, citizens have been told that the government cannot afford to invest more in education, healthcare, infrastructure and other public services. At the same time, they have seen governments find money to pay for tax cuts, bank bailouts, military activities and other programmes that they likely deem to be less essential. MMT asks that instead of worrying about their balance sheets, governments start looking at ways to use the resources at their disposal in the most efficient way...

Wednesday today and a short blog. I also have to travel a lot today. But some brief comments on an interesting article from French commentator Michel Lepetit – Nourrir le débat sur une annulation partielle (370 mds€) de la dette publique (April 15, 2019) – which means more or less “Promoting the debate on a partial cancellation (€370 billion) of public debt”. The article proposes that the Banque de France cancels its holding of French government debt (the €370 billion), which could also...

In a few weeks I am off to Britain again to participate in a series of events. Two of these events will be in Scotland where we (Warren and I) will discuss, as outsiders, issues pertaining to the monetary arrangements that might accompany a move to Scottish independence. It is a controversial issue in itself, but, unfortunately, is also intertwined with the vexed issue of EU membership. And the complication then becomes that progressives, who might otherwise be attracted to the Modern...

Keeper quote from Joseph Schumpeter. He nailed endogenous money as "credit money" and observed correctly how "money" gets created by banks' extending credit — "they create deposits in their act of lending." This effect is now amplified through non-bank and quasi-bank financial institutions. The contemporary financialized economy runs largely on privately created credit. This has an even greater effect than Schumpeter likely anticipated. Economists' ignoring this unduly limit the scope of...

Say what you will about modern monetary theory, but it’s worth asking why it’s assumed that states in America, which wields the power of the world’s reserve currency, should turn to draconian austerity measures when the going gets rough. After all, no political party at the federal level even pretends to care about budget balance anymore. Governors, on the other hand, must spend within their means and consider trade-offs, whether they’re a Democrat or Republican. To their credit, many have...

Modern Monetary Theory is having a moment. The theory, in brief, argues that countries that issue their own currencies can never “run out of money” the way people or businesses can. But what was once an obscure “heterodox” branch of economics has now become a major topic of debate among Democrats and economists with astonishing speed.For that, we can thank Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who told Business Insider in January that MMT “absolutely” needs to be “a larger part of our...

On April 11, 2019, IMF boss Madame Lagarde gave a press conference to open the 2019 Spring Meetings. The Transcript – includes the Madame waxing lyrical about Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). And you might have confused the press conference for a stand-up comedy routine except you would have to be ‘in the know’ to laugh. But the significant aspect of the conference came when a question from Japan focused on MMT. In attempting to put down our work, Madame Lagarde actually admitted that a...

Worthwhile article on MMT owing to the questions it poses. Not that MMT economists haven't addressed some of these questions. But I believe that some are still hanging. It also observes that an MMT-based world run on functional finance would look quite different from the conventional world of "sound money," especially with a Green New Deal in the offing to address the emerging challenges of global inequality of distribution and the threat of climate change. What does this imply socially,...