An economics, investment, trading and policy blog with a focus on Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). We seek the truth, avoid the mainstream and are virulently anti-neoliberalism.
Falsehoods are only successfully confronted with truth.
The media does not know truth in this. (eg Steve Leisman said "we are borrowing from China" in his interview with the deficit morons yesterday).
Mike had Walker on his show just ONE TIME and within minutes had Walker admitting that "there is no solvency problem", because Mike was in the truth and Mike confronted Walker with the truth.
You can see the power of truth when you confront someone who is going on about "we're out of money" etc, when you confront them with truth, they just go silent all of a sudden and their brains trip off.
You can see the power of the truth in the physical reaction of these people at those moments...
We have to keep confronting these falsehoods with simple truths to the extent we're given opportunities... and hope at some point the broadcast media starts to pick up on it too.
It is easy to associate a household budget with the supposed best management for government. Austerity, balanced budgets and low debts are naturals. On the other side printing money is clearly an evil leading to high inflation. The public holds those ideas and they are kept alive by both political parties and PhD Economists from Ivy League schools. No one wants to borrow money from China. So it seems true that change comes generally as cemetaries are filled. We like to think education or a strong leader will change it. But those are rarer events.
I always check this site for any signs of good news. It is always good to know that the public still totally rejects the idea that the problems of scarcity, unpayable debt and massive unfunded liabilities can be easily solved because the government, as monopoly issuer of fiat funny money, can never run out of "dollars".
And they still seem to understand that the rapacious Keynesian state operates pursuant to precisely the same universal laws of economics as do households and businesses.
It is easy to associate a household budget with the supposed best management for government. Austerity, balanced budgets and low debts are naturals.
Not really.
Look at the balance sheet of just about any household or large firm. Debt to income ratio is quite high when long term debt is included, mortgages for households and bond issuance for firms.
Austerians propose to hold govt to much tighter standard than households or firms.
Debt to income ratios are high for households when mortgages are considered. Yes, but people don't compare it that way. It has to do with income to debt payments. So if your income covers your living expenses, you are not insolvent. Also, houses most often have values exceeding the mortgage. The idea is not to owe more than you can pay. I think most of the public have been lead to believe the national debt will make us insolvent. Your home mortgage won't do that. It is the same idea with firms. Surely you have heard some bright people say our national debt is making us insolvent. We are running out of money.
Yes, and the really is that households, firms and govts w/o currency sovereignty are revenue constrained, but not currency sovereigns. One can't rail about "fiat currency" and then claim that the currency sovereign is revenue constrained without contradiction, but which happens all the time by people that should know better.
The question in my mind is how do we break through to what I will call the political class, the congress and President. Even if they understand it, they may feel constrained to do anything about it. Do you know of any of those people who understand MMT and if so what are they doing?
12 comments:
They get away with it because the media are morons too.... rsp,
Falsehoods are only successfully confronted with truth.
The media does not know truth in this. (eg Steve Leisman said "we are borrowing from China" in his interview with the deficit morons yesterday).
Mike had Walker on his show just ONE TIME and within minutes had Walker admitting that "there is no solvency problem", because Mike was in the truth and Mike confronted Walker with the truth.
You can see the power of truth when you confront someone who is going on about "we're out of money" etc, when you confront them with truth, they just go silent all of a sudden and their brains trip off.
You can see the power of the truth in the physical reaction of these people at those moments...
We have to keep confronting these falsehoods with simple truths to the extent we're given opportunities... and hope at some point the broadcast media starts to pick up on it too.
rsp,
It is easy to associate a household budget with the supposed best management for government. Austerity, balanced budgets and low debts are naturals. On the other side printing money is clearly an evil leading to high inflation. The public holds those ideas and they are kept alive by both political parties and PhD Economists from Ivy League schools. No one wants to borrow money from China. So it seems true that change comes generally as cemetaries are filled. We like to think education or a strong leader will change it. But those are rarer events.
I always check this site for any signs of good news. It is always good to know that the public still totally rejects the idea that the problems of scarcity, unpayable debt and massive unfunded liabilities can be easily solved because the government, as monopoly issuer of fiat funny money, can never run out of "dollars".
And they still seem to understand that the rapacious Keynesian state operates pursuant to precisely the same universal laws of economics as do households and businesses.
Good news indeed.
Bob, I think we're all concerned about scarcity. The scarcity of real stuff. Not dollars.
It is easy to associate a household budget with the supposed best management for government. Austerity, balanced budgets and low debts are naturals.
Not really.
Look at the balance sheet of just about any household or large firm. Debt to income ratio is quite high when long term debt is included, mortgages for households and bond issuance for firms.
Austerians propose to hold govt to much tighter standard than households or firms.
Hey all, how about this?
http://neweconomicperspectives.org/2012/10/chief-economist-to-vp-biden-tells-stephanie-kelton-to-run-for-president.html
"Austerians propose to hold govt to much tighter standard than households or firms."
…and in doing so will collapse the economies of households and firms.
Debt to income ratios are high for households when mortgages are considered. Yes, but people don't compare it that way. It has to do with income to debt payments. So if your income covers your living expenses, you are not insolvent. Also, houses most often have values exceeding the mortgage. The idea is not to owe more than you can pay. I think most of the public have been lead to believe the national debt will make us insolvent. Your home mortgage won't do that. It is the same idea with firms. Surely you have heard some bright people say our national debt is making us insolvent. We are running out of money.
Yes, and the really is that households, firms and govts w/o currency sovereignty are revenue constrained, but not currency sovereigns. One can't rail about "fiat currency" and then claim that the currency sovereign is revenue constrained without contradiction, but which happens all the time by people that should know better.
The question in my mind is how do we break through to what I will call the political class, the congress and President. Even if they understand it, they may feel constrained to do anything about it. Do you know of any of those people who understand MMT and if so what are they doing?
"One can't rail about "fiat currency" and then claim that the currency sovereign is revenue constrained without contradiction,"
Very good point here Tom... one of the characteristics of being non-stupid is an ability to discern contradiction...
rsp,
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