Unless our policy makers can make job creation the top priority, the mass riots and burning streets of Europe may be coming soon to a neighborhood near you.
Only Jobs Will Get Our Economy Back on Track by Marshall Auerback
AlterNet is widely read by progressives, who really, really need to get up on MMT if they want to advance the progressive agenda without running up against the "affordability" obstacle thrown up by Austerians.
AlterNet is widely read by progressives, who really, really need to get up on MMT if they want to advance the progressive agenda without running up against the "affordability" obstacle thrown up by Austerians.
Great article!
ReplyDeleteThe problem with progressives is that they are well educated, which in the domain of econ means "indoctrinated".
ReplyDeleteI once had some discussions at truthout.org or commondreams.org and got buried under responses that "of course the government is like a household and has to watch not to go bankrupt, it is really pretty basic!" :)
@ Ron T
ReplyDeleteThat's why it is essential for people like Marshall to post to progressive sites. Most progressives are unaware of MMT or MMT sites, and only get exposure at the sites they read. MMT is well represented at FDL, Daily Kos and Corrente, but we need to be hitting sites like AlterNet, TruthDig, TruthOut, etc., on a regular basis in order to counteract the neoliberal myths that have become the conventional wisdom.
is it possible to change an austerians mind? i work with one. any suggestions?
ReplyDelete@ dave
ReplyDeletedepends on whether the mind is open or closed.
If open, try Warren's Seven Deadly Innocent Frauds.
thanks for your suggestion tom. it does not help that he is very right wing, he cant get away from the political b.s. we were talking about how our "representatives" vote, and i said that the republicans for the most part vote in lockstep. he disagreed. we all know that they clearly do, and if they dont they will be punished for it. it is hard to convince someone when they live in their own reality.
ReplyDeleteHey all!
ReplyDeleteI’m building a website around mmt for an assignment. It is supposed to be based on Bill’s quizzes, but it might become something a bit more ‘basic’. Since it is an assignment I will probably put more effort into presentation, rather than comprehensive site about MMT. Comments appreciated.
Lacky
ummt.org
btw there isn’t much loaded atm.
Hey all!
ReplyDeleteI’m building a website around mmt for an assignment. It is supposed to be based on Bill Mitchell's quizzes, but it might become something a bit more ‘basic’. Since it is an assignment I will probably put more effort into presentation, rather than comprehensive site about MMT. Comments appreciated.
Lacky
ummt.org
btw there isn’t much loaded atm.
As a progressive, the MMT hook for me was offering a means to full employment.
ReplyDeleteI came upon this about the time of the Fiscal Sustainability Conference which I watched online and was helped immensely by Mosler's Seven Deadly Innocent Frauds.
But I had about a six week period of cognitive dissonance headache (literally) before the old programming disappeared. That headache was fascinating in itself in regard to how the brain works.
The big one for me was the false analogy between personal finances and sovereign finances.
And another subtler obstacle was dissolving an aversion to the "filthy lucre" aspect of finances and money that I suspect resides in the minds of many progressives.
John Massie
Remember MMT is apolitical...
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletethis is from the article by Marshall:
ReplyDeleteTrillions of dollars were offered up in the form of hidden financial guarantees and subsidies to Wall Street. In effect, the banks got risk-free money with which to speculate (in things like energy and food, which also diminished Main Street’s discretionary spending power).
Okay people so I'm getting fed up (no pun intended) with this...MMT'ers seem to bounce back and forth on this issue of QE2 and creating bubbles. So which one is it...yes or no. I'm getting really frustrated with this one b/c it is very important especially if you want a zero rate policy forever.
I know the arguments for both sides, but darn it...I want a consistent answer from MMT!!! This is central to the MMT platform.
thanks for your post John. I can really relate to your experience. I'm a wonderful and proud progressive and I became attracted to MMT b/c I knew the austerity bs about SS benefits couldn't be true...I just didn't know the explanation yet. MMT provided me with the power (like Caliban from the Tempest) to explain myself. YES!!!
ReplyDeleteThe other thing that I love about MMT is that it made me a more powerful progressive, b/c now I'm also for tax cuts too!! yeah!!! So I can immediately get on the right side (pun intended) with repubs and neo-con a-hole fascist idiots!! LOL And then I systematically hypnotize them to believing in how to truly invest in our future generations and build America up not "trim her" down. muhahahaha
Mario... just use Occam's Razor. What is the operations that are involved with speculation? How are they influenced by interest rates?
ReplyDeleteI made the point to Cullen Roche that Modernizing Commodities Future Act has not been repealed. Why would QE influence speculation when we still have that law?
Sometimes even mainstream "common sense" infects the MMT brain.
right Adam so you're saying that it is going on then. But it's not so much that QE or low rates is what's causing that....it's really the fact that they haven't repealed the act which is the cause for it. Once again it is not a monetary phenomena.
ReplyDeletethanks man