Randy Wray — MMT Does Do Policy

I’ve seen some pretty bizzarre claims about MMTers. They are “tea partiers”, “barely left of center”, who “are not interested in policy”, who “ignore inequality”, who “are only interested in reducing taxes”. “MMTers ignore the fraud of the banksters.” They are at best “one issue” advocates for a particular view on money, taxes, and employment. I have no idea where critics get this stuff. I’m convinced they make it up. Ignorance or dishonesty; probably both.

For anyone who wants to disabuse herself of such nonsense, please go to www.levy.org, click on scholars, click on my name, and find right in front of your face a few hundred pieces on policy that I wrote. Yes, inequality. Yes, the explosion of incarceration. Yes, the War on Poverty’s failure. And so on. Stephanie Kelton just reminded me of an interview I gave in December to Travis Strawn–who happens to be a former student. He was writing for the Seven Pillars Institute (full disclosure: I’m not sure what it is): The Failure of Orthodox Economics: An Interview with L. Randall Wray.

Judge for yourself if this is garden-variety “liberal”, let alone “tea party”.

Economonitor — Great Leap Forward

MMT Does Do Policy

L. Randall Wray | Professor of Economics, University of Missouri at Kansas City