Friday, December 9, 2016

Ellis Winningham — MMT and Modern Macroeconomics On the Reason Why a Job Guarantee is Rejected in Favor of a Standalone Basic Income Guarantee

Today, I’m going to discuss what a currency peg is, which will prepare you to understand my discussion on the Job Guarantee, the reason why a standalone basic income guarantee is all the rage as “the” solution, and why the Job Guarantee is dismissed by politicians around the world. Much of what I discuss with you today will be a review, which it is, but we need to add a little bit more to your knowledge and understanding of the concept of a peg, and what its purpose is.

There is a very good reason why politicians around the world are pushing for a basic income and ignoring the Job Guarantee.
The reason for it is not what you think it is.
Nonsense arguments about automation making labor meaningless; about the JG being big government socialism; about the JG being “workfare”, make-work ditch-digging jobs – all of these arguments are talking points handed down to basic income advocates. They mask the real reason why politicians and Very Important Persons oppose the Job Guarantee and why they are pushing a basic income as “the” solution.
Today, we will use gold as our peg example. First, very briefly, let’s define reality.
Ellis Winningham — MMT and Modern Macroeconomics
On the Reason Why a Job Guarantee is Rejected in Favor of a Standalone Basic Income Guarantee
Ellis Winningham

7 comments:

Ralph Musgrave said...

Had a quick look at Ellis Winningham's article and his "peg" idea. I'm not tempted to look in any more detail. Looks to me like nonsense. Or perhaps I've missed something.

Ryan Harris said...

There is no reasoning with the MMT thought leaders, Ralph. They are pretty certain their policies are flawless and above criticism or modification, as-presented.

Ralph Musgrave said...

I have a huge respect for "MMT thought leaders". But Ellis Winningham's stuff is not normal MMT stuff. It's just bizarre.

Ryan Harris said...


Winningham doing the important job of engaging people that want to learn about MMT. There is really no one else that does what he is doing anymore that I know of.

All the honchos that used to engage and probably taught most of us what we know, have moved on to greener pastures which is what I was referring. They aren't around anymore.

Matt Franko said...

Put me down for the BIG ...

Calgacus said...

The idea of labor peg = JG & the comparison to a gold peg is basic MMT, it's in Wray's 1998 book for example. He is if anything too kind to the BIG - it is essentially never a progressive idea, always is just another welfare program for billionaires which for the umpteenth time is why so many of them like it. Since it is extremely inflationary banana Republicanism, they can then say - look we tried to "help" the helots - but it offended the natural order, so we had better go back to unadulterated capitalism.

NeilW said...

Ellis is about right here.

The 'Basic Income Guarantee' is actually just a stipend paid to the middle class so they can buy more shoes or something. It has nothing to do with helping the poor or anything else.

It is what the financial system wants because it can no longer issue credit cards to individuals. Instead it wants to federal system to do the borrowing and just give money to people to keep the current merry-go-round going. Preferably directly from the central bank so no politicians get involved and ask awkward normative questions.

It will of course collapse as all income guarantees do, because it ends up paying some people twice. And eventually they agitate to have it removed.