Monday, March 25, 2019

Jack Fitzpatrick — MMT Makes Democrats Curious Amid Debate on Health Care, Climate

Modern Monetary Theory, or MMT, is almost never mentioned specifically by members of Congress who negotiate budget and appropriations measures, but it is working its way into the mainstream political debate. Now, it’s gotten some Democratic lawmakers’ attention as the party considers big-ticket policy priorities. That includes House Budget Chairman John Yarmuth (D-Ky.), who will decide over the next few weeks whether to produce a fiscal 2020 budget resolution that maps out the caucus’s fiscal vision for the future.
“It sounds like there is a lot of validity to it,” Yarmuth told reporters in February. “The problem I see with it is that ultimately it all could work until it doesn’t. And when it doesn’t, it would take congressional action to correct it, and that’s far from guaranteed.”…
The alternative? Stick with something already shown not to be working? Is it really being prudent to stick with the devil we know rather than take a chance on the devil (maybe) we don't know?

No comments: