The Deficit Myth — Mark Dempsey

Economist Stephanie Kelton’s new book about Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) explains the fundamental difference between governments that are currency issuers and households that are currency users. Rather than “tax and spend”—the household pattern—MMT says people need dollars to pay those taxes, so government must spend them first before it can ask for them to return in taxes. It’s not “tax and spend,” it must be “spend first, then retrieve some dollars in taxes.”

This is exactly the right lede in explaining basic MMT. Conflating the currency issuer with currency users is the foundation of the deficit myth, as well as phobia about the public debt.

LA Progressive
The Deficit Myth

Mark Dempsey, former Realtor and member of a Sacramento County Planning Advisory Council