Sunday, July 5, 2020

The "Noble Lie" Critique Of MMT — Brian Romanchuk


Yeah, I know this is a holiday in the US, but this is should-read. Mark as read-later if you can't get to it now.

Brian examines the last-ditch objection to MMT based on using it as policy tool. This is a fair objection, since MMT is now being presented as just that and some people are listening. That is of concern to apologists for the status quo. This is their big gun. Again, the inflation boogeyman, based on the popular truism,"You can't trust politicians."

It's really about governance and using policy tools available.

What the objectors fail to mention is that this policy tool is already in place and being used to overtly money finance all spending. The spending that is deemed needed by the ruling class, that is, tax cuts and military spending that supports US and Western interests globally, is liberally funded with a tax offset. But social  spending is regarded as "wasteful" and economically "distorting" from this vantage, so the degree to which it is admissible it is to be based on pay-go or spending cuts elsewhere, tax increases being impermissible as "stunting growth." Of course, military spending cannot be cut in this view, since it is necessary for "national security."

Bond Economics
The "Noble Lie" Critique Of MMT
Brian Romanchuk

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