Kerry Pechter — Guess What: America Is Rich

Warning: Ingestion of the contents of this column may cause symptoms of apoplexy and dyspepsia among disciples of classical macroeconomics, neo-liberalism, or 'deficit hawks' in the US Congress.
Do you still wonder where the Federal Reserve found the trillions of dollars it needed to bail out the banking industry back in 2008? Or how the nation could be “broke” but afford a massive corporate tax cut? Or how Uncle Sam could carry a $20-plus trillion national debt and still enjoy low borrowing costs?

Ten years after the financial crisis, a surprising number of people continue to brood over these questions. Seeking answers, about 400 of them gathered last weekend at the New School of Social Research in lower Manhattan for the Second International Conference of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)....

Retirement Income Journal
Guess What: America Is Rich

Kerry Pechter

Bill Mitchell – Reflections on the 2nd International MMT Conference – Part 2

Part 1 continued from yesterday.

Bill Mitchell – billy blog
Reflections on the 2nd International MMT Conference – Part 2
Bill Mitchell | Professor in Economics and Director of the Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE), at University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Bill Mitchell — Reflections on the 2nd International MMT Conference – Part 1

I have very little free time today. I am now in Dublin and am travelling to Galway soon for tonight’s event (see below). Last evening I met with some Irish politicians at the Irish Parliament and had some interesting conversations. I will reflect on the interactions I have had so far in Ireland in a later blog post.

But today (and next time I post) I plan to reflect briefly on my thoughts about the Second International Modern Monetary Theory which was held last weekend in New York City. Around 400 participants were in attendance, which by any mark represents tremendous progress. The feeling of the gathering was one of optimism, enthusiasm and, one might say without to much license, boundless energy. So a big stride given where we have come from.

Having said that, I had mixed reactions to the different sessions and the informal conversations I had over the three-day period, which might serve as a cautionary warning not to get to far ahead of ourselves. This blog post is Part 1 of my collection of some of those thoughts. They reflect, to some extent, the closing comments I made on the last panel last Sunday.

Here are some reflections ordered in the way I discussed them in my contribution to the closing panel last Sunday at the MMT Conference in New York City.
I hope that these comments are taking in the right spirit.…

[Paragraphing added.]

Bill Mitchell – billy blog
Reflections on the 2nd International MMT Conference – Part 1
Bill Mitchell | Professor in Economics and Director of the Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE), at University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia