John Aziz — What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

John doesn't mention Tepper, but the profile fits. That's three in agreement, Mike, John, and me. Is Tepper talking his book, or does he know something we don't?

Azizonomics
What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
John Aziz

John Aziz — Why Modern Monetary Theory is Wrong About Government Debt

I’ve taken some criticism — particularly from advocates of modern monetary theory and sectoral balances and all that — for using total debt rather than just private debt in my work....

Governments controlling their own currencies are likely to continue to defy the prescriptions of the modern monetary theorists for years to come. And that means that expansionary increases in government debt relative to the underlying economy will continue to be a prelude to contractionary deleveraging, just as is the case with the private sector. All debt matters.

azizonomics
Why Modern Monetary Theory is Wrong About Government Debt

John Aziz

Basically an Austrian view, but interesting in that John Aziz has taken the time to read up on MMT and sectoral balances. The post doesn't say anything new of note, but it's interesting as a summary of a trader's take on MMT. 

What is interesting is that he admits that governments that are currency sovereigns can fund their debt through the central bank, but he claims they don't lest they undermine the value of the currency. And even if they do, Japan's massive national debt shows it just transfers to the public sector private debt from previous over-leveraging, which only postpones the deleveraging that it will take to get the economy going again.

While John Aziz regularly contributes to Zero Hedge, his criticism is not the usual ranting that appears there. It's thoughtful and worth a read.