Paul Mason has written an article in the ‘New Statesman’ on the Green New Deal (American style) and concludes: So the best thing for the US left to do would be to issue a new FAQ explaining, in detail, how to pay for the Green New Deal. The British Labour Party, which issued its own,… Read more
Category:
Money
No historical justification for the Job Guarantee
When Warren Mosler opines here that where government first spends into the economy it is employing all the people who receive its money, as it is spending into the economy because it wants something in return, it seems plausible. He suggests that government expenditure amounts to employment and sometimes – at least, if one takes… Read more
Rates of Interest
Do you agree that higher interest rates will reduce demand and output/employment? Simon Wren-Lewis asked in this recent twitter feed. (Itself a rich source of all sorts of education!) I replied perhaps, possibly. And I’m beginning to wonder if even that was much too certain…. For a start, since the interest rate on my credit… Read more
Bernard Lietaer RIP
Bernard Lietaer,the most famous Belgian of whom you’ve never heard, has died at the young age of 77. He was the original economist who dared to talk about money, having been warned by Paul Krugman that talking about money would impede his career development, which was almost definitely correct. But when, as the Belgian Central Bank’s… Read more
Parallel currencies can also be powerful
I think most can agree that in order to properly function any state requires a system of defence and of justice. Considering the modern state perhaps we should add that it also needs to have the right to create its own currency. We know that creating a currency for public purpose requires just two conditions:… Read more
MMT as nonsense economics – or not
The first point—that (fiat) money is ultimately a governmental construct in modern capitalist economies, and central banks can indeed produce as much of it as they want—is not news…. is the promising way Jonathan Portes kicks off his argument in ‘Prospect’ against Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), which he calls ‘Nonsense Economics’. He continues: a sovereign… Read more
Anyone for prestige gilts?
There is an interesting article in the New Statesman by Ann Pettifor where she indicates that currencies are made stronger by the taxpayer. She appears to share her view with Thomas Edison: If the Government issues bonds, the brokers will sell them. The bonds will be negotiable; they will be considered as gilt-edged paper. Why?… Read more
Government choices never need to be funded
When money is used to represent resources knowledge of how it is created is a democratic imperative. When people do not understand that there is no trickle down but a lot of hoovering up and that privatisation allows a small number of people to extract – in effect – rents from everyone else rather than… Read more
Even the FT is gradually acknowledging where money comes from
There is an interesting letter published in the FT of 15 January from a Gary Prosser of Bristol: Martin Wolf argues in “How the UK can finance the rising burden of public spending” (January 10) that “the country will have to raise taxes . . . impossible to do without courage, both intellectual and political”…. Read more
Counter-cyclical Job Guarantee or Universal Basic Income as An Economic Stabliser?
A very interesting recent post from Ivan Horrocks leads me to think a Job Guarantee is clearly possible, but it seems to me to be particularly suited for school leavers. For those worried about the country’s lack of work ethic, who, anecdotally at least, so often seem themselves to be in financial services or property… Read more