Nice compliments from the host. But they all bring up a legitimate concern. Are we really going to trust Congress to get the spending just right at the appropriate time to deal with inflation/unemployment/deflation. (See: Congress right now.)
The solution is added Automatic Stabilizers. The Job Gty is a great such tool. Which will probably do the trick. But to get skeptics on board I recommend that MMT folks add another policy recommendation to deal with inflation: The Automatic Tax Adjustment tool. (ATA?)
The Job Gty/Green New Deal law should include AUTOMATIC across-the-board tax increases - collected monthly that kick in when certain monthly wage inflation targets are hit-say for 6 months in a row. These can include:
a) Income Taxes,
b) Sales/VAT Taxes
c) Asset Value (or Wealth) Taxes
That'll cool things off pronto.
Tax rates will then decline in real time as inflation cools off. The key is to have them legislated AHEAD of time and kick in AUTOMATICALLY.
Cuts in spending can also be part of the response if needed.
Stephanie repeatedly mentioned risk to inflation, but maybe next time might it help better to also include the why? — that spending in areas with not enough productive capacity and available resources could lead to inflation? I suggest this because unfortunately there are still many folks who believe just having more money in the economy ("printing") is in itself inflationary, which is wrong. The real culprit of the inflation risk from spending too much in one sector is bumping up against limited productive capacity and available resources, which I learned from Stephanie :)
The suggestion that the CBO should estimate inflation risk seems reasonable. What would it take to get legislation directing them to do so in addition to the estimates that they currently make?
I don't think Stephanie ever answered Mike McKee's question about a limit on fiscal spending when "all the money is going into debt payment." (@2:11:xx). At least she did not respond directly to it. Those of us who are familiar with MMT think McKee's question is beside the point; nevertheless I would have been happier if she had taken it head on for the benefit of those who either are not familiar with MMT or believe it is unrealistic.
MMT. The crazed Progressive’s love it. They and you now have debt payments of over a trillion a year. And skyrocketing Prices are up nearly 20%, and our crazed spending is not generating returns that will close the gap in our ever widening budget deficit. And you cheer it on like a Soviet apparatchik.
I saw the tweet Nikki Haley put out there yesterday about the national debt becoming a burden to children and future generations and all I can do was laugh. I didn't know US treasuries which are a safe haven asset and generate interest income that benefit rich people would be such a burden. One of the biggest if not the biggest problems in America today is lack of understanding as to how government deficits work. It does happen to be one of the best kept secrets in America, its too bad that bad faith actors would rather choose austerity than grow the real economy.
Talking MMT with Tom Keene
Can you provide a link to the Bloomberg recording?
Nice compliments from the host. But they all bring up a legitimate concern. Are we really going to trust Congress to get the spending just right at the appropriate time to deal with inflation/unemployment/deflation. (See: Congress right now.)
The solution is added Automatic Stabilizers. The Job Gty is a great such tool. Which will probably do the trick. But to get skeptics on board I recommend that MMT folks add another policy recommendation to deal with inflation: The Automatic Tax Adjustment tool. (ATA?)
The Job Gty/Green New Deal law should include AUTOMATIC across-the-board tax increases - collected monthly that kick in when certain monthly wage inflation targets are hit-say for 6 months in a row. These can include:
a) Income Taxes,
b) Sales/VAT Taxes
c) Asset Value (or Wealth) Taxes
That'll cool things off pronto.
Tax rates will then decline in real time as inflation cools off. The key is to have them legislated AHEAD of time and kick in AUTOMATICALLY.
Cuts in spending can also be part of the response if needed.
Brilliant stuff
Stephanie repeatedly mentioned risk to inflation, but maybe next time might it help better to also include the why? — that spending in areas with not enough productive capacity and available resources could lead to inflation? I suggest this because unfortunately there are still many folks who believe just having more money in the economy ("printing") is in itself inflationary, which is wrong. The real culprit of the inflation risk from spending too much in one sector is bumping up against limited productive capacity and available resources, which I learned from Stephanie :)
The suggestion that the CBO should estimate inflation risk seems reasonable. What would it take to get legislation directing them to do so in addition to the estimates that they currently make?
I don't think Stephanie ever answered Mike McKee's question about a limit on fiscal spending when "all the money is going into debt payment." (@2:11:xx). At least she did not respond directly to it. Those of us who are familiar with MMT think McKee's question is beside the point; nevertheless I would have been happier if she had taken it head on for the benefit of those who either are not familiar with MMT or believe it is unrealistic.
“Can we trust congress?” Why do they hate democracy?
MMT. The crazed Progressive’s love it. They and you now have debt payments of over a trillion a year. And skyrocketing Prices are up nearly 20%, and our crazed spending is not generating returns that will close the gap in our ever widening budget deficit. And you cheer it on like a Soviet apparatchik.
I saw the tweet Nikki Haley put out there yesterday about the national debt becoming a burden to children and future generations and all I can do was laugh. I didn't know US treasuries which are a safe haven asset and generate interest income that benefit rich people would be such a burden. One of the biggest if not the biggest problems in America today is lack of understanding as to how government deficits work. It does happen to be one of the best kept secrets in America, its too bad that bad faith actors would rather choose austerity than grow the real economy.
*legislative branch*