Explainer: what is modern monetary theory?

There are three core statements at the heart of modern monetary theory.

 

 

1) Monetary sovereign governments face no purely financial budget constraints.

 

 

2) All economies, and all governments, face real and ecological limits relating to what can be produced and consumed.

 

3) The government’s financial deficit is everybody else’s financial surplus.

 

The Buzz Over MMT by Stephanie Kelton

 

The Rock-Star Appeal of Modern Monetary Theory
   

 “The contribution of MMT is not the discovery of new facts,” Galbraith says. “It’s a teaching core of things which are factually uncontroversial.” But its implications can be radically humane. What’s threatening to the establishment, Galbraith adds, “is that the narrative is very compelling.”

 

Warren Mosler:  A Deficit Lover With a Following

New York Times

 

(Warren has responded to the mistakes that affect him personally, and Randy Wray followed with some quick thoughts of his own.)

 

Modern Monetary Theory, an unconventional take on economic strategy

The Washington Post

 

Marginal Revolutionaries - The Economist

 

Rogues of the Dismal Science - Playboy

 

Beyond Austerity - The Nation

 

The Workers’ Think Tank - The Nation

 

Modern money and the escape from austerity  -  Renewal

 

Why Deficits Don't Matter - Advisor Perspectives

 

Stephanie Kelton:  As much as I dislike the title of this article from Advisor Perspectives, the essay itself is a good overview of the talks I’ve been giving at national, regional and chapter meetings of the Financial Planning Association (FPA) over the past year-and-a-half. .... I wanted to share the piece but only after this word of caution: I would not and did not say, “deficits don’t matter,” as you’ll discover if you read the entire piece. This is a touchy subject for MMTers, who’ve been (wrongly!) accused of taking the position that “deficits don’t matter.” Randy Wray made the MMT position crystal clear years ago, and I told Dan Jamieson the same thing when he interviewed me for a similar piece in Investment News:

 

InvestmentNews: Are MMT theorists saying deficits don’t matter?

 

Ms. Kelton: Deficits do matter, but not in the way people think

.

 

Who Are These Economists, Anyway?  James K. Galbraith

 

 

The World According to Modern Monetary Theory  -                The New Inquiry

 

Ignored for Years, a Radical Economic Theory Is Gaining Converts

         Bloomberg