Ep16 - MMT #2 - Has MMT Won the Fiscal Policy Debate?

Mentally Unscripted

Modern monetary theory may not have won the fiscal policy debate. But its promise of free money has more politicians listening.
Stephanie Kelton, the author of The Deficit Myth, appeared on Bloomberg's Odd Lots podcast. Paul and Scott were hopeful that Ms. Kelton would answer some of the questions they had about MMT coming out of their review of The Deficit Myth.
Guess what? Ms. Kelton left them disappointed.
Paul and Scott continue their discussion of MMT in this episode of Mentally Unscripted. They cover a range of topics, including:

• Whether MMT has indeed won the fiscal policy debate?
• More politicians are boarding the MMT bandwagon. But do they understand it? Or is the MMT refrain of "deficits don't matter" catnip to policy-makers who want to buy votes?
• Does MMT destroy the incentive to innovate?
• Is MMT shifting the conversation surrounding fiscal questions without solving any problems?
• Is MMT devoid of concrete steps to achieve its goals. Is the lack of a framework and objective measures a problem? "It's descriptive" and "we have to look at the situation when we get there" will only go so far.

Image by kalhh from Pixabay

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