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Can Modern Monetary Theory finally be put into the coffin? We printed barely any more in comparison to their recommendations and the economy overheated immediat

Can Modern Monetary Theory finally be put into the coffin? We printed barely any more in comparison to their recommendations and the economy overheated immediately, so much so that the democrats are likely to be swept in 2022. Stephanie Kelton, the major figurehead of the money printing theory, has been totally silent. I heard her on NPR repeatedly: https://www.npr.org/2021/01/20/958854717/modern-monetary-theory-classic https://www.npr.org/2021/01/20/958854717/modern-monetary-the... https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2020/09/02/rethinking-americas-deficit-myth-with-economist-stephanie-kelton https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2020/09/02/rethinking-americas-...

anonuser123456 5y ago
In MMT when you print too much money, you contract the money supply through taxation. What do you think the Biden admin has been working hard on?
- postingawayonhn 5y ago
  That's much harder to sell politically.
- brendoelfrendo 5y ago
  Hm, I’m not versed on MMT to know much about this particular mechanism, but it seems like it would be foolish to make the pressure relief valve for your monetary policy something that is subject to approval by Congress.
- roenxi 5y ago
  A strategy of first triggering high inflation then raising taxes may literally cause riots. It would have been a better strategy if, at some point in the last decade, the powers that be had stopped printing money and let some bankers go broke. Now that we're discovering (again) that printing money doesn't help there is a painfully transparent history of handouts to the wealthy, making it hard to justify politically why everyone else can't get in on the lurk.
  - anonuser123456 5y ago
    Depends on who you tax. Tax the rich and tax them on their assets and you can float your treasury for a while… long enough to make an equitably poor society.
  - worrycue 5y ago
    > It would have been a better strategy if, at some point in the last decade, the powers that be had stopped printing money and let some bankers go broke. If you are talking about 2008's TARP, the US gov actually turned a profit from that as the bailout was mostly in the form of loans (with interest) and investment (the US gov now own shares in your company). https://projects.propublica.org/bailout/ https://projects.propublica.org/bailout/
    - roenxi 5y ago
      No, I'm referring to the money supply increasing much more quickly than wages are. Someone is creating money and handing it out to asset owners. It is difficult to argue against creating money and handing it out to everyone with that sort of history. Asset owners aren't special people.
    - dannyw 5y ago
      I can make a profit from investing in organised crime, but that doesn't mean its a good thing.
ZoomerCretin 5y ago
I'm astounded that our media was able to convince you (and a huge proportion of Americans!) that our booming economy is actually bad. I'm curious to know why you think an "overheated" economy is anything but good for the 99%.
- seibelj 5y ago
  If the economy grows 2%, wages grow 2%, but inflation is 5%, this means people are losing money in real terms. This is stagflation.
  - ZoomerCretin 5y ago
    The economy is expected to grow 5.1% this year, not 2%. Wage growth is rising at an annualized rate of 4.3%, not 2%. Inflation is heavily concentrated in a just a few industries (Automobiles, travel, home renovation). People don't buy cars every year. People don't renovate their home every year. Travel isn't exactly a plurality expense. Yes, the economy is booming, and wages are rising. Your purchasing power isn't lower unless you HAVE to buy some of the goods and services growing faster than your wages, which given the categories of items experiencing above-average price increases, is a huge proportion of the population.

anonuser123456 5y ago

In MMT when you print too much money, you contract the money supply through taxation. What do you think the Biden admin has been working hard on?

postingawayonhn 5y ago
That's much harder to sell politically.
brendoelfrendo 5y ago
Hm, I’m not versed on MMT to know much about this particular mechanism, but it seems like it would be foolish to make the pressure relief valve for your monetary policy something that is subject to approval by Congress.
roenxi 5y ago
A strategy of first triggering high inflation then raising taxes may literally cause riots. It would have been a better strategy if, at some point in the last decade, the powers that be had stopped printing money and let some bankers go broke. Now that we're discovering (again) that printing money doesn't help there is a painfully transparent history of handouts to the wealthy, making it hard to justify politically why everyone else can't get in on the lurk.
- anonuser123456 5y ago
  Depends on who you tax. Tax the rich and tax them on their assets and you can float your treasury for a while… long enough to make an equitably poor society.
- worrycue 5y ago
  > It would have been a better strategy if, at some point in the last decade, the powers that be had stopped printing money and let some bankers go broke. If you are talking about 2008's TARP, the US gov actually turned a profit from that as the bailout was mostly in the form of loans (with interest) and investment (the US gov now own shares in your company). https://projects.propublica.org/bailout/ https://projects.propublica.org/bailout/
  - roenxi 5y ago
    No, I'm referring to the money supply increasing much more quickly than wages are. Someone is creating money and handing it out to asset owners. It is difficult to argue against creating money and handing it out to everyone with that sort of history. Asset owners aren't special people.
  - dannyw 5y ago
    I can make a profit from investing in organised crime, but that doesn't mean its a good thing.

ZoomerCretin 5y ago

I'm astounded that our media was able to convince you (and a huge proportion of Americans!) that our booming economy is actually bad. I'm curious to know why you think an "overheated" economy is anything but good for the 99%.

seibelj 5y ago
If the economy grows 2%, wages grow 2%, but inflation is 5%, this means people are losing money in real terms. This is stagflation.
- ZoomerCretin 5y ago
  The economy is expected to grow 5.1% this year, not 2%. Wage growth is rising at an annualized rate of 4.3%, not 2%. Inflation is heavily concentrated in a just a few industries (Automobiles, travel, home renovation). People don't buy cars every year. People don't renovate their home every year. Travel isn't exactly a plurality expense. Yes, the economy is booming, and wages are rising. Your purchasing power isn't lower unless you HAVE to buy some of the goods and services growing faster than your wages, which given the categories of items experiencing above-average price increases, is a huge proportion of the population.