CNBC video above published Mar 4, 2019: Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) is gaining traction in American politics, energizing the progressive left and roiling deficit hawks. Stephanie Kelton, who advised Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign, explains the basics.
2020 Election: She says Democrat presidential hopefuls are swinging for the fences with ambitious policy proposals while Trump appears to have changed his thinking on the deficit and debt since his 2016 run. On headwinds facing the economy, Kelton says she sees an "extraordinarily resilient" U.S. economy despite a "real" global slowdown and a small chance of additional rate hikes from the Fed.
Stephanie Kelton is a proponent of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), the economic rational cited by rising political stars like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez D-N.Y. She is currently a professor of public policy and economics at Stony Brook University. Previously, she served as chief economist for the Democrats on the U.S. Senate Budget Committee and was a senior economic advisor to Bernie Sanders ' 2016 presidential campaign.
Editor's note: key questions: what is your definition of "full employment"? What political system has the necessary discipline to apply the constraints required for an effective long-term MMT policy?
See also:
- Paul Krugman Asked Me About Modern Monetary Theory. Here Are 4 Answers. Deficit levels, interest rates and the tradeoff between fiscal and monetary policy, by Stephanie Kelton, March 1, 2019--bloomberg.com
- The left’s embrace of modern monetary theory is a recipe for disaster by Larry Summers--WashingtonPost.com.
- Modern Monetary Nonsense, Mar 4, 2019, by Kenneth Rogoff: "... Contrary to widespread opinion, the US central bank is not an independent financial entity: the [U.S.] government owns it lock, stock, and barrel. Unfortunately, the Fed itself is responsible for a good deal of the confusion surrounding the use of its balance sheet. In the years following the 2008 financial crisis, the Fed engaged in massive “quantitative easing” (QE), whereby it bought up very long-term government debt in exchange for bank reserves, and tried to convince the American public that this magically stimulated the economy. QE, when it consists simply of buying government bonds, is smoke and mirrors ..."--project-syndicate.org.
- Running on MMT (Wonkish)--Trying to get this debate beyond Calvinball by Paul Krugman--NYTimes.com.
- Modern Monetary Theory Isn’t Helping--jacobinmag.com