Taxes Are Paid
The federal government does not collect taxes to pay for anything. It collects taxes to fulfill its Constitutional obligation.
Federal Reserve
Paying for Populism
True democracy is populism—is it not? It has always struck me as odd that “populism” is used to describe a fringe politics, motivated by grievances that are viewed as illegitimate complaining. But if the not-profit-making needs of local and regional communities are determined and addressed by a democratic, majoritarian process, isn’t that what real “populism” …
Truths and Myths of the Federal Reserve
Is the Federal Reserve an almighty-like “creature” or rather extremely limited in its essential operations? L. Randall Wray, an expert on monetary policy, answers questions with regard to the Fed and central banks in general.
The Aerodynamics of Chartalism
Critics of MMT often say, “but it’s only ‘chartalism’”—as if chartalism, itself, were a discredited explanation of reality that inherently discredits Modern Money Theory.
Bernanke’s 29 Trillion Dollar Fog of Deceit
It is certain that no government anywhere, ever, has committed so much to benefit so few.
Federal Job Guarantee: Necessary Pandemic Auto-Stabilizer
It allows us to prevent shocks to our economy that cause suffering for the 99%.
Functional Fiscalism
What I am going to imagine here is an argument that a progressive politician (for example, someone associated with a new Biden administration) could make in support of direct government spending to address a serious challenge to our collective well-being. By “direct” government spending I imply spending which is not “paid for” by garnering either …
The Problem With How We Talk About the US Debt
We have a big problem with the way the media reports on the national debt. It’s unclear if they don’t understand how federal debt works, if they intentionally write about it in the scariest way possible, or some combination of the two. Let’s start with a passage recently published by NPR: “The pandemic is taking …