MMT

Revealing article. MMT is generally embraced by reformists who think they’ve found a theoretical justification for their programme of unlimited spending on reforms (they think MMT stands for Magical Money Tree). The economist in question, Stephanie Kelton. is a top economic adviser to Bernie Saunders.

However, the theory was thought up and is financed by a capitalist who doesn’t want capitalists to pay taxes (and has found a way of not paying any himself) — according to MMT, governments don’t need to raise taxes before they can spend, therefore they don’t need to tax capitalists. This is the bit I liked, about the economist Laffer who was associated with the theory’s launch:

“Most helpful was Art Laffer, the architect of supply-side economics, whose lifework, arguing for reducing taxes on the rich, recently earned him the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Donald Trump. ”

The article mentions one view that MMT is essentially a variety of Keynesian. I think there’s a lot of truth in this, especially when MMT advocates explain, as Kelton does here, that its implementation wouldn’t lead to a Zimbabwe situation but only to a deliberately limited inflation.