MMTers would fight inflation with fiscal austerity
Not long ago, policymakers like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were enamored of something called Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). This theory starts with a banal observation — that a government that issues the currency its debts are denominated in need never (technically) go bankrupt — and, on that basis, argues that we don’t need to worry about the […]
Monetary Policy and that Old-Time Fiscal Religion
The ongoing debt-ceiling debate has brought concerns about the sustainability of US fiscal policy to the forefront of public discussion once again. While it may be tempting to blame current budgetary problems on the federal government’s pandemic spending spree, the problems are much more fundamental. They stem from the widespread belief that the federal government […]