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About Stephanie Kelton
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Blog postWhen I was the chief economist to the Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee in 2015-2016, I attended a number of hearings, all called by its chairman, Republican Senator Mike Enzi of Wyoming. He would invariably open with prepared remarks that included his observation that deficits are evidence of “chronic overspending.”
Democrats just as invariably would attack Republicans like Enzi for voting for the December 2017 tax cut, calling it was a boon for the rich that produced a “short2 years ago Read more -
Blog postA couple of weeks ago, Paul Krugman decided to write about modern monetary theory. He didn’t cite the scholarly literature written by any of the academic MMT economists (books, book chapters, published articles or an abundance of other writings).
Instead, he declared that MMT was pretty much just the economist Abba Lerner’s “Functional Finance” approach from the 1940s and offered a critique of Lerner that he maintained was effectively a cr2 years ago Read more -
Blog postThere is a doctrine among mainstream economists holding that: (1) government deficits push interest rates higher and (2) rising interest rates crowd out private investment. The government can take more of the economy’s financial resources, but only at the expense of lost private investment. This means that running budget deficits has at least some downside.
Paul Krugman is a believer in this doctrine. I’m not, and he’s asked me to explain why. He is responding to a colu2 years ago Read more -
Blog postPaul Krugman first wrote about modern monetary theory on March 25, 2011. He last wrote about MMT in a two-part series on February 12–13, 2019. Although he’s had almost a decade to come to terms with the approach, he is still getting some of the basic ideas wrong.
This matters for two reasons: one, because people listen to Paul Krugman, who won the Nobel economics prize in 2008, and, two, because the approach he is discussing is at the heart of how to design economic pol2 years ago Read more -
Blog postA friend sent me an email the other day, complaining about the 70 percent marginal tax rate floated by Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the new wealth tax proposed by Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren.
Ocasio-Cortez first mentioned the 70 percent rate in response to a question from CNN’s Anderson Cooper about how she proposes to pay for programs like a Green New Deal that could cost trillions of dollars. Higher tax rates, she sugge2 years ago Read more -
Blog postWhen Republicans passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, they knew it was projected to add $1.5 trillion to budget deficits over the next 10 years. They did it anyway.
Many Democrats pointed out the hypocrisy of the GOP embracing budget deficits after purporting to decry them for so many years under President Barack Obama. Others warned that driving up the deficit was all part of a calculated plan to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
How are the Re2 years ago Read more -
Blog postIt’s not too soon to think about what the Democrats might do about the Republican tax cuts if they eventually win back power, maybe as early as 2020.
President Donald Trump thinks he knows the answer. He told voters at a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, that their gains from the cuts would be in jeopardy if the Democrats had their way. They “will try to erase every single thing that we’ve achieved,” he warned.
Is he right?
Recently, I’ve been writing about the2 years ago Read more -
Blog postThere is mounting evidence that the escalation of student debt in the United States is an impediment to both household financial stability and aggregate consumption and investment. The increasing demand for college credentials coupled with rising costs of attendance have led more students than ever before to take on student loans, with higher average balances. This debt burden reduces household disposable income and consumption and investment opportunities, with spillover effects across the e3 years ago Read more
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Blog postIn this policy note, we examine the effects of implementing a nationwide job creation program. In recent months, support for a national job guarantee has been growing rapidly, with a number of progressive organizations issuing proposals. The Levy Economics Institute has spent more than a quarter of a century researching the topic and putting forth numerous proposals. The Institute will soon be issuing a major report that will provide detailed estimates of the economic effects of a nationwide3 years ago Read more
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Blog postWith their nine-page “framework,” President Trump and congressional Republicans have turned to tax cuts in a bid to get a victory on their policy agenda. Mr. Trump has promised to deliver “the biggest tax cut in the history of our country.”
It achieved a rare feat of bipartisan agreement in Washington — worry from the left and the right about the plan’s potential to increase the deficit. Senator Charles Schumer, Democrat of New York, warned that the plan would deepen the deficit by $54 years ago Read more
The leading thinker and most visible public advocate of modern monetary theory -- the freshest and most important idea about economics in decades -- delivers a radically different, bold, new understanding for how to build a just and prosperous society.
Stephanie Kelton's brilliant exploration of modern monetary theory (MMT) dramatically changes our understanding of how we can best deal with crucial issues ranging from poverty and inequality to creating jobs, expanding health care coverage, climate change, and building resilient infrastructure. Any ambitious proposal, however, inevitably runs into the buzz saw of how to find the money to pay for it, rooted in myths about deficits that are hobbling us as a country.
Kelton busts through the myths that prevent us from taking action: that the federal government should budget like a household, that deficits will harm the next generation, crowd out private investment, and undermine long-term growth, and that entitlements are propelling us toward a grave fiscal crisis.
MMT, as Kelton shows, shifts the terrain from narrow budgetary questions to one of broader economic and social benefits. With its important new ways of understanding money, taxes, and the critical role of deficit spending, MMT redefines how to responsibly use our resources so that we can maximize our potential as a society. MMT gives us the power to imagine a new politics and a new economy and move from a narrative of scarcity to one of opportunity.
UN GIRO COPERNICANO:
LA APORTACIÓN MÁS AUDAZ, RELEVANTE Y POLÉMICA DE LOS ÚLTIMOS TIEMPOS AL DEBATE ECONÓMICO.
«Una fuente indispensable de claridad moral. Las herramientas que necesitamos desesperadamente para construir un futuro seguro para todos. Léanlo, y denle uso.»
NAOMI KLEIN
El déficit importa, pero no de la manera en que nos han enseñado a pensar.
Sostener la sanidad pública, crear puestos de trabajo, dotarnos de infraestructuras modernas, luchar contra la desigualdad, prevenir el apocalipsis climático..., cualquier objetivo ambicioso inevitablemente se topa con la queja de cómo encontrar el dinero para financiar esos proyectos, enraizada en una serie de mitos sobre el déficit que nos obstaculizan de manera sistemática.
Basándose en las ideas de la teoría monetaria moderna (TMM), un nuevo enfoque de laeconomía que ha tomado al mundo por sorpresa, Stephanie Kelton, una de las principales voces de esta corriente, articula una argumentación rigurosa, accesible y convincente en contra de la visión ortodoxa de las finanzas públicas, que asume erróneamente que los gobiernos deben elaborar sus presupuestos como quien administra un hogar, que el déficit perjudicará a las siguientes generaciones y desplazará la inversión privada, o que los subsidios llevarán a una grave crisis fiscal.
Frente a eso, Kelton propone una forma novedosa de entender el dinero, los impuestos y el papel crucial del déficit presupuestario, así como el modo en que podemos usar los recursos de manera responsable para maximizar nuestro potencial.
La crítica ha dicho:
«En un mundo de crisis épicas y encadenadas, Kelton es una fuente indispensable de claridad moral. Las herramientas que necesitamos desesperadamente para construir un futuro seguro para todos. Léanlo, y denle uso.»
Naomi Klein
«Revolucionario, riguroso y entretenido. Nunca volverán a pensar en el presupuesto público como quien maneja su economía doméstica. ¡Léanlo!»
Mariana Mazzucato
«Claro y directo, tiene en cuenta en todo momento al lector profano. Esta explicación exhaustiva y lúcida de esta teoría que tanto ruido está haciendo será muy bien recibida por los progresistas.»
Publishers Weekly
«Kelton derriba de manera convincente la creencia según la cual el déficit presupuestario es malo. Argumenta que la incapacidad para proveer a los ciudadanos no se debe a la falta de dinero sino de voluntad política.»
The New York Times
«Una de las más destacadas economistas de nuestro país, que está luchando a favor de una economía que funcione para todos y no solo para unos pocos.»
Bernie Sanders
«Kelton provoca una serie de heréticos cuestionamientos esenciales para el mundo pos-Covid, en el que habrá que reconfigurar el panteón de los dioses económicos.»
The Guardian
«Kelton da en el clavo: un sector público amplio y activo es hoy más necesario que nunca, y el miedo infundado a la deuda pública es la razón por la que no lo tenemos aún. Un libro revelador y accesible que desempeña un importante servicio público.
Dopo anni di supremazia incontrastata, la teoria economica dominante è oggi seriamente minacciata da una nuova e controversa scuola di pensiero che sta rapidamente conquistando il mondo intero, rivoluzionando il nostro modo di concepire l’economia. Si tratta della cosiddetta “teoria monetaria moderna” o MMT (Modern Monetary Theory). La MMT ci invita a ripensare completamente il funzionamento della finanza pubblica: il bilancio dello Stato non è come quello di una famiglia; gli Stati che dispongono della sovranità monetaria, infatti, sono degli emittenti di valuta – possono, cioè, creare “dal nulla” tutto il denaro che vogliono – e dunque non possono mai “finire i soldi”, né possono essere costretti a fare default sui loro titoli di debito; i deficit pubblici non danneggiano le future generazioni né pregiudicano la crescita a lungo termine; e soprattutto, le politiche sociali non compromettono la sostenibilità fiscale dello Stato. La MMT, in altre parole, ribalta completamente la narrazione che ci è stata ossessivamente propinata in questi anni per giustificare politiche di austerità dai devastanti effetti economici e sociali. E per questo fa così paura ai guardiani dell’ortodossia. Stephanie Kelton – economista statunitense di fama mondiale, consulente economico di Joe Biden e Bernie Sanders, ed ex economista capo presso la minoranza democratica della Commissione bilancio del Senato statunitense – è probabilmente la divulgatrice più nota della MMT. In questo libro Kelton offre un’introduzione semplice e accessibile ai concetti chiave della MMT, mostrandoci come possiamo utilizzarli per costruire una società più giusta e più prospera, passando da una narrazione di scarsità a una di opportunità. Il mito del deficit rappresenta anche un fondamentale contributo al dibattito europeo, permettendoci di comprendere appieno i problemi derivanti dall’aver rinunciato alla sovranità monetaria attraverso l’adesione alla moneta unica europea.
«Quello di Kelton è, molto semplicemente, il libro più importante che abbia mai letto. Il genio di Kelton è pari a quello di da Vinci e di Copernico, pensatori eretici che ribaltarono le teorie dominanti del loro tempo. Kelton fa lo stesso con l’economia moderna».
David Cay Johnston, vincitore del Premio Pulitzer
«Il libro rivoluzionario di Kelton è sia teoricamente rigoroso che empiricamente divertente. Ci ricorda che il denaro non è scarso e che l’unico limite è la nostra immaginazione. Dopo averlo letto non assocerete mai più il bilancio di uno Stato a quello di una famiglia».
Mariana Mazzucato
«In un mondo afflitto da numerose crisi sistemiche, Stephanie Kelton rappresenta una fonte indispensabile di chiarezza morale. Che siate interessati alla MMT, o semplicemente curiosi di saperne di più, le verità che insegna questo libro sulla moneta, sul debito e sul deficit ci offrono gli strumenti di cui abbiamo un disperato bisogno per costruire un futuro sicuro per tutti. Leggetelo – e poi mettetelo in pratica».
Naomi Klein
«Chiaro, avvincente, sbalorditivo e convincente! Il libro smonta pezzo per pezzo tutti i miti dell’economia neoliberale, mostrandoci come ci abbia impoverito tutti e come possiamo costruire un mondo migliore basato su idee migliori».
James K.