On Friday 29th June, Larry Sanders chaired a talk at St Margaret's Institute given jointly by Molly Scott Cato MEP (Economics spokesperson GPEW) and Dr Steven Hail, a Modern Monetary Economics Lecturer from the University of Adelaide. This OGP event was organised by Mike Ellwood, of Abingdon Greens and was very well attended by a diverse audience, including Greens from many other regions; economics academics and even members of the Yorkshire Labour Party.
Molly talked about her success in the European Parliament with getting a bill about Financial Sustainability adopted with all party support. It should hopefully ensure that banks, etc, cannot continue acting in the irresponsible way that they have been doing for so long.
Steven explained that MMT (Modern Monetary Theory) shows that in a country like the UK which issues its own currency, taxes do not fund government spending, and the government does not need the revenue from the gilt edged securities (aka Treasury bonds) that it sells, which are actually a safe financial asset for the private sector, mainly pension funds.
All progressives need to be aware of MMT, which is a powerful tool when countering the arguments of austerity-minded conservatives (of all parties). Learn more by searching for talks and interviews with Stephanie Kelton, Randall (Randy) Wray, William (Bill) Mitchell, and Warren Mosler.
If you missed this fascinating and lively talk or want to watch it again, please do watch the video of the Cato-Hail lecture.
If you would like to hear more, Steven also recommends that people listen to this talk with Steph Kelton, former Chief Economist on the US Senate Budget Committee, and senior economic advisor to the Bernie 2016 campaign, who talks the Bernie campaign, a federal Job Guarantee, and the way conservatives and progressives both miss the point when talking about government spending.
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