I use the term loosely. Kind of like Mr Burns in the Simpsons. But bailouts are very communist in nature - it is against the idea of laisse faire capitalism. And bailing out commie foreign investors is pretty wrong, IMO.
Fundamentally wrong agree. But it's all about power, national security and sovereign risk now. Sure they could let it all collapse and we could find ourselves in 'free market utopia', but that utopia could just as quickly fuck up the country to the point where destabilisation takes down the whole system throwing opening the door to hostile nations swooping in for the death blow. We're dragging it out until the inevitable war. I would say they're (we're) too far fucked and they'll just have to manage the disaster by any means necessary to preserve the fabric of society and facilitate some cohesion that allows us to fight for a common cause and hope that free market prevails somewhere down the line like a phoenix from the ashes..
Free market Utopia is not what I would call it, in a free market, there are no free lunches and bailouts, and the inefficient will suffer, but the strong will flourish. The problem with MMT is that for about 40 years they have propped up inefficient zombie industry, a classic free market has booms and busts that get rid of the "bad blood". But people like Greenspan decided to provide stimulus to have a "soft landing" and this was the start of all this moral hazard nonsense. During the Great Depression, they broke up the banks and took away their power, and humanity survived in the end. This is an often quoted, but quite misunderstood speech. Michael Douglas makes a strong point here about inefficient businesses and the need for parasitic, bloated businesses to be broken up. No accountability and management have no stake in the companies they manage. These board members and CEOs go from one mismanaged institution to the next. "The new law of evolution in corporate America seems to be survival of the unfittest. Well, in my book you either do it right or you get eliminated."
MMT came into existence after the gold standard was ditched, 52 years ago. https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/modern-monetary-theory
Actually it unofficially started way before that. The now FED was discussing it in the 1910s, John Keynes was discussing "MMT" ideas in the 1920s and it was unofficially implemented in the 1930s. MMT is just a blanket term that tries to better explain how our monetary systems really works, versus the BS story we are told. there are some great talks in the MMT tread. It's best to stay away from articles like the one from business insider, they overgeneralise.
In a way, yes. In that light you can see "MMT" is nothing new. Though MMT builds upon the base of fiat money and adds some "rules".
Same goes for FOX as CNN. We're Long past the point of the TV being trustworthy. They've lied so many times, if the TV told me the sky was blue i'd have to go outside and check.
The point being though; MMT & Stimulus/Bailouts etc are not in any way related. MMT is more like an "after the fact" explanation for the way the monetary system evolved after the suspension of convertibility. Have I got that right?
That's more along the lines of my understanding after listening to Warren Mosler talks. Though i know there are some people that are trying to use the name MMT and make it into something more. I think it's the latter that is causing confusion. It would be like someone watching a game of chess and then deducing the rules, vs someone creating the rules of the game.
Surely MMT can co-exist with a free market philosophy....i.e. letting weak companies fail/separating the wheat from the chaff etc can't it? Why does a Government that embraces MMT need to become involved in market movements if the impact on their monetary supply is negligible?
There are a few good examples in the US where manufacturing completely died in cities (Detroit is a good example). What's left is a husk of a city, an economic wasteland full of hopeless inbreds and addicts. Globalisation ensures that a 'great equalising' will take place, and the West will suffer. The rate at which this happens is what's controversial. The rate at which the 3rd world takes our place puts pressure on the 're-purposing' of otherwise productive communities
@heartastack I have been trying to tell people exactly that for years!!! 19th Century was Pax Britannica, 20th Century was the US Petro-dollar & for the 21st Century.... eyes should look east, both near & far, as well as to the great, populace and as yet largely unproductive continent of Africa. If Africa can get a handle on the rampant corruption & economic mismanagement, they may even just leapfrog Asia's claim in this century!
I know in WA you can't deploy fly spray in the mines without management sign off of formal SOP training. Changing a lightbulb? You better have your risk assessment approved, ladder training signed off and a supervisor observing your duties. How the FK much does that co$t in comparison? Mate told me a rogue vehicle tire rolled down a hill and cost $1M in 'tools down' time before they became operational again. As the Seth Efricans say.. GET BEK TO WERK
I'm going to apologise now in case I offend anyone with the following... Isn't that exactly what made china the powerhouse it became... Lack of over-regulation & a populace that did what they were told? This is where the West shot itself in the foot (or maybe they didn't!?!). Removing "Strongarm" leaders in Africa & The Mid East was IMO a huge mistake. People who are less than two generations after coming from tribal or feudal living respond far better to fear than political correctness & good intentions. I'm not saying Sadam etc were good leaders or that their people loved them but they presided over what we're by all accounts at least semi-productive if not fully fledged economies, what their countries have now is chaos. I think the UK & US are very quick to forget the crimes against humanity they committed on their way to becoming so called "enlightened" governments.
................and apparently we're going to build nuclear submarines here. Govt budgets always triple.
It gets murkier! French raid Paris banks in €100 billion tax fraud probe. https://www.dw.com/en/french-raid-paris-banks-in-100-billion-tax-fraud-probe/a-65151312?