Blog-Reference and Blog-Reference
Economists are known to have dabbled in virtually every discipline: psychology, sociology, political sciences, geopolitics, law, history, anthropology, social philosophy, philosophy, theology, pedagogic, biology/evolution, art, literature, and whatnot. This somewhat perverse habit has been called Economics Imperialism.#1, #2, #3 The perversity consists of the fact that economists have utterly failed in their own discipline. Since Adam Smith, economics has not risen above the proto-scientific level.#4 Economists do not know to this day how the monetary economy works.
The greatest scientific losers cannot hold their mouths when genuine scientists are solving real-world problems. This is something, economists have never done, just the opposite. As Napoleon summarized: “… he had always believed that if an empire were made of granite the ideas of economists if listened to, would suffice to reduce it to dust.” (Viner)#5
History seems to repeat itself. Bill Mitchell quotes an article in the latest edition of Science#6: “The authors note at the outset that: Photosynthetic carbon capture by trees is likely to be among our most effective strategies to limit the rise of CO2 concentrations across the globe.” and “The restoration of trees remains among the most effective strategies for climate change mitigation.” and “We could restore 1tn trees for $300bn”.
Now, Bill Mitchell chimes in with good advice: “Clearly tree planting is not rocket science and the skills necessary to undertake these reafforestation projects would be within the reach of most workers. A progressive editor or commentator should never be questioning how we can pay for a tree planting project. They should be lobbying at every chance governments to end their ‘sound finance’ mindsets.”
A progressive editor would simply propose to shift the government’s budget from military spending to reforestation. The problem is NOT budget-balancing a.k.a. sound finance but budget allocation which is long-known in economics under the old slogan guns vs butter. The USA can very easily save the environment and improve social conditions by reallocating the given budget.#7, #8 This, however, is NOT what “progressive” MMTers propose. Instead, they propose to increase deficit-spending/money-creation.
Accordingly, Bill Mitchell does not talk about reallocation of a given budget but prophylactically mows down all budget balancers: “The neoliberals continually drown the populace in a swathe of austerity myths:
- The government has run out of money.
- Deficits will drive up interest rates.
- Deficits will cause hyperinflation.
- Deficits will rack up unsustainable debts on our grandchildren.
- Bond markets will punish governments who run continuous deficits.
- Deficits undermine growth because the private sector thwarts its intent by increasing saving to pay for higher implied taxes in the future.
- Direct job creation creates unreal jobs that are worthless.
- A Job Guarantee would undermine the capacity of private employers to attract labor and drive down productivity.
- ETC, the list goes on.
Bill Mitchell never talks about the profit effect of deficit-spending/money-creation. The macroeconomic Profit Law, i.e. Q≡Yd+(I−S)+(G−T)+(X−M), tells everyone that Public Deficit = Private Profit and that MMT is a free-lunch program for the Oligarchy and that private financial wealth and public debt grow in lockstep and that fabulous financial wealth in the USA is roughly equal to humongous public debt (22 trillion and counting).#9, #10
MMT is NOT a scientific theory but a dishonest political farce. MMTers are not Friends-of-the-People but the useful idiots of Wall Street.
Egmont Kakarot-Handtke
#1 “Economics imperialism in contemporary economics is the economic analysis of seemingly non-economic aspects of life, such as crime, law, the family, prejudice, tastes, irrational behavior, politics, sociology, culture, religion, war, science, and research.” (Wikipedia)
#2 Economists: Jacks-of-all-trades ― except economics
#3 Overreach: Economists have their fingers in every pie except real economics
#4 Economics: The greatest scientific hoax in modern times
#5 Econogenics in action
#6 Science The global tree restoration potential
#7 MMT and the Green New Deal: Where is the snag? (II)
#8 MMT and the Green New Deal: Where is the snag? (I)
#9 Is MMT good for WeThePeople or for the Oligarchy?
10 What comes first: eco-self-destruction or oeco-self-destruction?
Related 'Schizonomics' and 'Why the MMT benefactors of humanity never talk about profit' and 'How to spot economics trolls' and 'MMT: A new myth for WeThePeople' and 'MMT’s true program' and 'No MMT illusions! YOU are going to pay for it' and 'Links on Austerity' and 'Deficit-spending/money-creation is ALWAYS a bad deal for WeThePeople' and 'How counterfeiters save America with an extra profit and make WeThePeople pay for it' and 'Just one more day: How deficit-spending delays the breakdown of Capitalism'.