Randy Mandell: Green Economics for a New Era
Channel: Ed Mays
Date: 2021-01-21

Conservative politicians always cry bloody tears about the deficit every time discussions of policies that help the 99% such as a Green New Deal, Medicare for All, free collage tuition, or a government jobs guarantee, come up.  But for some strange reason, when it’s time to pass $700 billion defense bills or legislation that subsidizes the filthy rich such as multi trillion dollar bank and wall street bail outs or massive tax give-aways, the question of how we are going to pay for it is never mentioned. Why is that?

Regular viewers already know the answer. This is because Randy Mandell and other experts such as Professor Fadhel Kaboub have explained it to us.  Worry about the deficit is a ruse. Congress creates money when it appropriates spending. This money doesn’t come from taxes, it’s not “borrowed” and it doesn’t have to be paid back. Taxes regulate the money supply and (theoretically) control wealth disparity.

Modern Monetary Theory explains how monetary policy actually works.  The United States came off the gold standard in 1971. Since then, we have used “modern money” which offers substantial new options that have been poorly understood by members of Congress and the media. It’s up to us to educate ourselves and our politicians and to challenge them when they persist in repeating outdated and misleading information about our money system.

However, things are looking up.  Economist/author Stephanie Kelton was the chief economic advisor to Bernie Sanders and her and Professor Kaboub have been advising the Justice Democrats and the Progressive Caucus.  In the midst of the Covid pandemic, the economic emergency, and the looming climate emergency, MMT provides the best approach to a combined effective response to all these urgent issues. This week, thanks to our friends at the Backbone Campaign, Randy is going to give us an update. 

Randy Mandell is a longtime environmental and social justice activist. He currently works on expanding our understanding of public money as an essential tool to achieving a Green New Deal, a Jobs Guarantee, and other key progressive policy objectives.

Recorded 1/18/21
See Also: 
www.backbonecampaign.org

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