Richard D. Wolff

The guy below comments something about “quantitative easing”. MMT does not support quantitative easing. It does explain how quantitative easing is just a monetary policy liquidity shuffle. It does explain the difference between fiscal policy and monetary policy.

MMT is heterodox economics. It is merely a description of currency analysis grounded in truth. It is macroeconomics from the top-down federal level.

Prof. Wolff’s solution is really just a (yes, beautiful, wonderful) business model.

It’s too bad to hear that he is considered a “liability” because he doesn’t recognize the value in monetary sovereignty – and perpetuates the myth that taxes fund ANYTHING at federal level.

Because of his great work, I doubt he’ll go the way of the dodo. Maybe more of a one-trick-pony or something.

It would be interesting to hear what Stephanie Kelton, Bill Mitchell, L. Randal “Randy” Wray and Warren Mosler might have to say. I’m sure they’d be warm and collegial, and stuff.

But I know what MMT evangelist Steven D. Grumbine says. He says Richard Wolff is a really nice guy but has bad economics. He doesn’t respect monetary sovereignty and that taxes don’t fund spending (at the federal level): so he’s a liability.

A federal government’s budget is not the same as a household budget. It’s counter-intuitive because the federal government is where the dollar is born and dies when it’s taxed. That’s how we control inflation. That’s what the bumpy 1970’s were about when we went off the gold standard, and now officially have a fiat currency as of 1971.

It’s counterproductive to not embrace MMT – and not truly fully help the people of Greece – and all the country’s of world as well as humanly possible – because MMT is universal. In fact, I wouldn’t just call it counterproductive: I’d call it inhumane.

The honorable, respectable, and dare I say likeable Professor emeritus Richard Wolff’s 2012 manifesto “Democracy at Work: a Cure for Capitalism” is perhaps as beautiful as Mondragon, itself.

And:

It is – and will always be perhaps the surest, soundest way to structure a worker-owned, democratically-run “co-op” – or as he puts it: a Worker Self-Directed Enterprise (WSDE). It will ALWAYS be the best bottom-up cure for capitalism there is, in my opinion.

And:

Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) is merely as accurate as possible an observation on how money works from the top-down Federal level – where money – in a monetarily sovereign nation – is created by congress (Article 1 Section 8 US Constitution) and deleted by Federal taxes.

So: 1). Any and every country’s monetary sovereignty is of utmost primacy.

2). Federal taxes don’t fund spending.

3). In my opinion, dear Professor: this completes the circle.

Please help us. We need you!

I think this is important largely because Sanders’ former economic advisor, Stephanie Kelton, is, along with Wray, a proponent of MMT. A significantly problem with MMT, at least in my view, is that it largely fails to account for the importance of production in facilitating economic growth and equitable distribution. Like much of modern, i.e. post classical political economy, economic theory it focuses almost entirely on exchange. Since the 2008 crisis, for example, QE has done little for the vast majority of Americans, which is the closest empirical example of MMT-like policy applied to our current political economy. Anyway, my humble opinion.