We at NOTES FROM UNDERGROUND have discussed the issue of MODERN MONETARY THEORY. Now, the battle lines are drawn over the possibilities of a benign outcome to the practical basis of the so-called printing press. Yes, the simplification of MMT bothers its disciples, but the printing press is in essence what the theory purports to avow: Don’t worry about debt, because enough money flooding the system will not push interest rates higher but rather lower as banks take on massive reserves to put out the bid that’s pushing interest rates persistently lower.
Posts Tagged ‘modern monetary theory’
Notes From Underground: MMT Is Gaining Velocity
March 5, 2019Notes From Underground: Happy Anniversary Twentieth ZIRPiversary, BOJ!
February 12, 2019This is the perfect time to discuss the effects of zero interest rates as it has been 20 years since the Bank of Japan embarked upon the path of crushing interest rates in an effort to jump-start inflation in Japan. This is very important as we enter into the discussions about the potential for negative interest rates in the U.S. while also entertaining the idea that the U.S.’s growing debt pile and deficit have no consequence as long as the government borrows in its own currency and optimizes its printing press.
Notes From Underground: Things Are On the Boil
February 7, 2019There are so many things causing angst in the global markets. There was news out of France on Thursday that the government was recalling its envoy to Rome because Italian politicians met with the yellow vest movement. To President Macron I offer this history lesson: In 2011-12 French President Nicolas Sarkozy–with the cooperation of German Chancellor Angela Merkel–crushed the Italian bond market in an effort to remove Prime Minister Berlusconi. The Eurocrats in Brussels parachuted in a preferred bureaucrat, Mario Monti, in an effort to get Italian politicians to halt the fiscal bleeding. The French have a great deal of audacity in complaining about Italian meddling, especially as Salvini/Maio have a legitimate reason: the upcoming European Parliamentary elections.