Activist #MMT - podcast

Here's the original video from where this audio came.

Here's a list of links to John reading every chapter (released so far) in his 2021 book Contending Perspectives.

Note the original video is unedited, but the audio has been edited to eliminate obvious mistakes, coughs, interruptions, and etc.

Use the below timestamps to navigate to each major section and occurrence in this section:

• 1:35 - Page 8: Chapter 2: Economics as a scientific discipline
• 3:25 - Page 8: Section: What is science?
• 4:40 - Page 9
• 10:03 - Page 10: A realistic version of science
• 17:39 - Page 13
• 30:13 - Page 17: Economics: Training and apprenticeship
• 44:01 - Page 22
• 58:38 - Page 27: Economics: Schools of thought
• 1:06:32 - Page 30: Economics: Primary and secondary standards of behavior
• 1:09:30 - Summary of table 2.1 on 32 (then skipping page 31, paragraph 2 through page 34, paragraph 2 – all of which is covered in future chapters)
• 1:10:43 - Page 34, paragraph 2
• 1:13:10 - Page 35: Conclusions
• 1:14:55 - Final comments

Welcome to episode 134 of Activist #MMT. Today's part two of my two-part conversation with Charles Hayden. In part one, Charles described how he created at least three important milestones in MMT history, and how Warren Mosler played a integral role his journey to understanding and accepting MMT. Today in part two, we discuss some of the many varied realistic views of inflation, and how each of them is connected by the fact that the national government is the monopoly price setter for the entire economy – whether they know it or not. This is one of the unique contributions of Modern Money Theory.

The first realistic view of inflation is how it's not a disease or a symptom, but rather a measurement of some prices going up somewhere in the economy for some reason. It's not possible to know what the problem is without going out into the real world and discovering them for yourself. If you address those real-world problems, then those prices will naturally go down, which will in turn result in a lower measurement of inflation.

This is not unlike how a thermometer measures the temperature of a sick person. The rabid desire to "lower inflation" is not unlike dunking the thermometer into a cup of ice, and ignoring the actual sickness of the actual patient, and doing nothing to help them. This is the idea behind lowering inflation by raising interest rates – if we lock all the starving people out of the kitchen, then we can truthfully say that "everyone who enters this kitchen gets a good meal." These are all examples of how real costs are pushed by those with the most onto those with the least – and subsequently onto the families and communities in which those people exist.

A second realistic view is the class conflict theory of inflation. This is as originated by Marx and adopted by MMT. Inflation is essentially a battle between business owners and their workers, where one side fights to increase their profits, and the other fights to increase their wages. A wage-price spiral can only happen if we allow it to happen. The only way it can stop is if one side is empowered enough to prevent the other from pushing back.

More broadly, this is a centuries-long battle between rich and poor to increase their power over the other. In all the above cases, outside of natural catastrophe, the government must be complicit in order for the inflation to persist. Currently, the government is essentially entirely on the side of the rich, business owners, and capitalists. So, in almost all cases, all real and financial costs are borne by workers and the poor.

The idea that the government is the monopoly price setter, essentially means to me that: We as a collective are in control of our own destiny. The government is us as a collective. We have let it decay into the morass that it currently is. We've let the leash out way too far and now it's going to take a whole lot of effort in order to reign it back in. Regardless, no matter how unlikely or even impossible that task may be, if we are to survive, there is a no alternative.

Outside of natural disaster, everything we do and don't do is a choice. We are choosing to go extinct. We could choose to not do that.

And now, let's get right back to my conversation with Charles Hayden. Enjoy.

• 6:23 - Inflation- first thoughts
• 7:24 - Inflation is to the real world like a thermometer is to sickness (also, inflation the boogeyman)
• 12:34 - Government is the monopoly price setter. This is behind every other (valid) view of inflation
• 20:10 - Government is dog walker
• 24:07 - Foreign demand for a currency
• 26:40 - The government passively delegates its price setting powers (plus neglect and suppression)
• 38:29 - Inflation affects peoples lives
• 40:54 - Fortunate to learn MMT directly from Warren Mosler
• 42:34 - The language of Warren, versus other academics, versus activists, versus
• 46:08 - Warren's extreme examples as thought experiments
• 47:21 - MMT was all over TV (trying to do to MMT what they did to CRT)
• 49:43 - Dennis Kucinich and my monetary reform article
• 50:54 - Inflation is an area of concern MMT
• 53:33 - The first MMT Activist
• 56:24 - Inflation and the real world, grades and children, temperature and sickness
• 1:01:46 - Raising interest rates (to 100%!)
• 1:04:03 - Street protester (there's power in protest)
• 1:08:30 - MMTers in Texas
• 1:09:45 - Campaigning
• 1:13:18 - Vote blue no matter who
• 1:14:59 - Goodbyes
• 1:18:44 - Duplicate of introduction, with no background music (for those with sensitive ears)

Welcome to episode 125 of Activist #MMT. Today's the first in a six-part series with Texas Christian University (TCU) economics professor and Cowboy Economist, John Harvey. The first three parts are hosted by me, the final three by MMT researcher, Texas lawyer, and my previous guest, Johnathan Wilson. Jonathan and John talk about how MMT can apply to nations outside the US, using Russia as an example, and also some of the core theoretical and ideological differences between MMTers and mainstream economists, focusing on a recent critique of MMT by Drumetz and Pfeister. (You can hear my own interview with Jonathan in episodes 106 and 107.)

(A list of the audio chapters in this episode can be found at the bottom of this post. Here's a link to all six parts in this series: parts two and three with me, and parts four, five, and six with Jonathan. For a link to every Activist #MMT interview with John – plus the full audio of every Cowboy Economist video (!) – go here.)

Regarding parts one to three, John and I talk about his chapter in the upcoming book called Modern Monetary Theory: Key Insights, Leading Thinkers. The book will be published by the UK-based Gower Institute for Modern Money Studies, or GIMMS; it's edited by L. Randall Wray and GIMMS; and is scheduled for January 2023 release. John is one of 15 authors.

John's chapter is called "Modern Monetary Theory, the UK, and pound sterling". He was asked to write the chapter for two major reasons: First because there is not enough MMT-specific analysis on exchange rate determination, and second, to address the reality of the so-called sterling crisis in the United Kingdom. John and I don't specifically discuss the latter topic, but it is addressed in the paper.

It addresses the following criticism of MMT (this is a quote from the chapter): "MMT-inspired policies will cause high rates of price inflation which will, in turn, lower the international value of a domestic currency – perhaps catastrophically." Importantly, the critique is based on the following three assumptions:

1. The false idea that we are already, or soon will be, at full employment
2. A fantastical theory of exchange rate determination
3. A terrible and lazy mischaracterization of MMT

John and I spend most of our time discussing the reality of these three assumptions. Surprisingly, however, the main insight I take from this conversation is a much clearer understanding of inflation in general. I'm going to describe that insight in the introduction to part two.

The heart of our conversation is on the above three assumptions, but we start and end with mostly unrelated subjects. Part one begins with John describing his experience as chair of the economics department at TCU, he discusses the Russian-Ukrainian conflict only as it relates to exchange rate determination, and he also answers a question from an Activist #MMT patron, regarding his opinion of our possibility of experiencing a recession. At the end of part three, we talk about how, for most of those that most of us directly interact with, mainstream economic theory is not, in fact, a big conspiracy. We end by discussing the good and bad of math in economics.

Thanks to the recommendation of a patron, with every episode of Activist #MMT as of several months ago, you can pinpoint any part of this interview by referring to the full list of audio chapters, which can be found at the bottom of the show notes. So, for example, if you wanted to skip over this introduction and go right to the beginning of the interview proper, now you can know exactly what timestamp to go to.

And now, on to my conversation with John Harvey. ...

Welcome to episode 120 of Activist #MMT. Today's student debt horror story number two, with Sean McCoy. Sean's a Virginia-based filmmaker who, outside his professional career, donates his skills and footage to progressive candidates and nonprofits. As a teenager, he was a professional actor who applied to theater programs at eleven different universities. He settled on Boston University, which is a private institution that offered to cover fifty percent of his costs through various grants and scholarships.

(Here's a link to part two. A list of the audio chapters in this episode can be found at the bottom of this post.)

Despite the deep discount, Sean left school with nearly $150,000 in student debt. Now it's five years later and he's paid more than required each month, which has reduced it to around $120,000. At this rate, he will have fully paid off his loans around the year 2042. That's not a joke.

Sean describes in detail how debt is a lever of power, and how that in turn is a tool used by the rich to enslave their workers. This despite the obvious fact that, even though chained down by debt, these workers create well more in value for the economy – for society – for these rich people! – than the amount they owe in debt. In the case of my previous student debt horror story, Dalton is a high school teacher who's spread that education to hundreds of students in his seven years' of teaching experience. Like all teachers, Dalton has created many times more in value for society than the $47,000 society has chosen to burden him with.

Even if "our individual tax dollars" really were needed to pay for the education of others, not burdening teachers with student debt would obviously be a good investment. How much more would they benefit society if they were let loose by never burdening them with student debt to begin with?

Student debt is nothing more needless future punishment for daring to aspire above your station.

In part two, Sean responds to some of the common criticisms of those who argue against canceling student debt; arguments almost entirely based on the false assumption that "our individual tax dollars" are required to pay for the education – and debt – of others.

To learn more about Sean and his work, you can visit his website at seancmccoy.com.

And now, onto our conversation. Enjoy.

• 2022 New York Times article by David Dayen, Larry Summers Shares the Blame for Inflation (archive)
• The interview with John Harvey, from which the inserted snippet (on the price of cotton increasing because of the emancipation of slaves) comes from.
• Ilhan Omar shared his video.

• 4:43 - Where do you live? Viral tweet.
• 5:42 - Sean introduces himself
• 8:14 - Ilhan Omar shared his video.
• 9:19 - That's how you live. How do you survive?
• 10:47 - Back to the beginning. Planning on going to college.
• 14:53 - What would you say now to that person who said all of this was normal?
• 17:22 - Assuming false economics is true, would you do things differently if you could go back and start again?
• 20:24 - How did you minimize or costs while in college?
• 24:42 - The current state of all of his loans.
• 35:50 - Why won't Biden cancel student debt?
• 40:04 - tinfoil hat
• 43:23 - Wage-price spiral. Only poor people cause inflation.
• 45:24 - Larry Summers and the shiny ball. (John Harvey and the price of cotton.)
• 50:58 - Milton Friedman and short-term thinking FOR WHO?
• 54:59 - Duplicate of introduction, but with no background music

Welcome to episode 117 of activist. Today's part two of my three-part conversation with author, financial analyst, and applied mathematician, Brian Romanchuk. Last week in part one, we talked about his journey to MMT, and his 2021 book, Modern Monetary Theory and the Recovery. Today, and next week in part three, we talk about the various techniques used by bad-faith critics of MMT. More broadly, these are some of the things simple bullies do, when they'd like their followers to think they're not bullies. This interview was inspired by chapter five of Brian's book, his recent appearance on MMT Podcast, and my own post of good-faith critiques.

(A list of the audio chapters in today's episode can be found at the bottom of this post.)

This interview inspired me to write a new post summarizing the techniques Brian and I discuss today, plus my own definition of a good-faith critique. These techniques are not exclusive to MMT, of course, but Brian and I share several anecdotes, and link them to actual MMT critiques and critics.

And now, let's get right back to my conversation with Brian Romanchuk. Enjoy.

• 3:17 - Trillion dollar coin, needle in a haystack, institutionalism
• 6:43 - Good-faith critique- a definition
• 12:26 - Critiques come from the overwhelmingly dominant school (hrespecs)
• 14:48 - "MMTers ignore X"
• 21:39 - An MMT supporter was wrong (or a jerk)
• 27:40 - Newbies and "taxes don't fund spending".
• 30:12 - MMTers are deliberately deceitful and they keep changing their positions. (Calvinball)
• 39:42 - I will only view a child through their report card.
• 42:09 - Thomas Palley's household analogy
• 44:23 - MMT is wrong, because if it were right, it would be bad. (Just don't like the politics.)
• 48:28 - Duplicate of introduction, but with no background music