The leading
thinker and most visible public advocate of modern monetary theory -
the freshest and most important idea about economics in decades -
delivers a radically different, bold, new understanding for how to
build a just and prosperous society.
Any ambitious
proposal - ranging from fixing crumbling infrastructure to Medicare
for all or preventing the coming climate apocalypse - inevitably
sparks questions: how can we afford it? How can we pay for it?
Stephanie Kelton points out how misguided those questions really are
by using the bold ideas of modern monetary theory (MMT), a
fundamentally different approach to using our resources to maximize
our potential.as a society.
We've been thinking
about government spending in the wrong ways, Kelton argues-on both
sides of the political aisle. Everything that both
liberal/progressives and conservatives believe about deficits and the
role of money and government spending in the economy is wrong,
especially the fear that deficits will endanger long-term prosperity.
Through illuminating
insights about government debt, deficits, inflation, taxes, the
financial system, and financial constraints on the federal budget,
Kelton dramatically changes our understanding of how to best deal
with important issues ranging from poverty and inequality to creating
jobs and building infrastructure. Rather than asking the
self-defeating question of how to pay for the crucial improvements
our society needs, Kelton guides us to ask: which deficits actually
matter? What is the best way to balance the risk of inflation against
the benefits of a society that is more broadly prosperous, safer,
cleaner, and secure?
With its important
new ways of understanding money, taxes, and the critical role of
deficit spending, MMT busts myths that prevent us from taking action
because we can't get beyond the question of how to pay for it.