Friday, April 24, 2020

Relief Money Doesn't Just Disappear!

I've been pondering where the money from a massive coronavirus stimulus will go as the weeks and now months pass. After all, nearly $3 trillion in new government spending must go someplace.

Strangely, or maybe not so strangely, government has provided a clue by dividing the national work force into segments labeled 'essential' and 'non-essential'.

$3T doesn't just get spent and evaporate. Someone has title to the new money and more wealth to spend. Who?

Saturday, April 11, 2020

MMT Style Economic Distortions

J.D. Alt has an interesting post wherein he compares government to "the Ouroboros—the mythical snake eating its own tail". He makes the case that MMT should not--as a theory--take an economy to self-destruction but should enable it grow in beneficial ways. I made two comments, the first warning of the dangers of misguided monetary distribution and the second pointing out what I see as being an MMT style economic distortion occurring now due to misguided covid-19 responses. The second comment is reproduced here.

[4/25/20 UPDATE: This second comment seems to have failed moderation. Despite two submissions, I never could find it present. There have been no site updates since April 13.]