The Theory Of MMT Falls Flat When Faced With Reality (Part I)

If you haven’t heard of Modern Monetary Theory, or “MMT,” you will soon. If you recently lost your job due to the economic shut down, and received a stimulus check, you are already a beneficiary. As we will discuss in Part-1 of this two-part series, MMT’s theory falls flat when faced with reality.

With economic growth sluggish, unemployment high, and the wealth gap widening, politicians will be increasing pressure to delve deeper into MMT to cure our economic woes. However, to understand more about the premise of MMT, economist Stephanie Kelton, recently produced a video explaining the concept.

The Government Isn’t A Household

“MMT starts with a simple observation, and that is that the US dollar is a simple public monopoly. In other words, the United States currency comes from the United States government; it can’t come from anywhere else. So, what that means is that the federal government is nothing like a household.

For households or private businesses to be able to spend they’ve got to come up with the money, right? And the federal government can never run out of money. It cannot face a solvency problem with bills coming due that it can’t afford to pay. It never has to worry about finding the money to be able to spend.”

There is nothing untrue about that statement. While the Government can indeed “print money to meet all obligations,” it does NOT mean there are not consequences. The chart below really tells you all you need to know.

MMT, The Theory Of MMT Falls Flat When Faced With Reality (Part I)