MMT for Economists

Editor’s Note G’day Folks. If you are new to economics I recommend you follow along on the links provided in the Index. This is a short piece designed for those of you that have all ready had some economics training. The best way to work your way through this paper is to work your way from left to right down the list following the links. There is a brief summary under each one. Special thanks to Dr. Peter Cooper. Enjoy!
MMT and the Crisis		Fiat Money and its Social Significance
The global economic crisis, and government policy responses to it, have sparked controversy and debate.		When money takes the form of a valuable commodity (e.g. gold)
Budget Deficits and Net Private Saving	Thinking in a Macro Way	Taxation, Money, Freedom and Economy
Some critics of fiscal stimulus claim that by running large budget deficits,	To understand aggregate behavior, it is necessary to start at the aggregate…	MMT implies some interesting connections between money, taxes, social cooperation, freedom…
Parable of a Monetary Economy	Unemployment is a Macro Problem	Value of the Currency
Although the parable makes use of a highly simplified model, the basic insights…	A common misconception is that if everybody was prepared to take awful enough jobs, unemployment would be eradicated…	Demand for currency is underpinned by taxation. By imposing a tax obligation on the non-government sector that can be met only through payment…
Full Employment and the Environment	Interest, Money and Crisis	What is ‘productive’?
Criticism of MMT tends to come from two different directions. On the one hand, there are those who deny that governments in modern monetary systems have the fiscal capacity to maintain full employment and price stability.	Throughout the history of economic thought, opposing perspectives on interest and money have created fundamental divides between the various schools. In the one camp, interest is regarded as having a real determination, with monetary policy ultimately at the mercy of the markets. In the other camp…	In a commodity-backed money system, a common currency union, or a fiat-money system with a fixed or pegged exchange rate, external undemocratic constraints are imposed on governments which limit their freedom to use fiscal policy for public purpose.