RadioMMT

What if everything you knew about supply and demand was a lie? In this episode, heterodox economics student Kent Getsinger introduces us to Fred Sterling Lee—the greatest economist you’ve never heard of. Lee didn't just question mainstream economics; he mathematically proved that the "law" of supply and demand does not exist. Stripping away orthodox ideology, this episode reveals the radical truth...

Money is something we use everyday, and think about a lot, yet the real nature of money is shrouded in mystery. If you haven't come across MMT (Modern Monetary Theory), chances are, money remains an enigma. Even economists and financiers often get it wrong. The econo-babble surrounding money is no accident. We are not taught about money, or our monetary system. Economic literacy is not part of our...

When supermarket giants control the food supply chain, shopping around won't save you. This episode, we go beyond standard supermarket bashing to look at the real culprit: a government that refuses to utilise countervailing power, and wants you to believe that more supermarket competition is the answer. Tune in to discover the public option future that could actually fix your grocery bill. Shownot...

Kev and Katy wrap up this series of shows with an overview of where neoliberal government and neoliberal institutions have failed, and what we can do about it at a grassroots level. ShownotesThe Heritage Foundation at WikipediaAmerica’s Golden Age: A Return to the Permanent Things, Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts' medieval Christian vision for the US. (Also expanded upon as a lecture o...

Kev and Katy bring their white coats and stethoscopes to the task of examining Neoliberalism, "the rich bloke mind virus", as Elon Musk might describe it (but probably won't). How did it grow from a fringe philosophy nurtured by a handful of embittered cranks to bipartisan policy prescription in the world's wealthiest countries in the space of thirty years? And why, half a century later, are gover...

Kev and Katy tackle the big questions of our time. If global warming threatens us all, and global warming is driven by capitalism, what can we do about it? How do we change our political economy? Reform, revolution, or something else? They look at how wealth accumulates, and go on to unpick the relationship between capital and the state. Shownotes Disaster Nationalism by Richard Seymour (book) The...

Socialist revolution or evolution? Anne & Kev speak with Prof Bill Mitchell about how an understanding of Modern Monetary Theory is essential for realistic change. Shownotes Theme Music Pleading Ignorance, by Ed Kuepper, from the album Starstruck. Additional Audio Too Many Things, by Ed Kuepper, from the album Starstruck. The Revolution was Postponed Because of Rain by Brooklyn Funk Essentials  

We return to our conversation with labour market political sociologist, Dr. Victor Quirk. This is a conversation about the "Political Aspects of Full Employment" as inspired by a paper written by economist Michael Kalecki, published back in 1943.You can find the first part of this two-part conversation in our previous episode #77.In the first part of our conversation we talked about how mass unemp...

Poverty, vilification, and social isolation. Unemployment causes untold damage to individuals, families and communities. You might think we would want to minimise these harms by minimising unemployment. Since at least the 1940s we have known how to run an economy on genuine full employment (less than 2% unemployment). So why don't we? We speak with Dr. Victor Quirk, about how this battle over full...

Why is it when ordinary workers are awarded a small pay increase in line with cost of living increases that business cries, "Inflation!", while at the same time demanding that their perks and ever increasing profit margins, essentially pay increases, are good for the economy? As radio station 3CR turns 50 years old, Anne & Kev discuss the recent minimum wage increase, the dubious aspects of mainst...

We review the Australian Federal Government's 2026 annual budget, and focussed on:The Good: the reversal of neoliberal tax policies that have been driving up property prices since 1999.The Bad: the austerity shown by the government buckling under pressure from the RBA.The Ugly: the way disabled people have been scapegoated to meet imaginary budget balances. ShownotesPublic Money. Public Good.publi...

Bonds! So very confusing and so misleading. An instrument deliberately used by orthodox, conservative economists to lead us down a very unnecessary garden path. We pull back the misinformation to explain why they probably do more harm than good. Theme MusicPleading Ignorance, by Ed Kuepper, from the album Starstruck.  Additional AudioToo Many Things, by Ed Kuepper, from the album Starstruck. The P...

If we understand the federal government does not tax us in order to get its spending money, then why does it tax us at all? Anne and Kev tackle this question with the help of presentations given by Professors John Quiggin and Bill Mitchell at a Queensland Fabians event. Shownotes Public Money. Public Good. PM Exceeded Cabinet Decision by Paul Malone(The Canberra Times, 4 December 1984) Tax Innovat...

Standing in line for hours to get your government-issued potato? Or enjoying a fantastic work-life balance on a 3-day work week? Student of ecological economics, Harry Rosson, joins Anne for a conversation about de-growth. But first we had to strike down some of those hoary old debt-monsters. ShownotesPublic Money. Public Good.publicmoneypublicgood.net How popular is ecosocialist transformation? (...

Kevin & Katy re-examine banking and credit. What happens when we remove banking from our economic system? Can our economy survive without bank credit? They discuss the lunacy that is monetary policy. The government's bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has decided to steal from the poor and give to the rich, in order to curb inflation by increasing interest rates. This of course, leads into...

We have an economy that uses a monetary system to co-ordinate how we make and acquire stuff. And if you have a monetary system, you need banks. Kev and Kent talk about this role banks have, and how their potential to create an economy that works for everyone is so distorted by the profit motive that it sabotages our collective wellbeing.  Shownotes Theme MusicPleading Ignorance, by Ed Kuepper, fro...

We wrap up Kevin's interview with Prof Bill Mitchell, who surmises that capitalism's profit driven agenda is incapable of solving the problems it has created. Capitalism, and its "market-based solutions", cannot provide the urgently needed climate change repair and sustainability. In discussion with Kev, Anne realises that MMT is turning her into a socialist. Anne then hooks into the Australian Of...

We continue our conversation with Professor Bill Mitchell, and explore where money comes from, and the fiscal capacity (ability to spend) of a currency issuing government. Unusual circumstances often require ideology be laid aside to reveal the real functioning of an economy. To this end we discuss the origins of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) in the USA, and when this crisis reached Australia,...

Despite the hysteria of mainstream economists, Japan's economy seems to be doing okay. So why does Professor Bill Mitchell (co-founder of Modern Monetary Theory) want to shock the Japanese economy? Bill talks about his ongoing work at Kyoto University, where he is involved with a team of academics who advise the current Japanese Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi. We discuss the currency-issuing capac...

We all use money. We have some sort of understanding of how to use it and how to lose it. It defines so much of what we can and can't do. But what is it and where does it come from? It turns out that we actually don't have a very good understanding of what money is. Katy and Kev start the conversation and try to figure what money is, and how it's been captured by corporate interests. Show NotesKat...

MMT is simply an analysis of how our economy actually operates. So how come some people, including so-called economic experts and authorities, don't get it? Katy and Kevin explore the conflict that economic orthodoxy faces when presented with the facts. Show Notes Katy Swain is a student of Modern Money Lab's graduate course in the economics of sustainability. Katy blogs here. Theme MusicPleading...

The grandaddy of all economic lies is known as the "barter myth". It sounds so innocuous. Yet it continues to do great damage. At the core of mainstream academic economics, are economic models, known as "general equilibrium" models. At the very core of "general equilibrium" models lies the "barter myth". This misleading myth prevents us from understanding the system we all participate in every day...

Retired civil engineer, Ray Maxwell, was hearing some pretty strange things coming out of MMT. So he took a good look into Modern Monetary Theory. Ray emerged with a one-page answer to "what is MMT", along with some fightin' words:austerity is murder (what's more, murder committed by our government)a job guarantee is essential to a civilised societyapplying the insights of MMT to address global wa...

You can use MMT to get out from under austerity. You can spend money to create resources. You can reclaim your monetary sovereignty. A truly inspiring conversation with a pro-independence Scots-speaking Scot. Empower yourself via Jim's online course: MMT101 - Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) – What, Why & How. Show Notes MMT101.ORG – Modern Monetary Theory Podcast MMT101 – Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)...

Australia’s current climate target is net zero by 2050. The science shows that net zero, by 2035 has the strongest chance of preventing massive disruption to the global climate system. Can we make such a radical change to our economy? Can we do it rapidly, without hurting people? James Rosier speaks with Marcus Champ about what tools the federal government once used, and still has, to meet an exis...