RadioMMT

Mainstream economists continue to scare "monetarily sovereign" governments away from spending enough of their own currency to meet the needs of their citizens, by invoking the debt and default bogeyman. They use these bogeyman stories to keep us hobbled by unnecessary austerity policies. One such story is what happened under the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. Even mainstream economists usually do...

[This episode contains content which some people might find distressing. This includes discussion of strip searches and incarceration. Please take care and use discretion.] How brave do you need to be, to be a climate activist? You don't have to be a "disrupter" like Rosie, but her story of a day in the life of a "non-violent, direct, disruptive" climate activist with Blockade Australia is grippin...

One of the greatest dangers that monetary systems present to a democratic society is the phenomenon of "economic rents". Economist Phil Lawn reminds us this battle over economic rents is a century-old debate. This battle plays out in newspaper headlines about the housing crisis to this very day. And we oldies slow down to delve into Phil's unique take on the "cost to live". Show Notes Gold as a Pe...

With great power comes great responsibility, and according to heterodox economist Phil Lawn, modern money comes with the greatest power of all -- the ability to time travel. It is this ability to bring the future into the present, that has been harnessed by a few lucky individuals, such that Australia’s 47 billionaires now have more wealth than the bottom 7.7 million Australians. Billionaires in s...

The best way to support RadioMMT is to make a donation during the 3CR Radiothon this June. To talk all things solidarity, Kev is joined in the studio by Kent Getsinger, union organiser with Victorian Allied Health Professionals Association (VAHPA). Kent is a regular at the SPAG-Naarm pub nights and student of MMT-style economics. Anne phones in from where she has been self-isolating with a cold, t...

Anne is away and leaves Kevin to run the show alone. Risky, however Kevin enlists past 3CR presenter and progressive economist, Karl Fitzgerald from Grounded, to speak about Community Land Trusts. This is a community scheme to reclaim housing for public use for those who need it, a return to the concept of The Commons. After that Kevin explains his affection for the Polish economist, Michal Kaleck...

Anne sets Kev a challenge based on how MMT is presented in the mainstream media. And we dissect some typical discussions about money, as heard on social media. Theme MusicPleading Ignorance, by Ed Kuepper, from the album Starstruck.  Additional Audio Too Many Things, by Ed Kuepper, from the album Starstruck. ABC_Q+A11th of March, 2024Tech Giants, Generational Divides & Gaza Aidwith appearance by e...

Central banks are sent to battle inflation, equipped only with "nuclear-interest-rate-bombs". How might the federal government take a more nuanced approach? Should it stop spending, spend less, spend more? Maybe it should take note of the three-Cs of managing inflation -- causality, capacity, & creativity -- as heard only on RadioMMT, in this conversation with Andy the data analyst. Shownotes"MMT...

We are experiencing levels of inflation unlike any we have seen for decades. What exactly is going on here? And what is this battle over the narrative around inflation? With the help of Andy, a data analyst with a few magical measurements up his sleeve, we will spend the next two episodes wrangling the inflation bogeyman. There is a lot at stake. Keeping everyone scared of the bogeyman is useful i...

Anne & Kev reflect on a film tour which blasted through Australia in the first half of March 2024. The film is called Finding the Money, and centres on the MMT story of money, and an honest approach to national so-called “debts”.On tour were the film’s director Maren Poitras, and the MMT economist featured in the film, Professor Stephanie Kelton, and Australian economist Dr. Steven Hail. For those...

Maren Poitras picks up her 'prosumer' camera, and walks into a battlefield. There she finds an underdog group of economists holding out against a storm of criticism. Why the attack? They asked the taboo question. The question which will either ostracise you, or drive you crazy! This is the question that Maren pursues in her film, Finding the Money. Her film follows this plucky group of economists,...

While Kev is away, Anne is joined by fellow MMT-traveller, Jackson. We discuss a conversation Anne & Kev had with Maren Poitras, director of a film called "Finding the Money", the perfect antidote to "debt hysteria". Finding the Money, follows the trials and tribulations of MMT economists, notably Stephanie Kelton. Maren and Stephanie will be touring Australia with the film during February and Mar...

It is our most sensational Letter from Bill Mitchell, yet! The gloves are off, and the hand-to-hand combat is more exciting than your average manga comic -- not least because our well-being is riding on it. Shownotes How Japan escaped neoliberalism and lived happily ever afterby Alan Kohlerpublished in The New Daily, 3rd December, 2023 Should Jim Chalmers adopt MMT to offer Swedish services with S...

"You can't un-see it" describes how it feels to be released from a misguided understanding about how money works. Once you understand how it is that the federal government of Australia can never run out of Australian dollars -- you can't un-see it. So many more revelations follow on from this. MMT is a paradigm shift that Christian and Patricia want to share with the world, via their podcast, The...

Anne and Kev discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly of 2023, including the slaughter in Palestine. The latest Letter From The Cape, by economist, Bill Mitchell, reveals a simple idea that could deliver hope and peace for the New Year. And we invite you to the movies! Show NotesThe Smith Family and their Adventures with Money (manga) Money for Beginners: An Illustrated Guide (book)By: L. Randall W...

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...

The RBA's operating manual comes with instructions for one lever. Raise or lower interest rates. Australia's central bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) can raise and lower the interest rate it announces to the commercial banks, and the commercial banks pass that onto its borrowers. Most borrowers are people with mortgages. MMT economist, Professor Bill Mitchell, explains how raising interes...

If eco-socialism is the bank heist, then MMT is the blueprints of the bank, showing vaults, ventilation shafts, exits, etc. Then why do some eco-socialists appear so disinterested in MMT?Maybe the blueprints don't matter when what you really want to do is blow up the bank. What does MMT have to offer radicals? Can MMT offer itself as a tool for system change, or can it only tinker around the edges...

James steps in again as Anne continues her well-being break. This episode we explain the intersection between well being and the economy, and what measurements should be used. World famous economist Simon Kuznets, who was the architect of GDP, said, whatever you do, don't use GDP as a measurement of well being. So what did the world do?! Huh? Exactly what you'd expect. James & Kev will introduce f...

Anne is taking a break to look after her well being. What is well being? What's it got to do with the economy? James joins Kevin in Anne's place to discuss, because it just so happens he's studying this topic right now. We also give Joni Mitchell a listen. If you have any feedback on the show please email us on: radiommt@gmail.comTheme MusicPleading Ignorance, by Ed Kuepper, from the album Starstr...

Anne and Kev open not one, but two, Letters From The Cape, from economist Bill Mitchell. Bill reveals the double standards of those who run our economy, and how economic assumptions seep into cultural biases. Meanwhile, Tim Gurner lets slip the real reason governments are raising interest rates. Theme MusicPleading Ignorance, by Ed Kuepper, from the album Starstruck. Additional AudioToo Many Thing...

While the federal government's "2023 Intergenerational Report" might contain some useful data, economist Bill Mitchell helps us to understand what all the hand-waving is about. We then return to the second half of our conversation with Alan Kohler, and range over topics from government surpluses to climate change. This was our chance to discover how much we might have in common with a mainstream c...

Anne & Kev speak with Alan Kohler who is one of the few financial commentators to give due consideration to Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). We reminisce about the 1970s, a time of Kombi vans and major shifts in macroeconomic policy. We consider the causes of the current inflation, and whether to trust politicians with the public purse. This is the first of two parts of our conversation with financia...

Whenever an MMT-friendly economist speaks about the Job Guarantee (JG), it always sounds like a win-win-win. A win for the disadvantaged, a win for low-income workers, a win for our standard of living, a win for the environment. So why isn't a job guarantee at the forefront of workers' struggles? We ponder this with former chief economist of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), Lachlan K...

What must the peer pressure be like, within a profession that keeps everyone in line with set of ideas, models, policies and practices known to be based on false assumptions, and to have detrimental effects on millions of lives? Economist Lachlan Kerwood-McCall has a great take on this. Using the example of the recent review of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA, Australia's central bank), Lachlan...