RadioMMT

Think you had to get a debt notice to be a victim of Robodebt? Think again. The troubling implications of Robodebt are manifold. Robodebt might be the least of our calamities, if the political obsession with budget surpluses continues. Robodebt probably wont be the last systemic injustice, if we don't reflect on its political dimensions. Oppression of unemployed and employed workers will continue...

In his eighth "Letter From the Cape", economist Bill Mitchell, co-founder of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) answers one of the great economic mysteries, if the Australian federal government can never run out of Australian dollars, why does it tax us? The rest of the show is a dog's breakfast. But then, it is the fifth Friday. Show NotesExcerpts from a panel session: Do we need ‘big’ government?held...

Professor L. Randall Wray, co-founder of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) walks us through the topsy-turvy world as revealed by MMT. An American Congress that doesn't want the people to know who they really represent. The pandemic spending that saved us from a surplus. Central bankers who ruthlessly destroy parts of their own financial system. Along the way we also learn of some surprising ingredients...

Raw. Unedited. Live. Anne and Kev cut loose for 3CR's 2023 Radiothon. Alas, Anne and Kev made it to only half their $ target by the end of their Radiothon hour. But you still have time to make a difference! If you are listening to this podcast during the month of June 2023, please consider donating some of that dollar-denominated, sovereign fiat currency at https://www.3cr.org.au/donate. Meanwhile...

The ideas that come out of the mouths of past and present federal treasurers. The ideas that saturate the media, and hinder our ability to demand positive change. Anne & Kev deconstruct some typical mainstream conversations, so you too can recognise dangerous misinformation when you hear it. The ideas that perpetuate a dysfunctional economy. An economy that deliberately keeps hundreds of thousands...

Federal budgets could offer us much more than you might think. Yet 99% of the talk surrounding the Australian Labor government's 2023 federal budget misses these opportunities. For a budget commentary that is both realistic and inspiring, Anne and Kev are joined by Andy and Lily, two bright, young advocates of progressive, heterodox economics. They provide the fresh perspective we desperately need...

If the taxes we pay to the federal government don't fund federal government spending, then why do we need to pay taxes? If the government's "debt" is actually the government's fiscal injection into the economy, then what would happen if we "paid back the debt"? And where do private sector profits come from? Kev puts it all together in his "economic theory of everything". Only to discover someone e...

The new economics that could guide us through a just transition to a post-carbon economy is by-passing Australian universities. Australia is not generating the expertise we desperately need. Anne and Kev are joined by two people working hard to change this dire situation. Gabrielle Bond and Dr. Steven Hail are visiting Melbourne from Adelaide, to present a two-day workshop called, “Rethinking Capi...

MMT is not a lens, it's a bottle opener! We had an absolutely rollicking conversation with the high octane Steven Grumbine, who is a recognized face of MMT in America. What does the party at the end of the world look like? While the libertarians are sharpening their knives, and eyeing our soft underbellies, we on the left are milling around debating the existence of beer. But Steve serves up some...

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...

It is a brave economist who dares to say, "the mainstream approach to economics... is part of an ideological structure to reinforce power relations."If these power relations are keeping capitalism in place, and if capitalism has reached its use-by date, then we somehow need to change our political economy. Understanding what is possible is the first step. Imagine a world where no one worries about...

Featuring former Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, in the hot seat at the Robodebt Royal Commission. The Robodebt scandal was appalling enough by legal and ethical standards. The questioning by the Senior Counsel assisting the Royal Commission of Mr. Morrison, seemed to be aimed at determining:    • how did something which is unlawful, get implemented?    • why did the need for legislativ...

De-growth, de-carbonise, well-being, inclusion, a healthy environment. Yes, we can have an economy that is sustainable, and that includes everyone -- via full employment. MMT-informed ecological economist, Professor Phil Lawn explains how this is possible. We can harness the many wonders of the Job Guarantee (which featured recently in a Boyer lecture given by Indigenous lawyer and activist, Noel...

What caused Liz Truss to become the shortest serving Prime Minister in UK history? Was it her inflationary, unfunded tax cuts for the rich, or the energy price guarantee? Anne draws upon the analysis of Thomas Fazi. Is crypto currency even worthy of being called currency? Probably not. Music: Feeling of Love by Harvey SutherlandRisky Behaviour by Party Dozenwho both played at the most recent Loch...

MMT-informed ecological economist Professor Phil Lawn says "Growth is killing the planet". What exactly is growing? Can we have good growth and bad growth? And dare we raise the issue of population growth? Phil tells us about the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI), which brings with it some good news, and we reflect on why no-one is talking about it. (Although after we recorded our conversation, the...

How about a budget analysis without a 'Spurt in sight? Yes we had a federal budget this week. And yes it was in the context of recalibrating a budget that was formulated by the opposition just before it lost the election. So this is the budget that gives the new government its baseline; a budget to match its immediate policy changes. Anne and Kev do their due diligence with MMT-advocate Avis Willi...

What is an advocate of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) to think when some Marxists accuse MMT of being not much of a theory, and MMT-ers as bourgeois apologists for capital? Does MMT naively advocate printing money? Do we believe we can print our way out of economic and ecological crises? Can we flush out the irreconcilable differences between Karl Marx and MMT?With the help of economist, Dr. James J...

Anne & Kev talk about the Job Guarantee, which is the basis of a functional economy that serves its population. This concept was foundational to Professor William Mitchell's development of Modern Monetary Theory. Music:Nun's Dream - Phil & the TilesSink - Holly HebeTheme music:One in Ten by UB40St. Germain by Alice Ivy

Anne & Kev discuss the appaling application of Robodebt by the Morrison governemnt and the ridiculous notion of $1trillion of govt debt. Then they get stuck into the Non-Accelerating Inflation Rate of Unemployment (NAIRU)Music:Camp Dog – King StingrayDiscotheque Afrik – Digital AfrikaTheme music:One in Ten by UB40St. Germain by Alice Ivy

Why are interest rates going up? Why is inflation going up? Why is it that every time you ask a question about economics you uncover yet another swindle? By the end of this second half of our conversation with Wayne McMillan, you will know more than many past and present federal treasurers about how to run a national economy. Spoiler: it doesn't include blaming wage earners for this latest bout of...

Past and present federal treasurers voluntarily shackle themselves in the imaginary debt dungeon. We'd be happy to let them rot there, except they force the rest of us to suffer the real consequences of their flagellating fantasies. And so the current Australian Labor government refuses to spend enough to create the jobs that would lift all people out of poverty. How shall we free ourselves? Perha...

We've proven it! Beyond a shadow of a doubt. The current "employment services" system is "mean", "horrible" and "hostile" for no legitimate reason. We speak with Associate Professor Elise Klein, about how the previous conservative Coalition government in Australia ran a "natural experiment." Brought on by the covid pandemic, the results of what would otherwise have been an unethical trial, show th...

Are we "stumbling zombie-like into a digital dystopia"?From the frontlines of a NON-full employment economy, we speak with Dr. Simone Casey on her observations of Workforce Australia. Heterodox economists often say, there is no such thing as a "natural" or "free" market. All markets need government regulation in order to exist. Case in point: the privatised "employment services" market. This marke...

Anne & Kev are joined by Tilda & Jordan who share alternate slots on Fri evenings under the Squatters And Unwaged Airwaves (SUWA) banner. We talk about why everyone should support 3CR as a radio station. If you think that because this is an old episode it doesn't matter anymore, well it does, because the station is still going, but only because of the support of well intended, very good people. Yo...

This episode we have a listen to Australian economist Richard Denniss,  (Executive Director of The Australia Institute) who spoke at a New Economy Network Australia (NENA) forum about the 2022 Federal Budget. Richard talks about MMT in favourable terms, without necessarily jumping on the MMT band wagon. He also defines some well defined criticisisms of the Australian Governments spending prioritie...