Can we get along without the U.S. penny? Reportedly, a majority of Americans think we cannot. We’re just used to it. After all, the penny has been around in one form or another ever since George Washington signed An Act to Provide for a Copper Coinage in 1792. What we have not always had is … Read more
As I previously announced, a 2 day conference begins today at UNAM in Mexico City: https://www.economonitor.com/lrwray/2013/01/30/upcoming-conference-at-unam-in-mexico-city/ I’m giving 3 talks. I thought those interested in MMT might want to view the presentation slides. Here you go:
I’ll be watching a number of things in 2013 in order to get a better sense of what the future will bring. On January 22 Princeton University Press will be publishing my book, The Great Rebalancing: Trade, Conflict, and the Perilous Road Ahead, and in the last chapter of the book I argue that the great trade, … Read more
It’s amazing what you can achieve these days just by promising to do something. It’s also fascinating to watch just what a storm you can stir up. Last July Mario Draghi surprised markets when he vowed to do anything – whatever it would take – to save the Euro. He didn’t go into details, he … Read more
There is a growing concern that economic growth, as we know it, is coming to an end. Economists, who tend to view growth as good, are uneasy with that idea. Many environmentalists, who are more prone to focus on the downside of growth, view a steady-state economy more positively. Richard Heinberg, author of the book … Read more
After a few years when the practice was declining, flaring of natural gas is back in the news. (See, for example, Flares take shine off fracking boom in the Financial Times for Jan. 27.) Estimates indicate that natural gas flaring accounts for more than 1 percent of all the CO2 that human activity releases into the … Read more
Interview conducted by CJ Polychroniou for the Greek national financial daily Express (View the original in Greek here) Q: You are one of the leading figures in Modern Money Theory (MMT). Where did the name MMT come from and on what ideas, principles, and assumptions is it based? A: We had been calling it “Chartalist” … Read more
Pipelines used to be things that were just built without blinking. It is said that there are enough pipelines now in the US to encircle the Earth 25 times with enough left over to also tie a bow around it. Today, getting a pipeline built is not so easy – there are too many environmental … Read more
On 5 February 2013, the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) of the EU Parliament published a motion for a resolution regarding two of the Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) produced by ESMA under EMIR. The relevant RTS are: regulatory technical standards on indirect clearing arrangements, the clearing obligation, the public register, access to a trading venue, non-financial … Read more
Given some comments on my blogs, maybe it is time for a bit of a brush-up on how sovereign government really spends. As Chairmen Greenspan and Bernanke insisted, it is via “keystrokes”. This article caught my eye: February 6, 2013 12:03 am Print money to fund spending – Turner (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1be21d54-6fb5-11e2-956b-00144feab49a.html#axzz2K8IurvWe) By Chris Giles, Economics Editor … Read more