Tag: Mitchell Modern Monetary Theory

–How to fix Medicaid, plus an idea for universal health care.

The debt hawks are to economics as the creationists are to biology. Those, who do not understand Monetary Sovereignty, do not understand economics. If you understand the following, simple statement, you are ahead of most economists, politicians and media writers in America: Our government, being Monetarily Sovereign, has the unlimited ability to create the dollars to pay its bills.
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Here are excerpts from an article titled, “Medicaid bills settled in a hurry before aid ends,” by Dennis Cauchon, USA TODAY:

State governments are rushing to pay billions of dollars of medical bills before special federal assistance for Medicaid expires July 1.

The “hurry-up-and-pay” effort will put an extra $1 billion or more into the pockets of financially struggling states — and increase the federal deficit by a similar amount.
[…]
The federal stimulus law and a later extension provided states an extra $80 billion in 2009 and 2010 for Medicaid, the nation’s health care program for the lpoor. This was done by reducing the states’ share of the program from a national average of 40% to 28%.
[…]
Because states run the $400 billion a year program — while the federal government reimburses them — states can time payments to maximize the federal share.

Two thoughts: First, why doesn’t our Monetarily Sovereign federal government pay for 100% of Medicaid, instead of asking our monetarily non-sovereign states to pay? Can anyone answer that?

Second, wouldn’t the idea of having states run Medicare as a universal health care program, with the federal government funding it, satisfy the “anti-big-government” people? I know it won’t satisfy the debt-hawk contingent of the Tea (formerly known as “Republican”) party. Nothing short of a depression will satisfy them. But at least federal funding combined with state operation, should remove the fear of big government and so-called “socialism” from universal health care. Then no American would need to do without health care.

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
http://www.rodgermitchell.com

No nation can tax itself into prosperity, nor grow without money growth.

MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY

–Fiscal Sustainability Teach-In and Conference

Mainstream economics has led us to an average of one recession every five years. People have been fed obsolete hypotheses for so long and so often, we now have knee-jerk agreement among the media, the politicians and some economists.

But deficits neither are normal nor inevitable. Many prominent economists have discovered a better way to foster economic growth. They will host a conference to discuss their ideas, and you are invited.
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April 28th: Fiscal Sustainability Teach-In and Conference
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“The Fiscal Sustainability Teach-In Conference will be the important event in Washington on April 28. This will feature important work by honest scholars. It deserves (your)attention, and […] respect.”
— James K. Galbraith, The University of Texas at Austin. [April 19, 2010 via email with permission]
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The deficit hawks are at it again: attacking Social Security and Medicare with obsolete economic notions. We offer a counter-narrative to the false but conventional notion that Federal deficit spending is harmful, that it is a burden to the next generation, that deficit spending risks insolvency — basically that the Federal Government Budget is some how analogous to a household budget when, in fact, it is quite different.

The Teach-In Conference on Fiscal Sustainability on April 28th, 2010 in Washington, DC aims to do just that with some real world, honest economics.

We can move beyond the false economic orthodoxy that got us into the current economic mess and that is now being promoted to attack Social Security and Medicare — and harming our nation and it’s people. You can participate.

The tentative program schedule: Interesting topics and excellent presenters as of 04/16/10:

8:30–8:45 AM Welcoming Remarks
8:45–10:15 AM What Is Fiscal Sustainability? Bill Mitchell, Research Professor in Economics and Director of the Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE), at the University of Newcastle, NSW Australia, and blogger at billy blog

10:15–10:30 AM BREAK
10:30 AM–12:00 PM Are There Spending Constraints on Governments Sovereign in their Currency? Stephanie Kelton, Associate Professor of Macroeconomics, Finance, and Money and Banking, Research Scholar at The Center for Full Employment and Price Stability (CFEPS), University of Missouri – Kansas City, Research Associate at The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, and blogger at New Economics Perspectives

12:00–12:15 PM BREAK
12:15–1:45 PM The Deficit, the Debt, the Debt-To-GDP ratio, the Grandchildren and Government Economic Policy Warren Mosler, International Consulting Economist, Independent Candidate for the US Senate in Connecticut, and blogger atmoslereconomics.com

1:45–2:00 PM BREAK
2:00–3:15 PM Inflation and Hyper-inflation Marshall Auerback, International Consulting Economist, blogger at New Deal 2.0 and New Economic Perspectives, and Mat Forstater, Professor of Economics, Director of CFEPS, Department of Economics, University of Missouri — Kansas City, Research Associate at The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, and blogger at New Economic Perspectives

3:15–3:30 PM BREAK
3:30–5:00 PM Policy Proposals for Fiscal Sustainability L. Randall Wray, Professor of Economics, Director of CFEPS at the University of Missouri – Kansas City, and Senior Scholar at The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College; and Pavlina Tcherneva, Assistant Professor of Economics at Franklin and Marshall College, Senior Research Associate at CFEPS and Research Associate at The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College and bloggers at New Economic Perspectives

How you can participate:
1. Contribute to the cost of the Conference — Please click below and make a donation of $50 (or more if you want) to show support. It’s about strength in numbers (the entire budget is under $10,000).
Make Donation
2. Attend the Teach-In — watch these pages for location and other logistical information
3. Spread the word — write a blog post, talk with your friends.
4. Educate yourself — some great introductory resources are:
o Teaching the Fallacy of Composition: The Federal Budget Deficit, by L. Randall Wray
o Fiscal sustainability 101, by William Mitchell
o 7 Deadly Innocent Frauds, by Warren Mosler
o In Defense of Deficits, by James K. Galbraith
o A Quick Summary, by Rodger Malcolm Mitchell

Please do what you can to help bring the truth to light. Deficits are not normal. Social Security and Medicare can survive without benefit cuts.

Every little bit helps. Thank you.
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Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
http://www.rodgermitchell.com


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