ks.234
Half way to Infinity
Hop over to the MMT a thread. It has recently been revived and so far the “noisy crew” have stayed away.I left the Naim forum and stayed on PFM because 1) I liked what I saw here - an interesting group of regular people talking about music, hi-fi and other stuff, and 2) Naim banned political discussion.
I am interested in all determinants of human behavior: biological, psychological, cultural, political, social and economic. I find discussions about how modern economies work (or don't) fascinating, and I try to participate as time and energy allows. IMO, MMT comes closer to describing how economies actually work than previous models. Even Larry Summers wrote "Who's Afraid of Budget Defecits?". Defecit spending has been embraced in the US by both Dems and GOP when they are in control. The GOP loves defense spending but, of course, reverts to austerity when they control Congress during a Dem presidency. To hell with what's good for the country, their only motivation is to deny their political opponents any "wins".
My one area of discomfort with MMT is taxes. No, they are not used to fund spending. Yes, taxes are how we maintain the value of money (our government's "promise" to redeem). I see a few on the right saying MMT is good because it "justifies" huge tax cuts for the corporations and the wealthy. Bollocks I say. MMT acknowledges that without taxation, money loses its value through inflation. Taxes remain essential, as does the discussion of who pays what share. I strongly believe in a more progressive tax code.
I think much of the consternation here comes from the fact that there are new posters who are now posting long posts in large numbers. I don't mind at all, but it has changed this place. It has made political and economic threads here a bit less "comfortable" for some, and perhaps confusing for others. IMO, there's nothing in principle wrong with that - it's how we all learn and grow. We just all need to be just a bit more welcoming and diplomatic (me included). If the purpose of posting is to share opinion and influence others, then I am once again reminded of a childhood lesson: you can catch more flys with honey than vinegar.
We actually seem to be having a civilised debate.