Here is another perspective to add to the mix: Modern Monetary Theory, or MMT. But I am a little distressed to find that, according to Stephanie Kelton, most economists and politicians-who already disagree with one another-are still fundamentally wrong about money, taxes, fiscal policy, and government debt.

And yet, despite the seemingly scientific nature of this language, we seem hardly better able to pinpoint the nature of economic reality than the scholastics were able to count the angels. To be taken seriously in politics means being able to use this logic. The more I read in the subject, the more I agree with him. Robert Skidelsky, in his enormous biography of Keynes, remarks that economics today occupies the same position as theology did in the Middle Ages-as a complex a priori logic that can be used to reach any number of contradictory conclusions. Robert Skidelsky, in his enormous biography of Keynes, remarks that economics today occupies the same positi Deficits can be used for good or evil. MMT gives us the power to imagine a new politics and a new economy and move from a narrative of scarcity to one of opportunity.Deficits can be used for good or evil. With its important new ways of understanding money, taxes, and the critical role of deficit spending, MMT redefines how to responsibly use our resources so that we can maximize our potential as a society.

Any ambitious proposal, however, inevitably runs into the buzz saw of how to find the money to pay for it, rooted in myths about deficits that are hobbling us as a country.Kelton busts through the myths that prevent us from taking action: that the federal government should budget like a household, that deficits will harm the next generation, that deficits crowd-out private investment and undermine long-term growth, that entitlements are propelling us toward a grave fiscal crisis.MMT, as Kelton shows, shifts the terrain from narrow budgetary questions to one of broader economic and social benefits. Stephanie Kelton's brilliant exploration of modern monetary theory (MMT) dramatically changes our understanding of how we can best deal with crucial issues ranging from poverty and inequality to creating jobs, expanding health care coverage, climate change, and building resilient infrastructure.

The leading thinker and most visible public advocate of modern monetary theory - the freshest and most important idea about economics in decades - delivers a radically different, bold, new understanding for how to build a just and prosperous society.

The deficit myth goodreads