Alternative Mansion House speech 2024: Modern Monetary Theory, No Family Farm Tax, Chris Williamson

MODERN MONETARY THEORY (MMT) FOR WPGB

FULL INTERVIEW WITH WORKERS PARTY DEPUTY LEADER CHRIS WILLIAMSON
https://politicsthisweek.wordpress.com/2024/11/14/not-the-bcfm-politics-show-presented-by-tony-gosling-216/

No political party in Britain has ever expressly embraced the possibilities provided by the fact that Britain issues its own currency. Consequently, governments can never run out of money for anything that is available for sale in pound sterling.

https://workerspartybritain.org/2023/11/10/congress-discussion-mmt-and-the-economy/

The government can and does create money.
Government debt is just a means for saving private wealth.
Deficits are not a problem, as long as they’re not overheating the economy, but taxation can be used to stop the economy over-heating.
Governments cannot create money without limit. The key is ensuring public spending is matched to the availability of real resources in the economy.

For further information, these links are useful:
A practical exercise for the reconstruction of the left
Baseline communism
This lecture by Stepanie Kelton is worth watching and her book ‘The Deficit Myth’ offers an excellent overview of MMT.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IBEoWSiTHc
https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-deficit-myth/stephanie-kelton/9781529352566

Carlos Hernandez’s book – ‘Fiat Socialism’ is also worth reading, as it explains how an MMT understanding can be used to implement a socialist programme. Copies of his book will be available at the WPGB congress.
https://www.everand.com/book/670805372/Fiat-Socialism-Achieving-the-goals-of-socialism-through-modern-monetary-theory

Core Principles of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)

The central idea of modern monetary theory (MMT) is that governments with a fiat currency system under their control can and should print—or create with a few keystrokes in today’s digital age—as much money as they need to spend because they cannot go broke or be insolvent unless a political decision to do so is taken.

https://www.investopedia.com/modern-monetary-theory-mmt-4588060

We must remember that money is debt, and debt is created by bank lending.

We must also remember that fiat currency is not backed by any form of asset. It is not linked to gold or silver or anything else. It is simply a government promise to pay that gives a fiat currency its value.

And what we're talking about is how money of that type is created by the government and how that money created by the government functions within the economy of which we're all a part.

Most of the time, most of economics tries to ignore this issue. It pretends, in many cases, that money hardly exists, which is quite absurd.

Because, of course, money does not only exist, but the existence of money and the management of money is a major part of the management of the economy. So, to have a theory which explains how money works is really important, and that's what MMT does, and that is why I think it is core to the understanding of macroeconomics.

https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/09/07/what-is-modern-monetary-theory-2/

Modern monetary theory (MMT) is a macroeconomic theory that governments with their own currency and central bank are not limited by revenue when it comes to spending. MMT explains that governments can print money as needed and should assert the right as the sole issuers of their currency. This means that governments should not be concerned about rising national debt, and that their policies should not be based on household-like budget constraints.

Some key aspects of MMT include:
Currency as a public monopoly
MMT views currency as a public monopoly, and unemployment as a sign that the currency monopolist is limiting the supply of financial assets.
Fiscal space
MMT rejects the idea of fiscal sustainability, and instead adopts a specific concept of fiscal space.

Government can't default
MMT argues that governments can't default on their debts as long as they are sovereign in their currency.

Inflationary risks
MMT suggests that inflationary risks can be controlled through tax increases when the economy is at full capacity.