Taxes and Spending

Socialists like Bernie Sanders have decried the possible US government debt default. Marx and Lenin would have vociferously disagreed.

There are several causal factors operating on interest rates and in different directions.

2022 was a warning sign that debunked the myth of eternal monetization of debt with low inflation. It is time to be serious. High deficit spending is not a tool for growth, but a tool for cronyism and a burden on the future.

Curing deficits by raising taxes is equivalent to curing someone's bronchitis by shooting him.

Despite "concerns" about increasing federal debt, in the end Republican legislators have gone along with whatever the ruling elites want. The Limit, Save and Grow Act of 2023 is more of the same.

Contrary to the still-enduring myth about Republican budget cutting, there is no correlation whatsoever between Republican control of DC and the trajectory of federal spending.

The current regime wants to use taxation not simply as a means to collect revenue for the government, but as a weapon against economic prosperity itself.

Socialists like Bernie Sanders and the editors of Jacobin have decried the possible US government debt default. Marx and Lenin would have vociferously disagreed.

The Republicans' "Fiscal Responsibility Act" allows the government to continue adding trillions of dollars of debt that will be monetized by the Federal Reserve.

Per Bylund joins Bob to discuss his new paper at the QJAE, which points out several flaws in the MMT claim that money is valued in order to pay taxes.