The Deficit Myth: How to build a better economy, by Stephanie Kelton.

• June 9, 2020
• Page Count: 336 pages
• Publisher: PublicAffairs
• ISBN: 978-1541736184

If you’ve ever wondered “but how will we pay for it?” then this is the book for you. An exploration of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), Kelton expertly walks us through the way in which money is created and can be deployed and how we can have an economy that works for everyone, across the world, not just the select few.

Unfortunately, this book doesn’t synthesize MMT, Climate and Degrowth, but the knowledge provided in this book will help anyone who reads it understand that (despite the rhetoric) money is not a barrier to the transformations we need to see in society today, and actually things can happen really quickly if we allow ourselves to use money for good.

Here are some more resources for anyone who is keen to learn more about Modern Monetary Theory:

• Stephanie Kelton The big myth of government deficits | TED (14 minutes)
• Stephanie Kelton “But How Will We Pay for It? Making Public Money Work for Us” (51 minutes)
• Jason Hickel: ‘Degrowth and MMT: A Thought Experiment’
• Old, Schneider and Hickel: ‘How to pay for saving the world: Modern Monetary Theory for a degrowth transition’
• Bill Mitchell’s Blog, which provides detailed analysis and commentary on economic events from a Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) perspective.

About the author, Stephanie Kelton:

“Stephanie is a leading authority on Modern Monetary Theory, a new approach to economics that is taking the world by storm. She is considered one of the most important voices influencing the policy debate today….

Professor Kelton has worked in both academia and politics. She served as chief economist on the U.S. Senate Budget Committee (Democratic staff) in 2015 and as a senior economic adviser to Bernie Sanders’ 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns. She is a Senior Fellow at the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis and a Professor of Economics and Public Policy at Stony Brook University. Stephanie has held Visiting Professorships at The New School for Social Research, the University of Ljubljana, and the University of Adelaide. POLITICO called her one of the 50 Most Influential Thinkers in 2016, Bloomberg listed her as one of the 50 people who defined 2019, Barron’s named her one of the 100 most influential women in finance in 2020, and Prospect Magazine listed her among the world’s top 50 thinkers in 2020. She was previously Chair of the Department of Economics at the University of Missouri, Kansas City.”

Follow Stephanie on X (formerly Twitter).

About Erin Remblance, your host during #DegrowthLitMonth:

Erin Remblance established her early career in blue-chip fast-moving consumer goods companies in Sydney & London, but always sensed there was more important work to be done. Having children gave her the space to explore the environmental and cultural crises on the planet that need to be urgently addressed. She shifted her focus to dedicate her life towards educating people on climate change, degrowth, planetary boundaries, modern monetary theory and more. Erin is a writer, researcher, co-creator of (re)Biz, wife, and mother of three children. She lives north of Sydney, Australia with her family, on the occupied ancestral country of the Gayemagal people.

Follow Erin on Substack, LinkedIn, (re)Biz and X (formerly Twitter).

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