Zipriztin ekonomikoak (19)

(i) BREXIT

Brexit marks the revenge of a nation¹

(ii) AEB-ko KONGRESUA eta FED

Note to Congress: Full Employment is Your Job & Currency is Your Tool²

“We have had government deficits for almost our entire history as a nation, for obvious reasons. We constantly need more currency to grow our economy and meet the growing demand for savings. Yet Congress continues to talk as though deficits are a sin, and we, the people, pay the price in sluggish economic recoveries, unnecessary unemployment and its resulting social problems, as well as underinvestment in our nation.

The federal government is the only entity that can always guarantee that those seeking a job can have one offered to them at a living wage, because it can always make payments in its own currency at the price it demands. Congress has a responsibility to manage the currency – via both tax policy and public-purpose spending – in a way that provides the economy with adequate spending capacity to fully employ those seeking work. This point was well understood for many decades, especially during and following World War II.

Yes, of course that responsibility also means not spending beyond the ability of the economy to produce, as that could be inflationary. However, the flip side is also true: Congress needs to be held accountable for starving the economy as much as overinflating it. Arguably, the former is the greater evil.

Congress must pay close attention to whether its tax policies and spending decisions are targeted for optimizing the “general welfare.”

If there is rising inequality, take a careful look at the structure of tax policy.

If there is unemployment, it is Congress, not the Fed, which must act.”

(iii) PIIGS

PIIGS – Debunking EU Austerity³

“PIIGS” is a feature and tv documentary by Italian filmmakers Adriano Cutraro, Federico Greco and Mirko Melchiorre. PIIGS sounds as pigs. It is an acronym for Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain. A derogatory word conceived by English press (“The Economist): are called pigs those European countries erroneously considered insolvent and over-indebted after the 2008 USA financial crisis. Follow us and you’ll find the unspeakable, unexpected, paradoxical truth about EU austerity policies.

At last a Southern European country

stands up tall against

mainstream austerity dogmas!

“The documentary features Noam Chomsky (linguist, philosopher), Stephanie Kelton (Chief Economist for US Senate Budget Committee), Warren Mosler (financial insider, monetary expert), Paul De Grauwe (Professor London School of Economics), …”

Bideoa: PIIGS (https://vimeo.com/180066156)