Author Archives: Devin Smith

What’s the Best Way to Stimulate the Economy?

Posted on February 14, 2013 | 24 comments

NEP’s William Black is part NYTimes.com’s Room for Debate. You can view his questions that senators should be asking Jack Lew at his confirmation hearings as well as the subsequent comments and debate at NYTimes.com.

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Correa’s and Ecuador’s Success drive The Economist Nuts

Posted on February 13, 2013 | 21 comments

By William K. Black
(Cross posted at Benzinga.com)

Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa has the special ability to drive our most elite media nuts.  Failures are self-refuting.  It is the successful that drive their opponents to distraction, and much of the media can barely contain its eagerness to write that Correa has failed.  In 2009, The Economist practically licked its lips in eager anticipation of what it hoped would be Correa’s (and Ecuador’s) failure due to the “country’s acute financial problems.”  Continue reading →

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Stephanie Kelton Virtually Speaking

Posted on February 10, 2013 | 9 comments

NEP’s Stephanie Kelton appeared on Virtually Speaking with Jay Ackroyd February 7. You can listen with the player below or visit Virtually Speaking on Blogtalk Radio. The conversation begins with the platinum coin and the the nature of fiat currency.

Listen to internet radio with Jay Ackroyd on Blog Talk Radio

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Charter Cities in Honduras

Posted on February 8, 2013 | 10 comments

NEP’s William Black appeared on al Jazeera discussing the privatization of cities, in effect – charter cities, in Honduras. William Black has a previous post here at NEP on this same topic. If you would like to view the written commentary at al Jazeera, it is available through this link.

 

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The Wrong Debate

Posted on February 5, 2013 | 52 comments

Everyone is arguing about the economic recovery in terms of what the debt-to-GDP ratio should be. The right question is: how do we get a stronger recovery going NOW? Stephanie Kelton appeared on HuffPost Live Tuesday (2/5/13) taking part in this discussion.

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Framing Platinum Coin Seigniorage: A Working Document

Posted on February 5, 2013 | 9 comments

By Joe Firestone

Jack Foster proposed a framing document for High Value Platinum Coin Seigniorage, in a recent comment he made on one of my posts. In response, I posted a six-part blog series to accommodate readers who prefer the blog format.

Continue reading →

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Austerity: the Political Struggle over Who Controls the Economy’s Liquidity

Posted on February 4, 2013 | 25 comments

By Michael Hoexter

The austerity campaign, a favorite for the last four years of politicians and financial tycoons, remains a seemingly self-contradictory and baffling phenomenon for those who know that it goes against at least 80 years of economic wisdom regarding management of the economy.  The campaign draws on irrational strains and inconsistencies in our economic self-understanding to turn politicians against the welfare of society and the economy as a whole as well as against their own interests as political leaders.  Austerity appears to serve the perceived short-term interests of some sectors of the wealthy and the financial industry but the long-term interests of no one. 

Continue reading →

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Framing Platinum Coin Seigniorage: Part Six, More Political/Economic Objections

Posted on February 4, 2013 | 11 comments

By Joe Firestone

This series provides a framing document for Platinum Coin Seigniorage (PCS). In the five previous parts of the series, I pointed out that there are three classes of opponents of High Value Platinum Coin Seigniorage (HVPCS, $30 T and above). The first and largest group opposes all Platinum Coin Seigniorage (PCS) of whatever type. The second, opposes HVPCS, but favors using the Trillion Dollar Coin (TDC) for the limited purpose of avoiding the debt ceiling. The third, opposes HVPCS, and doesn’t really favor using the TDC either, except, perhaps, as a last resort to avoid the debt ceiling. It favors an incremental approach to PCS beginning perhaps in the millions or billions in face value, and over a long period of time, after giving people years to adjust to Treasury using platinum coins with unusual, and unprecedented, face values, eventually building up to a TDC.  Continue reading →

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Yglesias mimics “Mankiw Morality” and bashes Bastiat

Posted on February 4, 2013 | 4 comments

By William K. Black 
(Cross posted at Benzinga.com)

Roger Erickson brought to my attention a column by Matthew Yglesias that relates to the ethical issues I was discussing in my column yesterday about Yglesias’ ode to GHB (Geithner, Holder, and Breuer’s doctrine of immunity for the largest banks).  (In deference to Yves’ endocrinologist, I am renaming it GBH (Brit-speak for “grievous bodily harm”).

Continue reading →

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Framing Platinum Coin Seigniorage: Part Five, Institutional Objections

Posted on February 3, 2013 | 8 comments

By Joe Firestone

This series provides a framing document for Platinum Coin Seigniorage (PCS). In the four previous parts of the series, I pointed out that there are three classes of opponents of High Value Platinum Coin Seigniorage (HVPCS, $30 T and above). The first and largest group opposes all Platinum Coin Seigniorage (PCS) of whatever type. The second, opposes HVPCS, but favors using the Trillion Dollar Coin (TDC) for the limited purpose of avoiding the debt ceiling. The third, opposes HVPCS, and doesn’t really favor using the TDC either, except, perhaps, as a last resort to avoid the debt ceiling. It favors an incremental approach to PCS beginning perhaps in the millions or billions in face value, and over a long period of time, after giving people years to adjust to Treasury using platinum coins with unusual, and unprecedented, face values, eventually building up to a TDC.

Continue reading →

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