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The paperback edition of Stephanie Kelton's controversial book "The Deficit Myth" hit shelves in March. Starting this week, Boston Basic Income will be reading and discussing it chapter by chapter. Kelton is an economist and leading thinker in Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). In the past, we have been critical of some aspects of MMT and sympathetic to others. With this series of discussions, we will attempt to go deeper and really flesh out our perspective on MMT.

https://www.amazon.com/Deficit-Myth-Monetary-Peoples-Economy/dp/1541736192/

The main thesis of the book is that policymakers are unnecessarily constraining themselves by attempting to stick to a balanced budget. Government budget deficits are not necessarily a sign of a problem, and we are harming our people by needlessly avoiding deficits that we think are too high. The myth, then, is the idea that government budget deficits are bad.

We agree with Kelton's conclusion that it's a costly mistake for governments to run balanced budgets. But we are less convinced by some of her particular arguments. This week's discussion of the book's introduction will set us up for exploring each individual chapter in subsequent weeks.

Previous related Boston Basic Income topics have included:

BBI #29: CMT vs MMT
https://youtu.be/jajL83BDoU8

BBI #33: Basic Income vs Job Guarantee
https://youtu.be/3h0XqCPtQks

BBI #93: Covid-19
https://youtu.be/4_iDaodp_kQ

By default, audience cameras and microphones will remain disabled. To ask a question, type it in the Zoom chat.

If you'd like to ask your question aloud, also click the "Raise Hand" button on the "Participants" tab. The hosts will unmute you when it's your turn.

The discussion will be streamed live at this URL:
https://www.youtube.com/bostonbasicincome/live

It will also be available in podcast form in the following days:
https://anchor.fm/bostonbasicincome

Image by James Montgomery Flagg
(https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JamesMontgomeryFlagg-UncleSamWithEmptyTreasury1920Large.jpg)

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