Test

Yesterday (December 19, 2024), the Australian government published their so-called – Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook 2024-25 (MYEFO) – which basically provides an updated set of projections and statuses of the fiscal position six months after the major fiscal statement was released in May. One would have thought the sky was falling in given the…

Today, I consider the Greek situation, the decision by the UK Chancellor to further deregulate the financial services sector and then to calm everyone down or not, some music. The Financial Times published an article (December 12, 2024) – The astonishing success of Eurozone bailouts – which basically redefines the meaning of English words like…

Earlier today, President-elect Donald Trump returned to a familiar grievance: accusing our trading partners of financially ripping us off.

Last Thursday (November 12, 2024), the Australian Bureau of Statistics released the latest – Labour Force, Australia – for November 2024. I was unable to get the data in time due to where I was when it was released so I held over my. usual report until today. The latest data release shows that employment…

Today (December 13, 2024), MMTed releases Episode 9 in the Second Season of our Manga series – The Smith Family and their Adventures with Money. Have a bit of fun with it while learning Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) and circulate it to those who you think will benefit. The Smith Family is a middle-class family…

At the moment, the UK Chancellor is getting headlines with her tough talk on government spending and her promise to keep an “iron grip on the public finances”, which she defined as “taking an iron fist against waste”. Okay. This tough guy talk (guy being generic) seems to be the flavour of the month with…

Early this morning, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the latest inflation data, which showed that the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.3 percent last month.

It’s Wednesday and as usual I cover a few topics briefly rather than provide a deeper analysis of a single issue. Today, I consider yesterday’s RBA monetary policy decision which held interest rates at elevated levels despite the inflation rate dropping towards the lower range of its targetting band. The RBA has lost credibility and…

One of the striking characteristics of the neoliberal era has been the dramatic decline in trade union membership across the world. The decline has also been associated with depressed wages growth for workers overall, increased income inequality, reduced job security, and the rising domination of the ‘gig’ job phenomena. Related trends include rising household indebtedness…

Last week, I received a note from the uber-talented Harry Shearer, who subscribes to The Lens. He was intrigued by my recent post How to Cut $2 Trillion in Federal Spending Without Breaking a Sweat, which looked at bond issuance and interest expenditure from an MMT perspective.