The question of money

2022-02-02

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Government revenue comes from taxation, right? At least that's a common view. But, according to Modern Monetary Theory, central governments must create the dollars before they can be taxed: money that does not exist cannot be taxed. That means a central government budget is not like a household, business or even a state government budget. While it's still controversial in some corners, MMT has profound implications for how governments spend and whether they run deficits. There are also a few...

Government revenue comes from taxation, right? At least that's a common view.

But, according to Modern Monetary Theory, central governments must create the dollars before they can be taxed: money that does not exist cannot be taxed.

That means a central government budget is not like a household, business or even a state government budget.

While it's still controversial in some corners, MMT has profound implications for how governments spend and whether they run deficits. There are also a few caveats.

To navigate us through a complicated topic, you couldn't ask for a better guide than Dr Steven Hail who is an economist at MML and Adjunct Associate Professor at Torrens University Australia.

Interview by Rod as part of a series for the book Sustainability and the New Economics.

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