Brad DeLong — Between Greece And Zimbabwe
Mike Norman Economics 2013-07-07
Brad DeLong takes MMT seriously.
But suppose that you are in an intermediate case, where the Treasury and the central bank do not want to peg the currency (and the internal price level) but do not want to let it (them) do their own thing without limit either? Suppose the Treasury Secretary believes that a strong dollar* is in America’s interest. What you then have is a mix of the polar gold-standard and MMT cases. But what are the proportions of the mix?Grasping Reality with Both Invisible Hands Between Greece And Zimbabwe (very short) Brad DeLong | Professor of Economics and chair of the Political Economy major at the University of California, Berkeley (h/t Mark Thoma at Economist's View)
* Bob Rubin and his protegés favor a "strong dollar" in order to "keep borrowing costs low," which translates to running a balanced budget or even a surplus, as Rubin advised Democrats in the Clinton administration to do, setting the stage for the first depression of the 21st century. This goes by the name "Rubinomics." See also the Roosevelt Institute piece with links on Rubinomics. The Rubinites are now deficit doves that think moderate austerity is called for now rather than the austere austerity of the sound money crowd.