The National Debt doesn’t matter the way we’ve been taught to believe

There aren’t many economists who (publicly) take the position that the national debt doesn’t matter

I titled chapter three of The Deficit Myth, “The National Debt (That Isn’t)” not because I believe that the so-called debt doesn’t matter but because I think it doesn’t matter the way we’ve been taught to believe. 

I gave the Milken Institute permission to publish the chapter in its entirety.
You can find it here.

https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJwlkN2OhCAMhZ9muFuCCIoXXOzNvobhp6NkEAzUMb79MmPStE3T5vR8ziAsuVx6zxXJJ8147aATnDUCIhRyVChz8FpwxQYuBGmt75RUJNT5WQA2E6LGcgDZDxuDMxhyui96KQeyaiv6p5HsaZntJ9lNives91JaNghmQN7C5vABkgMNbyhXTkCiXhH3-uh_H_yvxXmedAvxBanAO8BJc1na2BQMLkJtLa7w4-EZXMCf7cKVBM0Zb8GGTrFRdJRTq0ZmJwnDxMzoek6zk8Mew_UQbFs4rYetaNyLuryRojfwtumYAhTSEo_k297yMf1daJ7nVrcjBbxmSMZG8DcOvKl-Ac0LJCiNtp8N6m4QohuZGkbFp9v9h5fqpGKMk_aBz-0q6YqwryYFeEHEnP4BH96SZA

If you’re interested in a shorter version—and you can get around the paywall—here’s something I wrote for the Financial Times.

https://www.ft.com/content/53cb3f6a-895d-11ea-a109-483c62d17528

 
 Here’s an excerpt:
The debate has shifted in favor of MMT. It’s less common to hear mainstream economists talk about soaring interest rates driven by bond vigilantes or national insolvency. And it’s more common for people to understand that government deficits supply the non-government sector with net financial assets—i.e. the government’s red ink is our collective black ink. 

Stephanie Kelton Newsletter 6 February 2022