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Somehow, @paulkrugman got the impression that “MMT” says we can get to M4A without the need for any offsets. My impression is that he‘s actually arguing with non-economists who say things online.
Somehow, @paulkrugman got the impression that “MMT” says we can get to M4A without the need for any offsets. My impression is that he‘s actually arguing with non-economists who say things online.
I recently had an opportunity to explain my own thinking on this very question with @ezraklein and @jasonfurman. Jason shares Krugman’s opinion that you need enough new revenue to fully offset any new spending with M4A. #PAYGO
I responded that no one had done the hard work to try to arrive at the right answer but that I suspect it is not 1-1. Bottom line is that MMT *economists* have approached this question from a serious place, and it is simply wrong to claim MMT says, “Print Your Healthcare.”
Everything on the public record confirms this. The debate is over how much to offset, not whether offsets should be 0 or 1.
The study I’m most familiar with is a pro-M4A study that calls for a PAYGO approach, *and* it predicts massive job losses. That tells me that maybe, just maybe, the offsets are too high. ✌️
People on the Internet ≠ MMT
