Here’s a conundrum that deserves more publicity. If I understand correctly, Modern Monetary Theory proposes that there is no reason why money cannot be printed forever, to pay the debts of the U.S. government. Even though this continuously creates exponentially more interest, there is no reason why this should not continue forever! The debt always grows, but so what? it can always be paid by printing even more, right?
If this is indeed what MMT amounts to — that whenever the government needs more money, it can simply print more — and if this is really the official theory, then the question naturally arises, WHY DO WE NEED TO PAY TAXES?
Russell Wells
