MEDIA ROOTS Dr. Michael Hudson calls it a financial grab of infrastructure by banking and financial elites; some call it the new world order; others use less provocative descriptors. This class warfare being waged by the world's ruling-class against the U.S. working-class has been described as a financial coup détat by Catherine Austin Fitts and others. But make no mistake; the ruling-class is stripping the worlds working-class of rights, livelihood, and dignity. And one of the centrally relevant concepts is Modern Monetary Theory (MMT).
In the most recent broadcast of Pacifica Radio's Guns and Butter, entitled There IS An Alternative To European Austerity: Modern Money Theory (MMT), Dr. Michael Hudson and Dr. Stephanie Kelton are featured from their presentations at the first annual grassroots Italian MMT Summit, held from February 24-26, 2012 in Rimini, Italy. The event was organised by Italian investigative journalist Paolo Barnard.
Notable concepts discussed include: defining money and money creation, distinguishing between sovereign and non-sovereign money, fiat money, the euro, the difference between central banks and commercial banks, deflation and inflation, the dangers of the gold standard, and much more. Dr. Hudson scientifically discusses how the world's ruling-class is destroying sovereign economies and subjugating their governments. Dr. Kelton bucks Euroamerican orthodox economic theory by proposing approaches to full employment and price stability, notions my economics professor refused to even consider. (When I pressed him on it, he said that's when things get bloody.) Well, when might equals right, the world's working-class must inform itself to counter ruling-class fallacies and their dire consequences for humanity. The shackles will begin to fall away once the people recall the consent of the governed, question the legitimacy of authority, and realise they can decide what is money, debt, and democracy.
snip
***
GUNS AND BUTTER But if governments are not allowed to create their money, then all of the credit the economy needs is created by the commercial banks. And when the commercial bank credit creation leads to debt deflation and the government cannot finance the deficit to pay the interest then the commercial banks say: Alright, sell off and privatise your infrastructure. This is what were seeing in Greece today, in Ireland. Youve seen it in Iceland. What you are seeing is a financial grab of infrastructure that is taking place by the ability of commercial bankers to prevent the central bank from creating credit." Dr. Michael Hudson
Listen to the Guns and Butter podcast (link at top left corner of page) or read the full transcript here:
http://mediaroots.org/mr-transcript-italian-mmt-summit-2012.php