I posted the following review. Let's see if it is published:
I believe it was Newsweek's Henry Hazlitt who commented about Keynes' "General Theory": something like: What is true in Keynes' work is not original, and what is original is not true. Something similar could be said about Kelton's "The Deficit Myth." The things Kelton says which are true are mere throwaway lines, phrases like “Do I believe the solution to all our problems is to simply spend more money? No, Of course not.” are immediately followed by calls to simply issue and spend more fiat money. Of course, there is nothing new about any of this. Monetary cranks have been around for decades/centuries. Wenzel's "comment" on the book -- and his is not a book but a long review -- goes beyond what is wrong about MMT and points out the other fallacies found throughout the Kelton book including her failure to understand basic international trade theory and how, in general, markets, when allowed to work, lead to capital formation and prosperity -- things Kelton just takes for granted and is pleased to advocate that the State should just grab them off the shelf with conjured money and give them to its friends in the name of "social justice." Just like the sharp (crook) who smuggles extra chips into a poker game. Except this crook is "our" government. The 4 out of 5 is for the book's brevity. A lot more could be said.
Kindle version coming soon?
ReplyDeleteVery effective marketing!
ReplyDeleteHa, that is fantastic!
ReplyDeleteI posted the following review. Let's see if it is published:
ReplyDeleteI believe it was Newsweek's Henry Hazlitt who commented about Keynes' "General Theory": something like: What is true in Keynes' work is not original, and what is original is not true. Something similar could be said about Kelton's "The Deficit Myth." The things Kelton says which are true are mere throwaway lines, phrases like “Do I believe the solution to all our problems is to simply spend more money? No, Of course not.” are immediately followed by calls to simply issue and spend more fiat money. Of course, there is nothing new about any of this. Monetary cranks have been around for decades/centuries. Wenzel's "comment" on the book -- and his is not a book but a long review -- goes beyond what is wrong about MMT and points out the other fallacies found throughout the Kelton book including her failure to understand basic international trade theory and how, in general, markets, when allowed to work, lead to capital formation and prosperity -- things Kelton just takes for granted and is pleased to advocate that the State should just grab them off the shelf with conjured money and give them to its friends in the name of "social justice." Just like the sharp (crook) who smuggles extra chips into a poker game. Except this crook is "our" government. The 4 out of 5 is for the book's brevity. A lot more could be said.