Dear all,
It seems an age since our last newsletter in February last year and who could have even guessed at what was coming down the line only a couple of months later. Like us, we’re sure that you will all be pleased to see the back end of 2020 and will be hoping for something better in 2021.
Covid-19 has changed so many people’s lives. Losing loved ones, facing the prospect of unemployment and continuing uncertainty, and not least wondering where we go next. We sincerely hope that you all have been coping and stayed safe and well in these difficult days.
The good news is that governments around the world have suddenly discovered the power of the public purse in response to the pandemic and MMT has been increasingly in the media limelight. Whilst it may not all be positive reporting and a fightback is to be expected, we have made great strides forward in terms of growing public awareness and all discussion is welcome.
Last year saw the publication of two inspirational books. Stephanie Kelton’s ‘The Deficit Myth’ has received great acclaim around the world and is widely acknowledged as having contributed hugely to public knowledge about how money and government finance works. Pavlina Tcherneva’s ‘The Case for the Job Guarantee’ also published around the same time will be a timely reference as we grapple with the economic fallout from Covid-19 which will continue well into 2021 and possibly beyond. There has never been a more crucial time for activists to continue with their work in bringing monetary reality to as many people as possible. The challenge continues.
Towards the end of February, just as cases of Covid-19 were starting to ramp up around the world, GIMMS held two events at Manchester University and London.
Professor Bill Mitchell, one of the original developers of MMT and a much-appreciated supporter of GIMMS from its launch, was joined on the platform in Manchester by Professor Steve Hall, an Emeritus Professor of Criminology at the universities of Teesside, Northumbria and Durham.
Professor Hall began by tracing the rise of populism throughout the West and explained why the MMT movement should see this as an important opportunity to attract popular support to push past the liberal left’s moribund political establishment. He focused on the need to develop a comprehensible communication strategy conveying how MMT could provide or contribute to developing solutions to the major issues which weigh heavily on people’s minds – jobs, housing, infrastructural decay, private debt, crime, terrorism, popular sovereignty and mass immigration.
He was followed by Professor Mitchell who explored how best to challenge the preconceptions which are embedded in the public consciousness and educational and other public institutions about how money works with a view to enabling people to take a more critical approach to the subject of economics. He showed how such an understanding could assist in the development of solutions to the pressing economic, social and ecological issues we face and explored what progressives need to do to win back the support of working people.
Despite the heavy rain (yes it was Manchester) the event was well attended, and discussion afterwards was lively and informative.
The video of the event is available here.
Our second event the following day necessitating a dash back to London for the MMT Masterclass, a part of Bill Mitchell’s new MMTed initiative. Bill covered basic MMT concepts in an academic-oriented presentation with the aim of advancing educational goals as a priority. It was a very popular event, well attended, and you couldn’t have squeezed another person into the hall.
It was with great regret that we had to cancel our planned event with Phil Armstrong in Northampton on March 28th due to lockdown which began on 23rd. It also put paid to events that were in the pipeline in Oxford, London and Bristol.
However, realising that Covid-19 was not going to be a short affair, not to be outwitted, and with the help of Claire our IT manager, we embraced technology and set up our first Zoom online event in August with Phil Armstrong, GIMMS Associate Member to discuss what a post-Covid-19 economy might look like.
Phil, whose book ‘Can economics make a difference’ was published in November last year, presented with his usual inimitable style and humour a valuable insight into how money works. He exposed the sham narrative of how governments spend and explored in the context of modern monetary realities how we might move towards a sustainable green economy, provide jobs and essential universal basic services and tackle poverty and inequality. We were disappointed that we were not able to meet people in person, but Phil’s online talk more than made up for it.
We would like to extend our warm congratulations to Phil, for the completion of his doctoral studies, in December he was awarded his PhD from the University of Southampton Solent.
On a roll now, this was quickly followed by further online events with Bill Mitchell, Warren Mosler, and our UK expert who was recently appointed as an Associate Member of GIMMS, Neil Wilson. Billed as informal ‘in conversation’ events, Phil once again with his unique style of interviewing put guests at their ease which made for both informative and enjoyable events.
If you missed any of these, you can find them on our YouTube Channel by following the links below:
MMT and the Post Covid Economy – Phil Armstrong
Phil Armstrong in Conversation with Bill Mitchell
Phil Armstrong in Conversation with Warren Mosler
Phil Armstrong in Conversation with Neil Wilson
We are now in the process of organising our New Year online events which will kick off on the 9th January when we shall be delighted to present Fadhel Kaboub in conversation with Phil Armstrong. Then quickly followed on 24th January our guest will be Pavlina Tcherneva.
Pavlina’s book and her conversation with Phil couldn’t be timelier, as we go into the new year facing continued lockdowns and restrictions, unemployment continues to grow. For tickets follow the links below.
Phil Armstrong in conversation with Fadhel Kaboub – Tickets
Phil Armstrong in conversation with Pavlina Tcherneva – Tickets
It is with great pleasure that we can announce the appointment of two additional Associate Members to join our already invaluable team Phil, Neil and Alan. Patricia Pino is a strong advocate for MMT and is currently studying for an MSc in Economics and Finance at King’s College London. Christian Reilly is a writer and comedian with more than a decade of interest in macroeconomics and MMT. In partnership with Patricia Pino, he set up the MMT Podcast and they have conducted scores of interviews with leading economists to demystify economics.
The GIMMS team would like to welcome them warmly and we are sure they will prove to be a valuable asset in terms of their knowledge and passion for promoting MMT to a bigger audience.
If you haven’t yet discovered the MMT Podcast we can recommend following the link. Through its numerous interviews, it provides a huge reservoir of indispensable and accessible information about how money works and what that means for addressing the key issues of our time. All episodes can be found here.
In between Christmas and the New Year, GIMMS were delighted to be able to share a new working paper by Andrew Berkeley, Richard Tye and Neil Wilson. Entitled ‘An Accounting Model of the UK Exchequer’, the authors investigate the structure of the UK’s financial institutions in ground-breaking depth and scope. They expose the myth of Bank of England independence and illustrate the central driving role of HM Treasury in the UK financial system and the primacy of Parliament in determining spending and resourcing in the UK.
It constitutes the first edition, and the authors will be working on a second edition as feedback arrives, with the intention of incorporating the final document into a book published by GIMMS and incorporating contributions by its leading proponents to produce a volume for academic research, both in the UK and globally, our big project for 2021!
An Accounting Model of the UK Exchequer
Our plans for 2021 include the development of a GIMMS Policy Group, to work towards putting together some practical policy proposals which we can present to policymakers both on a national and local level. Our aim is to focus initially on the Job Guarantee and to come up with a policy document that can be used ‘off-the-shelf’ with some minor adjustments, for local communities wishing to implement the programme. If we can get some interest in the programme from several communities, then we can use that traction to lobby policymakers at a national level.
We now also have a donate button on our website so if you are able to make a donation, however small, to cover our costs we would be appreciative. We are a non-profit organisation, and we are all unpaid volunteers. We rely on donations to continue our work, including website and online event costs.
You can make your donation here.
So, that’s all our news for now. All that remains for us to do is to wish you and yours a peaceful New Year, wherever you are.
We look forward to seeing you at one of our online events and hopefully, if and when life returns to some sort of normality, meeting you again in person.
With all our best wishes,
Prue, Sara and Claire
The GIMMS Team