And now, for all my #MMT friends and the rest of the world, I continue my review of “The Deficit Myth” by @StephanieKelton – Chapter 5 - “Winning at Trade”
THIS WAS ABSOLUTELY MY FAVORITE CHAPTER SO FAR. I learned so much. 1/x https://twitter.com/CarolynMcC/status/1244001106658824192

She starts the chapter explaining current trade dogma and how Trump won the election on trade. @StephanieKelton then explains the bad side effects of NAFTA and how tariffs do nothing to bring jobs back – they just increase the cost of goods. 2/x

I learned about “structural reform” – how countries try to compete by driving down the cost of labor (bad for workers!) Countries also manipulate their currency to make their goods competitive. Trump screams but they have no choice. 3/x

And I learned how the special position of the dollar hurts other countries when we have bad leaders using our power incorrectly – and how this hurts all of us in the long run.
(I don't think other countries will think highly of the dollar much longer.) 4/x

A really good part – @StephanieKelton explains how we are different from Venezuela (yay, I can finally explain that to the non-MMT’ers who hate #MMT but don’t understand it at all. “but, Venezuela” they say.) This will shut them up. 5/x

And a sad part – I now understand how so many emerging markets are actively kept from emerging and succeeding on their own. Makes me sick. 6/x

BUT! @StephanieKelton ends the chapter on how we can have “trade peace” instead of “trade war” – THE COUNTRY NEEDS TO READ THIS BOOK – out in June and I wish it could be sooner. The end. #MMT https://www.amazon.com/Deficit-Myth-Monetary-Peoples-Economy/dp/1541736184