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New article: 'How can we pay off the global coronavirus debts? Tackle the powerful.'
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/nov/23/pay-off-global-covid-19-debts-tackle-powerful-tax-havens-pandemic
I argue that 10 global proposals could raise $9.4 trillion a year without shifting the burden onto the poorest in society, summarising my recent report with @TNInstitute
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/nov/23/pay-off-global-covid-19-debts-tackle-powerful-tax-havens-pandemic
I argue that 10 global proposals could raise $9.4 trillion a year without shifting the burden onto the poorest in society, summarising my recent report with @TNInstitute
We are already seeing the return of the austerity narrative in full force - that cuts are necessary to deal with an 'unsustainable' government debt.
But balancing the books right now via spending cuts or pay freezes is clearly terrible economics as:
But balancing the books right now via spending cuts or pay freezes is clearly terrible economics as:
Governments can control the interest rate on their own debt, making high debts sustainable even in the medium term.
See recent article https://bit.ly/3nNBYHN by @JWMason1 and @arjun_jayadev
Also see Rob Jump's excellent video overview on debt dynamics https://vimeo.com/428017113/b1843ec3f5
See recent article https://bit.ly/3nNBYHN by @JWMason1 and @arjun_jayadev
Also see Rob Jump's excellent video overview on debt dynamics https://vimeo.com/428017113/b1843ec3f5
Also, government can monetise the debt/ print money to meet repayments. Whether or not QE has already done this is discussed at length by @RichardJMurphy. If you agree it means almost 40% of government debt is owed to itself (i.e. it isn't really debt). https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2020/11/22/the-history-and-significance-of-qe-in-the-uk/
But we should not simply stop at 'spend and don't worry about the debt'. High government debts in the global north don't deal with (and maybe make worse) the debt crisis in the global south. See @DomBro90 recent webinar on with with @CrashEconomics https://bit.ly/36US23K
Also, the debate over 'who pays for the pandemic' is really a debate over who wins and loses in the post-crisis global economic system. We should take this opportunity to argue for proposals that raise money by dealing with other social problems (inequality, carbon, militarism).
For a full overview of 10 progressive proposals that do this, see my @TNInstitute report here: https://longreads.tni.org/just-transition
I will discuss all this and more at a webinar on Wednesday afternoon (5pm GMT) @SOASEconomics with the brilliant @AyeishaTS and chair @MarieMeyle
Details here: https://twitter.com/SOASEconomics/status/1330812133785952257?s=20
Details here: https://twitter.com/SOASEconomics/status/1330812133785952257?s=20
