Thread by @BenTippet, New article: 'How can we pay off the global coronavirus debts? Tackle [...]

New article: & #39;How can we pay off the global coronavirus debts? Tackle the powerful.& #39;

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/nov/23/pay-off-global-covid-19-debts-tackle-powerful-tax-havens-pandemic

I">https://www.theguardian.com/commentis... 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

How can we pay off the global coronavirus debts? Tackle the powerful | Ben Tippet

Shutting down tax havens and cancelling debts could pay for the pandemic and more, says author Ben Tippet

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/nov/23/pay-off-global-covid-19-debts-tackle-powerful-tax-havens-pandemic

We are already seeing the return of the austerity narrative in full force - that cuts are necessary to deal with an & #39;unsustainable& #39; government debt.

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 ">https://bit.ly/3nNBYHN&q... by @JWMason1 and @arjun_jayadev

Also see Rob Jump& #39;s excellent video overview on debt dynamics https://vimeo.com/428017113/b1843ec3f5">https://vimeo.com/428017113...

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& #39;t really debt). https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2020/11/22/the-history-and-significance-of-qe-in-the-uk/">https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2020...

The history and significance of QE in the UK

The post that follows was written as a Twitter thread. As a result no paragraph is more than 280 characters long. But it grew, and grew, and the issue it addresses - the role of quantitative easing...

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 & #39;spend and don& #39;t worry about the debt& #39;. High government debts in the global north don& #39;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 ">https://bit.ly/36US23K&q...

Also, the debate over & #39;who pays for the pandemic& #39; 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 ">https://longreads.tni.org/just-tran...

Paying for the Pandemic: A Just Transition

Caught between crises California has this year seen the largest forest fires on record. The smoke, whipped up by the flames, made it impossible for people to go outside without harming their lungs....

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">https://twitter.com/SOASEcono...

https://twitter.com/SOASEconomics/status/1330812133785952257?s=20

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