“Then why does the military budget keep going up as social programs keep getting cut?"
Now that’s a good question.#LearnMMT
[thread – version 2]https://t.co/DbMpy6d06Z pic.twitter.com/jiioyh9vgx
— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
You and I require income (a paycheck) before we can spend. We must choose and prioritize what each dollar is spent on. Food or medicine? Can’t afford both this week. Or… gotta chop that pill in half so we can buy food for our kids. Hard choices. One or the other. Either/or. pic.twitter.com/M8A6pDdDgI
— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
Before Nixon took the US dollar off the gold standard in 1971, the federal gov't was the same way: they needed income (i.e. taxes) before they could spend. Now that the US dollar is a "fiat" currency, "a budget" to me and you is
**NOTHING**
like "a budget" to the federal gov't. pic.twitter.com/sxv6CkW8NI
— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
The U.S. federal gov't can create the U.S. dollar: They can create
– as much as they want,
– whenever they want,
– for whatever they want,
– and they’re the only ones in the world who are allowed do it.They are the "monopoly currency issuer." They have "monetary sovereignty." pic.twitter.com/YFUesDgiF8
— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
The federal gov't can create money like increasing points on a scoreboard. Like a child drawing a $trillion bill on a piece of construction paper. It exists because they want it to exist.
Money is "born" when the Congress writes a number into a bill and it is signed into law. pic.twitter.com/2Vw0QUjTLJ
— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
Here’s the Big Lie:
"The federal government must get income before they spend, just like me and you."
Think about it: if you could create money on a whim, would you need any income?
Ever?
No. You wouldn’t. pic.twitter.com/MINzZT2RuM
— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
Every other lie:
-debt
-deficit
-balanced budget
-surplus
-borrow from China
-"fiscal responsibility"
-"natural unemployment"
-"Your social programs will raise my taxes!"
-"The rich must pay their fair share!"and on and on and on…
EVERY other lie is based on the Big Lie. pic.twitter.com/OlZtugL2on
— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
So, if you were the federal government and you had this god-like power, would you be forced to choose EITHER
this thing
or
that thing*because* of a lack of MONEY?
No. That doesn’t make economic sense. pic.twitter.com/t1pukfefEA
— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
For the federal government, the word "afford" has absolutely nothing to do with MONEY (you can create it infinitely, so what do you care!?).
Do you have the real resources to do it? Then do it!
(Real resources: Raw materials, labor, technology, and time.) pic.twitter.com/EtKb8kOiDA
— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
If you can create money like the fed gov’t, then you don’t need to “get it” from anywhere else.
– You don't need to borrow it from China (or Social Security!).
– You don't need to get it from taxpayers.(What does it even mean for someone like this to "be in debt"?) pic.twitter.com/P9R6dwBU2U
— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
"Federal taxes do not fund federal spending.
Federal spending funds federal taxes."“In short,
you do not fund the US government,
the US government funds you."
— @elliswinninghamBefore the gov’t ever gives you a dollar (through your bank or employer), can you pay your taxes? pic.twitter.com/w4Aj93n5O6
— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
You asked: "Then why does the military budget keep going up as social programs keep getting cut?"
The "richest" country in the history of the world can easily “afford” to give all its people what they need – tomorrow if they wanted. They could have easily done it decades ago. pic.twitter.com/wXeo3wTvAv
— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
(We could also be more EFFICIENT and MORAL with our resources. Like, oh, I don’t know… How about using the military to PROTECT THE PEOPLE instead of being the bullies of the world and demanding every other country’s lunch money?) pic.twitter.com/50hQgx9SYc
— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
The Big Lie makes no economic sense.
Pretending it’s true, however, serves one critical purpose: it pits the people against each other.
It pits those who want big programs against those who are genuinely terrified of higher taxes.
(“I don’t care what it is, I am against it!”) pic.twitter.com/7jOan5phaP
— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
It pits those who demand that the super-rich “give us their money" (either by charity or by force) against those who consider that to be unfair, unreasonable, or harmful.
(“How dare you penalize success! Who do you think creates the jobs anyway, you socialist communist?!”) pic.twitter.com/Z6jiDCmneG
— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
It pits those who demand our military be reduced to non-belligerent levels (so we can INSTEAD use that money to help the people) against those who think that even the smallest reduction is foolish and dangerous.
("How dare you jeopardize our troops and our national security!") pic.twitter.com/048Chf3hEZ
— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
The conversation immediately and permanently turns away from actually GETTING programs that help the people (the only thing that matters!) to a pointless and economically nonsensical argument over “the money.”
(Is it any wonder why we have nothing we need to survive?) pic.twitter.com/GGm5wus1H0
— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
We MUST reduce the military to stop being the bullies of the world. We MUST tax the rich in order to reduce immoral inequality.
But we don’t need – it is impossible – to reduce the military or tax the rich IN ORDER TO get their money.
(This *only* refers to the federal level.) pic.twitter.com/ckveN8aV5d
— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
Everyone is upset at the "unfortunate reality" that "we simply don’t have enough money" to fund the military, tax breaks for millionaires, AND social programs that the people need TO SURVIVE. However, as we now know, to the federal government, money is quite literally no object. pic.twitter.com/24IDHZDXYB
— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
The Masters of the Universe (and their politician employees) hide behind the Big Lie to pretend they WANT TO BUT CAN’T give us these things, when the truth is that they just don’t want to.
(The Big Lie and all its sub-lies are reinforced by our media, educators, and "experts.") pic.twitter.com/GfETb6IGTQ
— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
So, should we be angry at something that makes no economic sense?
Or should we be angry at our politicians who pretend that the Big Lie is true, and use economic ignorance against us as a tool to keep the powerful powerful and the powerless powerless?https://t.co/7159WFqM8q
— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
Racism
Xenophobia
Classism
Sexism
HomophobiaEvery one of them is a tool to tear the people apart.
Economic ignorance
…is a tool to tear the people apart.
Everybody fights with everybody while the Masters of the Universe sit back and relax, laugh and count their money. pic.twitter.com/02zfY1gPjP
— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
Please.
– – -END- – – pic.twitter.com/KXvLYxcYZi
— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
To #LearnMMT from the experts, see @Sherry_Reson’s website, We Can Have Nice Things! https://t.co/nORWENkCa4
— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
To #LearnMMT, follow these #MMT economists and experts:
The MMT Beatles:@StephanieKelton, @billy_blog, @wbmosler, L. Randall Wray, @stf18
Others:@FadhelKaboub, @ptcherneva, @SandyDarity, @StevenHailAus, @elliswinningham, @RaulACarrillo
There are more. pic.twitter.com/MpdnEqrw8u
— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
To #LearnMMT from very smart non-experts, join the Facebook group “Modern Monetary Theory for Real Progressives.”https://t.co/Bkv6VVNWDE@RealProgressUS pic.twitter.com/DF6ajzvagX
— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
Confirmation by six economists and experts that federal taxes do not fund federal spending (this and the next three tweets):
“In short, you do not fund the US government, the US government funds you."
— @elliswinningham
— From https://t.co/mMPq7hea1q pic.twitter.com/TstafeCfYt— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
“After carefully considering the complexities of reserve accounting, it is argued that the proceeds from taxation and bond sales are technically incapable of financing government spending…”
— American economist and #Bernie2016 advisor @StephanieKelton
— https://t.co/epB7Ho2tyH pic.twitter.com/ZapTAeEmwV— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
American economist, L. Randall Wray: “Taxes are not needed to ‘pay for’ government spending.”
— https://t.co/5Mq0YKR5FfAustralian economist, @billy_blog: “Taxpayers do not fund anything.”
— https://t.co/qggV6miJ2V pic.twitter.com/5rKnudsJNm— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
Chairman of the NY Federal Reserve Bank, Beardsley Ruml, 1943: "TAXES FOR REVENUE ARE OBSOLETE"
– https://t.co/ej371Nare3 @wbmosler, the “father” of #MMT: "It makes no sense at all to think that the gov’t has to get money by taxing in order to spend."
– https://t.co/3Hufrxu7Az pic.twitter.com/CKP5H6s4hL— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
With thanks especially to @takesservedhot for the copy editing feedback.@stevenj94613027 We’re on the same side and have the same goals. We’re all doing the best we can with what we know. The vast majority of Americans believe exactly as you do. No offense intended. pic.twitter.com/K1WiL9FT1y
— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
Correction regarding the gold standard: https://t.co/BjjaHXmXyU
— Citizens' Media TV (@citizensmediatv) August 19, 2018
Citizens' Media TV 