Finding the Money

Unprecedented government spending to address the Covid-19 pandemic has left many people asking: “Where did Congress find all that money?” And does the national debt even matter?

Stephanie Kelton, economics professor and political advisor,  states for a currency issuing government like the United States, “finding the money is actually the easiest part!” A revolution in economics is taking place that flips money, debt, and taxes literally upside down.

A bold group is on a mission to prove the national debt is the opposite of what you think it is: it’s not our debt, it’s our money. FINDING THE MONEY traces the rise of a controversial new theory dubbed ‘Modern Monetary Theory’, or MMT. It could either represent a paradigm shift in economics and politics, or remain the laughing stock of a respectable academic field. The ideas, originating from Wall Street trader Warren Mosler, strike at the core of mainstream thought and are met with derision by prominent figures from across the political spectrum. But according to Mosler, “once you see it the right way around, you can never go back to the old thinking”.

We take a 5,000 year journey to find the nature of money itself. From clay tablets in ancient Mesopotamia, to tally sticks in medieval England, to paper in the US colonies, animated historical interludes weave through the film propelling the modern narrative forward and providing clues. Is money a physical object that we have to go out and find? Or has money always been virtual?

If this unorthodox group is right, their story revolutionizes our understanding of the nature of money and what the federal government can afford. But will they succeed in time to affect how we address the unparalleled crises of climate change and inequality?