Finding the Money

Unprecedented government spending to address the Covid-19 pandemic has left many wondering, where exactly did Congress find all that money? And is there any money left for the ongoing crises of inequality and climate change? Does the national debt even matter anymore?

FINDING THE MONEY traces the rise of a controversial new paradigm dubbed “Modern Monetary Theory” or MMT. Led by Stephanie Kelton — economic advisor to Bernie Sanders — she asserts for Congress, the sole issuer of the US dollar, “finding the money is actually the easy part!” MMT bursts into the mainstream media, with journalists questioning, “Have we been thinking about how the government spends money, all wrong?”

This unorthodox 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. But the ideas, originating from Wall Street trader Warren Mosler, are met with derision by prominent figures from across the political spectrum.

Is money an object that the US government, just like everybody else, has to go out and find?  Or does money always have two sides?