'Top secret' MMT

Somebody has filed a successful Freedom of Information request relating to a presentation I did earlier in the year entitled 'A Non-Technical Introduction to Modern Monetary Theory' to economists and others from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Treasury and elsewhere in Canberra.

Consequently, a talk I did under 'Chatham House Rules' is now public, and so I can discuss it. Indeed, I need to do so, in case the person making the FOI request makes out that it was top-secret and tries to twist what I said and/or the background.

It is normal for economists in Canberra to engage with economists from a variety of different schools of thought. It does not, regrettably, mean we are about to take over the government. It was not a formal request from the Department. Neither was there anything inappropriate about it. It was a discussion designed to ensure that public servants are better informed about what is rapidly becoming a widely discussed approach to talking about the appropriate role of the government in the economy. It should be the duty of public economists to engage in such discussions.

The most senior people were not in the room. Unfortunately, Scott Morrison had just decided to postpone the election, and that meant some people were called away to meetings, who otherwise might have attended.

Still, there were perhaps 100 public servants in the room, who seemed to enjoy the talk, and the questions were in no way hostile. Perhaps I ought not to say this, but the impression I have is that there is no impenetrable barrier to the adoption of a stock-flow consistent MMT approach to thinking about fiscal policy within our public service.

It is the politicians, some of our journalists, and some academics who are the barrier, if one exists at all.

So we should keep pushing, because it is close to the time when we will be pushing at an open door.

And we had better be ready for people to turn around and say, 'OK. Now it's your turn. What do you want to do?', because that day may not be far off.

If anyone would like a copy of the FOI documents, here they are:

https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-10/27488-foi-2559.pdf

I am all for freedom of information.