A Great Leap Forward: Heterodox Economic Policy for the 21st Century

Description

A Great Leap Forward: Heterodox Economic Policy for the 21st Century investigates economic policy from a heterodox and progressive perspective. Author Randall Wray uses relatively short chapters arranged around several macroeconomic policy themes to present an integrated survey of progressive policy on topics of interest today that are likely to remain topics of interest for many years. Cover A Great Leap Forward: Heterodox Economic Policy for the 21st Century Copyright Acknowledgment Introduction PART A. The trouble with financialization I. What causes financial crises? II. The rise of financialization, neocons, and the ownership society III. The dark recesses of the financial system: why no one saw “it” coming IV. The global financial crisis explained V. The role of lender fraud VI. The four developments that precipitated the crisis a Managed money b Investment banks c Deregulation and desupervision d The rise of fraud as normal business procedure VII. Fraud as a business model VIII. The Wall Street bailout IX. Why we are screwed: it will happen again X. Did we learn anything from the crisis? XI. The end of money manager capitalism? References Further reading PART B. The road to social progress I. Aging, social security, and pensions a Demographics and infinite horizon calculations of burdens b How to pay for social security: truth and fictions c Social security, subway tokens, and pizza coupons d Private pensions: an introduction e Reforming pension fund and private savings strategies II. Health insurance versus Healthcare a Healthcare diversions: the elephant in the room b Health insurance diversions: we need less health insurance, not more c Health insurance diversions: the financialization of health (and everything else) d Selling death e The compulsive push for single payer III. Conclusion References PART C. Tackling poverty and inequality. The road to full employment and price stability I. Poverty and the trickle-down economy a One percenters b Rising tide II. Addressing inequality a Redistribution or preredistribution? Uncle Sam should not play Robin Hood b Basic income: how BIG is big enough? Would the basic income guarantee satisfy the unemployed? c What is wrong with a big BIG, as viewed from the JG perspective? 1 What are the shared goals of BIG and JG? 2 Rights to income and work contrasted 3 Is BIG an efficient way to reduce poverty and inequality? 4 BIG can be highly inflationary 5 How JG addresses some of BIG's goals without introducing its disadvantages A JOB FOR ALL. Dignity, income, and social production for shared prosperity a A plan for all Detroits out there b How to eliminate the scourge of unemployment: jobs now at a living wage c Workers will do nothing useful and the JG will not be manageable: a response d A consensus strategy for a universal job guarantee program IV. Robotization: a not so scary tale References Further reading PART D. Money and the public purpose I. Reforming banking and finance II. The role of the government in the monetary system a The basics of money creation b Taxes drive the sovereign's currency 1 The nature of money 2 Modern money 3 The fundamental “law” of credit: redeemability 4 Redemptionism or creationism? c Taxes and the public purpose d The sectoral balance approach III. Financing government: money and the public interest a What is the right size for government? b The right size versus the right side of deficit and debt ratio: the Wray curve c External constraints IV. Secular stagnation a Bow down to the bubble: Larry Summers and Paul Krugman embrace the secular stagnation thesis V. Financing the progressive agenda a What is technically possible is affordable b Paying for the Green New Deal References Further reading Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W