Inequality, Debt and Credit Stagnation

[@RushuFriends]

Great presentation, I can't wait to see more of your work

[@floridaman3823]

Dr. Keen, I saw the CERN article you posted a few months ago and found it quite entertaining. Notwithstanding, I find your wit even sharper when presented in video format. Thank you for another excellant video.

[@brantknudson8194]

This guy has models that actually match the data and can make useful predictions. Can economics become a science? What's missing is policy recommendations to get out of this trap.

[@conscious_being]

"What's missing is policy recommendations to get out of this trap." Are you kidding? Prof Keen has beautifully articulated policy recommendations. Check his modern debt-jubilee recommendation.

[@smartiepancake]

Debt jubilee is not the greatest idea is it. Moral hazard on a grand scale. Much better would be a new tax system based on Henry George's Single Tax on land value. Keen has a complete blank spot for this crucial part of the economy.

[@conscious_being]

D Bruce In a conventional debt-jubilee debts are written off/down by the creditors, the equivalent of a default by the debtors without the penalties of a default. That would bring the system down instantly as pension funds would become bankrupt and banks become insolvent and hence not an option. In the kind of debt-jubilee that Prof Keen proposed, new money is created by the Central Bank against some fictitious assets of arbitrarily high value (that are NOT debt), say some rare artifact, and this money is distributed among ALL adults citizens (and perhaps corporations as well) in a manner that is arguably fair (say in proportion to the total taxes paid in the previous so many years, with a guaranteed minimum even for those who paid no taxes), the condition being that the recipient must pay down/pay off any debt and can use only the money remaining after clearing all debts. Essentially those in debt see their debts go down and those not in debt will see a cash injection. Financial institutions will see their risk carrying debt assets (what others owe them) go down when debts are repaid, but risk-free cash assets (Central Bank reserves) go up making their balance sheets healthy. Those who bough interest bearing bonds will see their incomes drop, but since they received a cash injection, it will more than offset the loss of income. Done in the right proportion, it will bring down the overall indebtedness of the society, carries no moral hazard and can be managed to create only a moderate inflation. It is a simple, yet effective solution. Of course, it will also NOT happen in any Western country for a long time.

[@smartiepancake]

I know Keen's jubilee argument and I still maintain that it's a moral hazard - how does one "manage" such a thing to guarantee "only moderate inflation"? No, Henry George's Single Tax is the answer - our tax system is fatally imbalanced and it transmits this imbalance into the wider economy - our tax system forces labour and capital to subsidise landowning, stilfling growth, innovation and employment and causing massive inequality - this is the primary cause of the the credit driven boom-bust cycle, as Keen would realise if he took his analysis a stage further. He rightly criticises other economists for not taking the banking system into consideration yet he himself ignores the tax system.

[@conscious_being]

D Bruce "I know Keen's jubilee argument and I still maintain that it's a moral hazard" Evidently you don't know enough. Your "maintaining" something is neither proof of anything nor does it constitute an argument. "how does one "manage" such a thing to guarantee "only moderate inflation"?" If you knew anything about Prof. Keen's recommendations, instead of claiming to know, you would know how. For example, asset price inflation can be curtailed by requiring that the amount loaned by banks be limited not only by the income of the borrower and the market value of the asset, but also by the income stream generated by the asset generates/could generate for the owner. "No, Henry George's Single Tax is the answer " Oh! a Georgist! How about you start your own Georgist channel, instead of spamming other channels with the "truth as revealed by Henry George in the 19th Century and valid for all times till eternity"?

[@leomastoras]

brilliant

[@john-lenin]

What program is used for economic modelling and where can I get copies of the model?

[@interactparty6629]

Do you mean too "high a level of debt" where debt cannot grow as terms and conditions for borrowing can no longer be met when one is already up to debt to the ears and the bank cannot create any more to you as you are no longer a good risk whether you are a trader or whether you are a citizen. Business has to borrow to offset inadequate sales.

[@nathanneiman]

Wow!

[@shaminoranger8588]

Steve, don't use sarcasm, particularly when speaking to an audience that doesn't speak English as the mother tongue. It's like speaking in double negatives, redundant and confusing. Channel Hemingway and say it straight.

[@RushuFriends]

My mother tongue is French, I don't think it's a problem to be honest. I've had way worse lecturers, not understanding sarcasm was the least of my problems.

[@malmstring]

Yeah. Hell of a lecture but all his sarcasms and ironic allegories fell totally flat. His "humour" was beyond boring.