Mainstream economist discovers that banks create money (Krugman vs. Keen continued)
4 April, 2012If you don’t realise something is broken, how do you know you need to fix it? One of the major problems monetary reformers face is that by and large the economics profession does not understand money and banking. This leads to them giving bad advice to policymakers, with bad policy leads to bad outcomes for [...]
Krugman vs. People Who Understand How Banks Work
2 April, 2012The problem with most (neo-classical) economists isn't that they aren't smart people (in fact some of them are ridiculously clever); it's that they were taught wrong. Like most others who study a subject, they sit down to read the textbooks assuming that they are correct - a reasonable assumption one might think. These textbooks [...]
The Budget 2012: Let's rearrange those deckchairs boys!
21 March, 2012Budget day today, however, this is not the place for a full analysis of the ongoing deckchair rearrangement. We here at Positive Money just wanted to remind Osborne, Cameron and Clegg that there is an alternative to selling off anything not nailed down (motorways don't need nailing). In 1844 a Conservative government, lead by Sir [...]
Conference on Banking – Cracks in Lord Turner's Argument
3 October, 2011On Thursday 29th September, The European Conference on Banking and the Economy - with a head-line "Banking: Seeking a new paradigm" - took place in Winchester. The conference was essentially a series of lectures on different topics surrounding banking, money, financial markets and the economy. Topics covered included Bank Regulation, Banks & Economy, Monetary Policy, Risk and [...]
The Contradiction at the Heart of the Financial Services Authority (FSA)
28 March, 2011Imagine you are the parent of a young child. Because you are a little cruel, you decided to name your child ‘the financial sector’ (or TFS for short). TFS goes to a nursery, which has been somewhat strangely named the Financial Services Authority (FSA) nursery. Arriving at the nursery to pick up TFS, you discover [...]
Budget Response: Nothing to See Here, Move On!
23 March, 2011Today’s budget does not include any major changes to the banking system in the UK. Although the Bank Levy has been increased by 0.003% (from 0.075% to 0.078%), this will be offset by a 2% reduction in corporation tax rate this year (from 28% to 26%), with further reductions in the following years. The treasury [...]