Debunking Economics - the podcast

• Coinucopia’s thriving banking sector

  Steve and Phil have described the island of Coinucopia in previous editions of the podcast. It started as a place where only coins were legal tender, and the supply of coins didn’t increase. They explained how that created deflation and inhibited growth, so the government started adding more coins. Then they let banks issue loans. Now, what happens when the island allows banks to issue electronic loans. Actually, life becomes much simpler. Much simpler than most conventional economists would have you believe. Listen in to understand how banking now works, not just in Coinucopia, but in the real world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  45:50
• Reeves off track on growth

  Rachel Reeves, the UK Chancellor, has fallen into the debt-trap argument. She says she is focused on growth, but she is also determined to balance the budget. Cuts to government spending is part of the picture, but her biggest attack has been on business, increasing tax on employment. You could argue that if you are going to tax anywhere, taxing business is better than taxing personal income, but Steve argues that anything that drives money out of the real economy will slow growth, evidenced by the latest numbers showing GDP has flat lined. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  37:03
• The population clock

  There are, its estimated, 8.2 billion people on the planet. The UN projects that the world's population will reach 9.7 billion by 2050 and 11.2 billion by 2100. We won’t reach that, says Steve Keen. Even if we ignore climate change, we’ll exceed our capacity to support the population, and the as countries become richer their fertility rate will decline. The hope is that the natural decline happens before more extreme declines brought about by war, climate change and starvation. But, even intis best case scenario, we need to address the issue that the population is not always close to the food it needs, and economics naturally concentrates capital. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  39:51
• When Coincupia starts to allow loans and bank notes

  Last week Phil introduced us to the island of Coinucopia, where only a limited supply of gold coins could be used to keep the economy functioning. But the island is suffering from very slow economic growth. Steve explains how any innovation, that sees new products come to market, will see the same money chasing more goods, so prices will necessarily come down. That’s until the island decides to allow bank loans. At first, they only allow banks to loan out coins that have been deposited with them, but eventually they realise the potential of introducing bank notes. Now they have growth, but how do they curtail inflation? They’ve read Milton Friedman and believe an increase in money automatically creates inflation. But maybe he was wrong! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  44:20
• The cash only economy where economics works

  This week Phil introduces Steve Keen to the fictional island of Cornucopia. It’s a simple place, where the only trade takes place with gold coins. Banks are not allowed to give loans, and the money supply remains constant, unless the Chancellor decides to mint new ones. In such circumstances, how many basic economic principles work? Most of them, it seems. Sadly, this is not the real world, and economists who practice double entry book-keeping are imprisoned. Until the Chancellor realises there’s no growth and seeks help. To be continued. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  30:15

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