Debunking Economics - the podcast

The agreement by EU members to issue grants and loans to member states suffering the most from COVID-19 was a turning point for the union. Whilst US politics sees continued bickering on the size and form of a stimulus package, across the Atlantic a diverse range of countries have come together to agree a way forward. Is this a major turning point for the EU. Come we see fiscal and monetary union that could pave the way for the United States of Europe? It’s a question Phil Dobbie puts to Steve Keen in this week’s Debunking Economics podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The UK’s Home Secretary Priti Patel has revealed the government’s plan to curb migration to the UK, with a universal points system. It’s going to be hard for anyone to migrate to Britain without a job lined up that pays over £25k. Phil Dobbie asks Steve Keen whether it’s a good thing to set a minimum wage for migrants. After all, having we been exploiting workers, paying too little for jobs the locals aren’t prepared to do? Or do these low paid jobs impact the rate of pay for all workers, whatever they do for a living? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Remember climate change? Believe it or to, even with COVID-19 dominating our consciousness, the environment is still a thing. A new report by NGFS - a voluntary group of central bankers concerned about the environment – reckons the world’s global GDP could fall by 25 percent by 2100 if we do not do more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Whilst their intent might be right, Steve Keen is concerned that their modelling is wrong. Like most of the economics profession there is no application of systems thinking. Models are too simplistic, ignore tipping points and assume a closed system that doesn’t account for vital external variables. He says the worst of humanity is dragging us into a crisis, exploiting the worst of human behaviour – that we don’t think it will personally affect us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Income tax, sales tax, council tax, car tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax – there’s just so much tax! This week Phil Dobbie talks to Prof Steve Keen about the whole idea of taxation. For many it’s simply a form of revenue raising for governments, but once you accept that governments can create their own money in their own currency, the role of taxation changes. This week we look at the role tax plays in minimising income disparity, and the importance it should play in Boris Johnson’s quest to ‘level up’ the economy. And thanks to Ed Twohig for suggesting the topic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The world has become dependent on trade with China, so much so that . We’ve become so we’ve been prepared to overlook human rights violations. But is that about to change? President Trump has managed to convince world leaders to ditch Huawei from their telecoms networks on fears that their equipment could be snooping on us. But, could it also be that Huawei makes twice as much money as the US’s Cisco, the world’s next biggest telecommunications equipment provider? In this week’s podcast Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen whether the world can do without China, and are hypocritical trading with them if we believe their behaviour is that bad? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Boris Johnson has talked frequently about levelling up the UK economy – bringing the wealth of the more deprived areas so they are closer to the wealth of the more affluent areas, without the affluent folks having to pay for it. This week, Phil Dobbie asks Steve Keen whether that’s possible, or do you have to level down – take some of the wealth from the high earners to distribute to the more deprived regions? They discuss growth poles, carrot and stick measures and the importance of minimum wage and local council funding. The answer for Boris is in this podcast, let’s hope Dominic gives it a listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Inevitably, as governments spend more and more money to help their economies navigate through the COVID-19 crisis, the questions inevitably being asked is, how will all this be paid for? The assumption is, either governments will have to cut back on spending, or taxes will have to be increased. Few economists or politicians suggest that the debt is never repaid. In this edition of the Debunking Economics podcast Phil Dobie talks with Prof Steve Keen about how central banks, like the Bank of England, are creating money to cover this extra spending. Isn’t there a danger that if it gets out of hand we’ll end up like Zimbabwe, or Germany after the first world war? Once a central bank has created money to cover government debt, can it ever really be wound back? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump is pushing ahead with his protectionist agenda, and possibly with good reason. There were over 17 million manufacturing jobs in the US in 2000, in the 10 years that followed, China joined the WTO and the US lost about a third of those jobs. In this edition of the Debunking Economics podcast Phil Dobbie asks Steve Keen whether protectionism is valid in this day and age. What of the conventional philosophy that trying to do everything locally avoids economies of scale and pushes prices up for everyone? Steve’s argument, you need a complex economy to produce efficiency and innovation. It’s the lack of protectionism that has stymied growth in many economies. But there are exceptions, especially for an Elon Musk fan boy like Steve! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Furloughed workers, self-employed grant schemes, increased unemployment benefits, low interest loans, quantitative easing – governments and central banks are pulling out all the stops to try and offset the economic consequences of COVID-19. So who is doing it well? Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen to evaluate some of the programs implemented around the world – which ones are effective, which help the finance sector but do little for the broader population, and is there enough of it given the size of the impact? Governments are now trying to pull back on stimulus programs, even though infections continue and unemployment is in danger of rising still higher? Will we have learnt anything at the end of this experience about how the economy really works? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The world is facing the greatest economic downturn of our time. In the US at least 15 million more people are unemployed than just a few months ago. There are fears of a second wave and, even if it is contained and a cure is found, the chief scientist at the World Health Organisation is now saying it could take up to five years to get the virus under control. Meanwhile, as governments inject trillions of dollars of stimulus into the economy, share prices are reaching all-time highs. How can that be? How can the markets behave as though we were in the midst of the best of times? Phil Dobbie talks to Prof Steve Keen about what’s really driving share prices ever upwards. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.