Friday, November 15, 2013

QEP: Quantitative Easing for the People

Mehdi Hasan in the New Statesman 25 Oct quotes David Cameron saying in March that there is 'no magic money tree' to fund 'ever more wishful borrowing and spending'. But has he been reading colleague George Osborne who issued a Treasury briefing document around the March budget?

 ' It is theoretically possible for monetary authorities to finance fiscal deficits through the creation of money. This would allow governments to increase spending or reduce taxation without raising corresponding finance from the private sector.'  
See para 3.34:  here.  

Hasan advocates targeting QE (called QEP) better than the old QE. 
1. 40% of the gains from Quantitative Easing have benefited the richest 5% households. Free lunches for top earners.   
2. QEP is QE for the People. Give everyone a citizen's income through the same process. Free lunches for all. 

For the general background on basic income Malcolm Torrey of Citizen's Income Trust has a short video on a new book dealing with all aspects on the unconditional basic income:  Money For Everyone 
On a podcast you can hear Dr Torrey showing how all shades of political ideology could accept a basic income. Conservative - because it would empower individuals and families to be less state-dependent. A Radical Liberal - such as Sam Brittan supports it because it would bring individual freedom (many of those with a private income do much constructive work through it - but not many have one). Labour - because of the equality it would foster.   
Anatole Kaletsky of Reuters is for it as is Simon Jenkins (Guardian) who calls it the 'People's Bonus'.

Andrew Jackson of Positive Money has a new book Sovereign Money  on money creation, just in case David Cameron wanted to get the low-down on what his Chancellor Osborne already knows. You would have thought that a low polling party like the Conservatives would jump at the empowerment of citizens through money creation, and find a way to make it work safely despite the dismissal of the idea of the above para 3.34 by para 3.35.

Hillel Steiner advocates basic income in place of means tested welfare, see this blogpost. 

I have been advocating a Citizen's Income (called Citizen's Royalty in my book The Free Lunch - Fairness with Freedom) for over a decade and this high level support is stirring music.  Website:  Look at the videos explaining money creation by Prof Werner and buy signed copies of The Free Lunch.   
posted by Charles Bazlinton

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