No, this is really pretty good
Steve then proceeds to demolish the absurd notion that Bill Mitchell and Warren Nosler have put forward on this issue, which has never made the slightest bit of economic sense.
Steve Keen wants to insist that exports are not a cost.
We have both continually warned that the biggest threat to MMT is the absurd economic logic of some of its founders, like Mosler and Mitchell.
I am pleased Steve has stuck his head above the parapet again. He is right to do so. MMT would be much better off without Mitchell. I have little more to add to that comment. It is obviously true.
Steve does this by trying to prove that opportunity cost doesn’t exist.
Spud agrees with Steve.
That’s really pretty good….
When I asked it to state the basic principles of economics, Perplexity said:
Trade-offs and Opportunity Cost
• Every choice involves a trade-off. Choosing one option means giving up another. The opportunity cost is the value of the next best alternative foregone when a decision is made.
So I have a half-crown in my hand. I can buy Smarties, a Curly-Wurly and a Milky Bar. Or a half of mild (I’m going back a bit). Or a bus ticket home. Or I can stick it in the Post Office Savings. But I can’t have everything at once. In buying one I’m foregoing the others.
This is so obvious one can teach it to a four year old, yet somehow it passes the lefy intellectual by.
OT sorry but Feminism news.
Carrie has taken the recent Supreme Court ruling with the usual grace and levelheadedness, by which I mean he’s been seething and doomposting deranged articles written by other trannies. Today’s a good one.
Cllr Helen Belcher says the decision will lead to the British Transport Police molesting female passengers:
And later on Thursday the British Transport Police announced that, when strip searches of trans women were required, they’d now be carried out by male officers. Well, that happened a lot quicker than I thought it would. It doesn’t matter how we look, what paperwork we have or what medical procedures we’ve undergone, it’s men’s hands around our privates now.
Other women, the ones who the Supreme Court still recognised as legally female, started to ask questions. How would the BTP know who was trans and who wasn’t? Some trans women are physically indistinguishable from other women. What would happen if a woman who wasn’t trans couldn’t prove they weren’t trans? After all, weren’t all trans women simply going to deny the fact?
Legal clarity – apparently.
Yes, Helen Belcher really does believe it’s difficult to spot a tranny:
Remember that ten years ago, some papers were still using the “Trans or Woman” “game”. It’s pretty much impossible to identify trans women as trans all the time, despite what the haters say.
This is Helen Belcher:
https://cms.wiltshire.gov.uk/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=11108
“somehow it passes the lefy intellectual”
‘Cakeism’, as people used to say in the long ago era of Boris.
There is something about the public sector that means it’s over represented by militant trannies – what could it be?
Surely not lack of work leading to idle hands that the devil needs to make work for?
That “Helen Belcher” is Prince Andrew in a wig. I could spot that at 100 paces.
How would (you know) who was trans and who wasn’t?
I was pondering this earlier. And of course, the answer is: THEY’LL SHOUT IT IN YOUR FACE!!!!!
Of course the “normal” trannies, who just want to get on with their life as architects, composers, accountants, engineers, historians, bus drivers, whatever, who don’t live their life for “TRANS!!!!” just get on with their life with the bodies they occupy. You never saw Angela Morley or Jan Morris screaming outside the women’s toilets.
And of course, the militants have destroyed the ground they themselves were standing on by using “trans” to mean both “person who wants to lop off their bits” *AND* “person who has lopped off their bits”. If they just stuck to normal language, there wouldn’t be any of these problems. You’ve got body dismorphia? Go into the loos labelled K along with other people without gender dismorphia. No longer have gender dismorphis because you’ve had your bits lopped off? Go into the loos labelled R along with different other people without gender dismorphia.
In 2023, Helen Belcher was awarded an OBE for “services to the transgender community”. Those “services” amount to nothing more than hysterical, reality-denying bigotry.
Based on Councillor Belcher’s gable end there isn’t a climate emergency at his house.
Nevertheless respect to any Councillor candidate in the upcoming election who gives their personal address.
…the absurd economic logic of some of its founders, like Mosler and Mitchell…MMT would be much better off without Mitchell.
Charmless and intemperate Spud evidently has no idea how to make friends and influence people. Anyone who disagrees with the Sage of Ely is venomously attacked.
Bongo
Yes, some respect. The 1972 Local Government Act requires that councillors’ home addresses are published. As of 2011, the law allows addresses to be withheld during elections and if there are threats or intimidation.
Norman -So that’s what he’s been up to at “Pizza Express”
Jgh – Of course the “normal” trannies,
*shakes head, sadly* Brother, when I say every damn time, I mean every damn time.
If you ever need proof, have a quick look at social media and the many, many thousands of trannies calling for JK Rowling to be beaten, raped and murdered every day.
It’s not a crazy fringe, this is who they are. And when they’re not daintily threatening to murder-death-kill a Mum-of-three, they have our useless clown cops on speed dial, and use them to terrorise people (mostly women) who disagree with them on the internet. (To be fair, the police don’t want to investigate real crimes as that might be racist)
Theo – you used to get an OBE for things like serving in the Red Cross during WW1.
But we have King Charles now, so you get an OBE for being Les Dawson in a dress. What amazing progress we’ve made since 1917! It’s a shame we can’t send letters to the past, because nobody would have bothered to fight either world war if they knew.
Bongo – he ate the climate emergency.
>Some trans women are physically indistinguishable from other women.
*Some* are. And those ‘some’ will undoubtedly have a surprise in store for the female officer patting them down;)
But *most* look like deranged clowns.
I don’t want to read Steve Keen, I really don’t. I especially don’t want to now I’ve read Murphy’s usual abusive, hate- filled ad hominems. However,….
I would have thought ‘exports are a cost’ was basic economic common sense. So – VERY BRIEFLY! – what I s Kean’s argument here?
Don’t tell me Murphy’s argument. It becomes obvious very quickly that he doesn’t have one; just a grudge against Bill Mitchell.
Steve
Yesterday’s was my personal favourite
The loudest TERFs are still not satisfied, and are still being shunned by their friends…
In The Times of London, American writer turned British TERF Hadley Freeman lamented that none of her friends have come back to her to fete her and tell her how right she was all along about trans people. On socials, columnist Julie Bindel said she still feels lonely and unfulfilled in the wake of what should have been her best week ever.
Famously unfunny prick Graham Linehan took to Twitter demanding apologies from all the family and friends that abandoned him as he lost his mind and became singularly obsessed with stalking trans women on women’s dating apps.
All of these people are expecting vindication for their years long hate campaign against trans people, they want their old life back but also expect to wear their bigotry just a proudly on their sleeves. But there is no redemption arc here. You’ve made your deal with the devil and your soul is now his. Forever.
I’d previously thought Murphy uniquely lacking in self – awareness but these men are in another stratosphere. Despite a systematic campaign of hatred, threats and violence they still see themselves as victims. Far be it from
Me to endorse ISIS but it might be good to give them some practise at pushing people of tall buildings. What, in all honesty would be the loss?
“exports are a cost” is an observation without a consequence. Oil, cars and whisky are things of value foreigners are willing to pay money for? No shit, Sherlock.
Steve Keen’s an opportunity cost denier, because he doesn’t understand what opportunity cost is:
The “opportunity cost” of “more butter” is therefore “less guns”: in the second (C,D) comparison shown below, the opportunity cost of 10 more units of butter is 50 less units of guns. It’s the Neoclassical songbook version of the Rolling Stones’s “You can’t always get what you want”: you can’t get more of one thing without getting less of another.
Except that you can. I’ve laboured the point about the “Production Possibility Frontier” (PPF) showing the maximum output combinations for what I hope is now an obvious reason: by placing its toy economy on its “PPF”, this model assumes full employment.
Even an introductory treatment of this model will point out that, if you are not at full employment, then there is no opportunity cost: you can have more of both guns and butter at the same time if you increase the level of employment. In the next diagram, this toy economy can have more of both food and clothing if it is at point B, and can (somehow) move to point A.
Presumably those unemployed people will work for free? But MMT is a mystical belief in free magic money, so it’s internally consistent.
VP – it’s amazing how “TERFs” – i.e. actual women who won’t put up with their shit – live rent-free in the minds of these guys. But yeah, Carrie is keen to let you know that they’re all sad, lonely obsessives.
On t’other, I’m pretty sure JK Rowling sees her children every day, and they’re not embarrassed by her. Can Carrie say the same?
I used to think misogyny was a joke, as in literally a joke, because surely nobody hates women for reals? It’s just male-female banter, right? Silly of me. Nobody hates women more than men who want to be them.
jgh,
Of course the “normal” trannies, who just want to get on with their life as architects, composers, accountants, engineers, historians, bus drivers, whatever, who don’t live their life for “TRANS!!!!” just get on with their life with the bodies they occupy. You never saw Angela Morley or Jan Morris screaming outside the women’s toilets.
That went through my mind this morning as I was listening to Diedre McClusky. I don’t think I’ve ever heard her even raise the subject, she just gets on with being an economist and brilliant communicator.
She has actually written about that first time using the ladies. Along the lines of “Well, I just pushed open the door!”
“Presumably those unemployed people will work for free? But MMT is a mystical belief in free magic money, so it’s internally consistent.”
Good luck with trying to get the underemployed to actually work, regardless of where the money comes from. Most of them prefer to be paid to sit on their backsides all day by the benefit system. Getting up at 7:30am and going to work isn’t on the agenda.
She has actually written about that first time using the ladies. Along the lines of “Well, I just pushed open the door!”
She tells a couple of interesting stories:
Her sister is a psychiatrist and committed him when he announced that he was going to get the op.
She was quite proud when she was ignored by a group of men just after the op, she said it made her feel like a woman.
Steve
So Steve Keen is a fucking idiot. And Murphy doesn’t even understand why he agrees with Keen.
Fucking hell.
There is a meme going around right now, the gist of it is this:
My friend John came running out of the house with tears running down his face screaming “It’s a boy, it’s a boy!”
“We agreed we are never visiting Thailand again .”
I’d previously thought Murphy uniquely lacking in self – awareness but these men are in another stratosphere.
Loonies gotta loon….
“Exports are a Cost”: is an odd thing to argue over.
It can be true in certain circs, but it’s nonsense really
Diary of Richard Murphy, mental age 14 1/4
Monday – I came across MMT theory today. Never heard of it before. It seems jolly interesting as it says Governments can spend whatever they like.
Tuesday – I am an expert in MMT. I look forward to talking to other MMT experts.
Wednesday – It turns out that the other MMT so-called experts don’t agree with everything I say. How disappointing.
Thursday – So-called experts in MMT are neoliberals who don’t understand MMT at all. I will no longer talk to these trolls.
Friday – It is a shame that MMT – which I created – is being distorted by so-called experts who are in fact fascists. I spoke to a very important person about this and he agreed with everything I said.
Andrew C
Bullseye
Ironman – I suspect he’s a grifter rather than stupid, but why not both?
“Opportunity cost doesn’t exist if there are unemployment people ” is a startling argument. But if he told the awful truth of TANSTAAFL, loser lefties who are convinced they’d stop being losers under socialism wouldn’t give him money.
What Ritchie and the gang are doing is no different to Andrew Tate selling gullible young men the fantasy of sex and money. Choose Your Own Economics.
Brilliant by AndrewC