Welcome to episode 154 of Activist #MMT. Today's part two with German MMT economist Dirk Ehnts.

(Here's a link to part one.)

Above is the episode in audio form. Below is the episode in video form:

In addition to talking about Dirk's books, we discuss two major concepts. First is the idea that a major characteristic of human beings is they really don't like saying "I want to" do something horrible. They want to instead be able to say "I must." Conversely, instead of saying "I don't want to" do something good and necessary they will do whatever it takes to say "I can't."

A simple example is when you ask a friend to join you for lunch. Today they just don't feel like going out. They don't want to say something like "I just don't want to go out with you today. I still like you a whole lot, but I'm just feeling like staying at home and vegging with my TV." They'd rather say "I can't", such as due to a family obligation or sickness ("I'm really not feeling well today").

A bigger example is those in power denying healthcare to the masses. They want to profit, but even more, they want the power. "If you quit, you'll lose healthcare for not just you, but your entire family." Instead of admitting this, they would rather be able to point to the taxpayer myth and say "I must deny you healthcare because how're you gonna pay for it?".

Understanding how the economy actually works makes it impossible to use these kinds of excuses.

The other concept we discuss is how value is decided on by those in power. I'm a full-time singer is senior centers. It disgusts me to have to discuss money. When asked what my fee is, I always respond "the best you can do, such that I can keep returning in the long term." I never give a specific number.

Some facilities have small budgets, some have large. I don't want to take advantage of them, they (at least, the activities director whom I know personally) doesn't want to take advantage of me. All I ask for is the best you can do. It's worked out well enough. I maintain good relationships and it's turned out to be financially viable, if not lucrative.

The real value of singing for seniors is far removed from money. But because I must pay taxes and bills in order to survive, that non-financial value must be translated into financial terms. The very fact that I must do this negotiation with every activities director at every facility, and that I must use great effort to confirm I've received payment after every performance (which sometimes takes a couple months to arrive), is a testament to the fact that my job makes no rich person richer. If it did, there would be systems in place to greatly reduce these burdens.

Welcome to episode 153 of Activist #MMT. Today I talk with German MMT economist Dirk Ehnts. He discusses his books, and the courses he teaches, including one called "Equity, Equality, and Employment" at Torrens University.

(This is part one of a two part episode. Here's a link to PART TWO.)

Above is the episode in audio form. Below is the episode in video form:

We then talk about concepts related to individualism versus community, and how society imposes individualism on all of us in many ways. One example I experience personally is how, in my home state of New Jersey, it is virtually impossible to exist without a car. Public transportation and bicycle riding is inconvenient. Everyone having a car means more cars must be produced, shipped, maintained, monitored, and etc (roads, parking, and on and on). Although this provides jobs to those who do these things, what else could all those people be doing?

Another example: Just like everyone must have a car, every homeowner is expected to have, for example, their own lawn mower. This means almost all of those mowers sit unused for most of the year, and the burden of maintaining those mowers is on every individual owner. A more community-based solution would be to share a single mower among everyone on the block. This would let the mower be heavily used all the time (but within its design limits!), and the burden of maintaining would be distributed among all those neighbors.

Having more public transportation and a community mower would eliminate jobs, but that's a good thing! These people should be doing other things! We currently have an excess of cars and mowers in order to give people jobs. As if these are the only kinds of jobs possible.

Excessive individualism, as we currently have, requires excessive resource and energy use and, ultimately, perpetual growth. This is unsustainable. It is indeed possible to employ everyone with much less resource use, but it takes imagination and a paradigm shift.

Here's the original video from where this audio came.

Here's a list of links to John reading every chapter (released so far) in his 2021 book Contending Perspectives.

I have edited both the video and audio to eliminate mistakes, coughs, interruptions, and etc.

• 1:58 - Methodological individualism, praxeology, and subjectivism
• 9:46 - Market process
• 12:24 - Austrian business cycle theory
• 16:27 - Method
• 17:28 - Views of human nature and justice
• 18:35 - Standards
• 20:46 - Contemporary activities
• 21:48 - Criticisms
• 23:51 - Final rejoinder
• 25:15 - Further reading

Here's the original video from where this audio came.

Here's a list of links to John reading every chapter (released so far) in his 2021 book Contending Perspectives.

I have edited both the video and audio to eliminate mistakes, coughs, interruptions, and etc.

Here's the original video from where this audio came.

Here's a list of links to John reading every chapter (released so far) in his 2021 book Contending Perspectives.

I have edited both the video and audio to eliminate obvious mistakes, coughs, interruptions, and etc.

Here's the original video from where this audio came.

Here's a list of links to John reading every chapter (released so far) in his 2021 book Contending Perspectives.

I have edited both the video and audio to eliminate obvious mistakes, coughs, interruptions, and etc.

Use the below timestamps to navigate to each major section and occurrence in this section:

• 1:35 - Page 8: Chapter 2: Economics as a scientific discipline
• 3:25 - Page 8: Section: What is science?
• 4:40 - Page 9
• 10:03 - Page 10: A realistic version of science
• 17:39 - Page 13
• 30:13 - Page 17: Economics: Training and apprenticeship
• 44:01 - Page 22
• 58:38 - Page 27: Economics: Schools of thought
• 1:06:32 - Page 30: Economics: Primary and secondary standards of behavior
• 1:09:30 - Summary of table 2.1 on 32 (then skipping page 31, paragraph 2 through page 34, paragraph 2 – all of which is covered in future chapters)
• 1:10:43 - Page 34, paragraph 2
• 1:13:10 - Page 35: Conclusions
• 1:14:55 - Final comments

Welcome to episode 152 of Activist #MMT. Today's part two of my conversation with five of my Torrens classmates, this time about the job guarantee, from a now-much more educated point of view, given our experience at Torrens. We are also joined by John's wife, Martha, who is highly educated on topics related to the job guarantee.

(Here's a link to part one.)

But for now, let's get right back to our conversation.

Welcome to episode 151 of Activist #MMT. Today I talk with five of my Torrens classmates about our first year in the new graduate program – its importance, some fond memories, and a few improvements we hope to see. In part two we discuss the job guarantee from a now-much more educated point of view.

(Here's a link to part 2. A list of the audio chapters in this episode can be found right below.)

My guests are Gabie Bond who, along with Professor Steven Hail is the program's administrator, and all-around wonderful person. Susan Borden is the student-matriarch who is taking classes faster than anybody else, and may very well be the first graduate of the Master's program, in a class, literally, all by herself. Tom Foster is an insightful classmate who convinced me to change a major aspect of my view of the job guarantee, as discussed in part two. John Haly is a classmate and very good friend with whom, along with Susan, I've spent many a virtual hour talking and just quietly getting work done. Jackson Winter is a longtime collaborator on many different projects, from audio production to administering the primary private social platform (Discord) for our Torrens classmates, and creating major resources for current and future classmates to take advantage of. He's also a former guest on my podcast.

This episode was recorded in late July of last year. Its release was delayed by my taking a demanding course at Torrens, switching careers, and by having to prioritize the release of the Steve Keen and Maren Poitras episodes. Thanks to all my guests for their patience.

And now, onto our conversation.

• 2:40 - Hellos
• 5:38 - Susan first impressions
• 8:17 - What have you taken? What will you take? starting with Tom
• 11:35 - John
• 12:20 - Conflict between microeconomics and ecological economics
• 16:06 - John's classes
• 17:31 - Jackson classes
• 19:49 - Susan classes and response to John
• 23:18 - Susan and micro response, upcoming classes
• 23:57 - Steven and Gabie visiting the US
• 25:37 - Gabie's perspective of the first year as administrator.
• 28:17 - When will the final class of the initial set begin?
• 30:22 - Considering project-oriented electives
• 31:32 - The extra-curricular activities taken on by Torrens students (download directory, framing discussions)
• 37:27 - Framing discussions
• 38:42 - Between-trimester ideas
• 40:03 - Download directory, ramping-up advice, modern money lab resource repository
• 42:45 - Susan: Framing, messaging, and etc.
• 47:29 - Susan: Integrating Mazzucato's "Mission"
• 48:33 - Gregory Hayden's taxonomy
• 53:36 - Hayden's taxonomy final point
• 54:00 - Tom: more interactivity with classmates
• 55:34 - Final thoughts
• 57:09 - John: final thoughts
• 1:01:42 - Duplicate of introduction, with no background music (for those with sensitive ears)

THIS IS A BACKUP OF A GREAT INTERVIEW I DID IN 2019. IT TOUCHES ON MMT, BUT IS MOSTLY NON-MMT.

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A fascinating and insightful conversation on black history, music, religion, politics, economics, and more.

More here: https://citizensmedia.tv/2019/07/07/kem/

Welcome to episode 150 of Activist #MMT. Today I talk with Maren Poitras, the creator and director of the MMT documentary, Finding the Money. I had the pleasure of seeing this film on October 1st, 2023, in New York City, with my Torrens professor Steven Hail, Torrens administrator Gabie Bond, and Torrens classmate Susan Borden. After the film, we all went to a nearby bar-restaurant, and I got to meet and speak with Maren at length.

(A list of the audio chapters in this episode can be found below.)

In today's episode, Maren and I talk about how she came to the film and how it's informed by her background in ecological economics. We talk about the trials and tribulations of film-making, including the tortures of creating the intricate and subtle graphics used in the film. We also talk about her interactions with the non-MMTers as seen in the film. At the end, she says what you as a supporter can do to help this film be seen by others.

In my view, the film is the most important milestone in the MMT movement since Stephanie Kelton's 2020 book The Deficit Myth (which was the most important milestone since US Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez said "MMT" out loud in 2018). The film has the power to change how we talk about some major concepts.

It will be available to stream in early May.

And now, on to my conversation with Maren Poitras. Enjoy.

• 3:35 - Hellos, European premiere
• 14:47 - When did the idea for the film happen and what is your background in film-making?
• 20:15 - MMT is the child in the Emperor's New Clothes. MMT forces people to question many deep fundamental assumptions about their lives.
• 38:59 - Printing fiasco
• 39:17 - Did feedback from the academics result in any major changes?
• 43:10 - Graphics (ripping open a wound)
• 47:46 - Non-MMTers in the film (attempts at critique)
• 55:35 - The film is unfortunately US-centric, due to time and resource constraints
• 57:18 - What can people do to help the film be seen?
• 1:01:00 - You never know where secret MMT people are lurking.
• 1:06:57 - Duplicate of introduction, but with no background music (for listeners with sensitive ears)