Fiscal Sustainability Teach-In Counter-Conference
The folks at fiscalsustainability.org are holding a “teach-in counter-conference” this Wednesday, April 28, in Washington D.C. They’re billing it as a counter-conference because that’s the same day as the so-called “Fiscal Summit” in D.C.
Here’s the press release about the event:
Professor James K. Galbraith Announces Support for Fiscal Sustainability Teach-In Counter-Conference To be Held April 28, 2010, in Washington DC
April 19, 2010. AUSTIN, TX – Professor James K. Galbraith, University of Texas at Austin, announced his support for the Fiscal Sustainability Teach-In Counter-conference scheduled to be held April 28, 2010, from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. The Counter-conference is in response to the “Fiscal Summit” being held the same day by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation (PGPF) at an as yet undisclosed location, and also follows the April 27th meeting of the President’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.
“The Fiscal Sustainability Teach-In Counter-conference will be the important event in Washington on April 28,” said Professor Galbraith. “Unlike the other meeting, this one will feature important work by honest scholars. It deserves at least equal attention, and very much more respect.”
At the Counter-conference, economists from around the world will explain the economic paradigm of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) and its applicability to fiscal sustainability. MMT provides a better guide to solving our economic crisis than the ideas being offered by the deficit hawks at PGPF, in the Administration, and in Congress. In fact, the Counter-conference presenters will show that the austerity posture of the deficit hawks is the single biggest threat to the American economy since the policies of Herbert Hoover.
The Counter-conference is a free event, open to the public. In addition to Professor Galbraith, it s also being endorsed by a rapidly growing number of blogs, web sites, and authors. More information is available at www.fiscalsustainability.org and www.fiscalsustainability.org/node/3
James K. Galbraith is the Lloyd M. Bentsen, Jr. Chair in Government/ Business Relations, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, and Professor, Department of Government, The University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Galbraith holds degrees from Harvard and Yale and studied economics as a Marshall Scholar at King’s College, Cambridge. Before coming to the University of Texas, he served on the staff of the U.S. Congress, including as Executive Director of the Joint Economic Committee.
###
Do plan to attend if you’re in D.C. — here’s the location and schedule — and if you can help out with the costs, I’m sure the organizers will be extremely grateful. (The ActBlue widget in my sidebar is also for this event.)
4 Responses to “Fiscal Sustainability Teach-In Counter-Conference”
-
LetsGetItDone says:
Hi Violet, Thank you so much for running this piece and helping us out. The Counter-Conference will happen, even though, we still need to meet our fund-raising goals. Unless someone has had previous exposure to MMT, they won’t believe what they hear at the Conference. This is economics for social and economic justice. It’s the economics you’ve been looking for to underpin the Justice Party.
April 26th, 2010 at 8:55 pm EST -
Violet Socks says:
No prob — I hope you have a good turnout. I would go myself if I were up there.
-
lambert strether says:
Quoting myself:
One of the perspectives of the MMT way of thinking about budgeting is that in the United States the dollar is public money, since in a state whose currency is sovereign (like ours, but unlike the EU countries), money is created by the state (Article I, Section 8). Since the state exists to “promote the general Welfare” (preamble), and not to provide the banksters with the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed, why not use the state’s money for the public purpose of ensuring full — 100% — employment? With our infrastructure the way it is, there are surely useful jobs for everyone, whether in rolling out broadband, building bridges, replacing sewers, weatherizing…. Look around you. Can you think of a single reason why there shouldn’t be a job for everyone who wants one?
-
hipparchia says:
thank you!
