The Deficit Myth: Money, Taxes, and Deficit Spending

The Deficit Myth, a 2020 New York Times bestseller by Stephanie Kelton, former chief economist for the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, brought a new school of thought called Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) to the attention of the public, the media, and the political class. Journalist David Cay Johnston described it as “simply the most important book I’ve ever read.” Steven Hail, a close colleague of Kelton’s, will provide an accessible and entertaining introduction to MMT, dispel the myth that federal deficits create a burden for the next generation, and discuss the implications of The Deficit Myth for policymakers in an era of polycrises.

GUEST SPEAKER:
Steven Hail is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Torrens University Australia and Academic Director of graduate programs in the economics of sustainability at Modern Money Lab. He is a graduate of the London School of Economics and was for many years a lecturer at the University of Adelaide. He has extensive experience of training banking and financial service professionals in the United Kingdom, including staff from the Bank of England.

As a leading modern monetary theory (MMT) economist, Hail has given seminars on modern money at the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in Canberra, for the Economics Society of Australia, and for many other institutions. In recent years, he has looked to combine ecological economics and MMT and offered short courses in the economics of ecological sustainability and social justice to activists and others all over Australia.

Hail regularly appears in the media and published the 2018 book Economics for Sustainable Prosperity. He is a visiting faculty member at Bennington College for Fall 2023.