US Fiscal Policy and the 'Deficit Myth' with Stephanie Kelton

Masters in Business

Bloomberg

Business, Investing

4.4 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 13 March 2025

⏱️ 90 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Barry speaks with Stephanie Kelton, Professor of Economics and Public Policy at Stony Brook University and Senior Fellow at the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis. Previously, Professor Kelton was Chair of the Department of Economics at the University of Missouri, Kansas City. In addition to her work in academia, Stephanie has held numerous roles in the political sphere. She served as chief economist on the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, and was senior economic adviser for Bernie Sanders’ 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns. She has made virtually all the 'top 50 lists' including POLITICO's 50 Most Influential Thinkers in 2016 and Bloomberg Businessweek's 50 People Who Defined 2019. She was also named to Barron's 100 Most Influential Women in Finance. She has held several visiting professorships and has written for publications such as the Financial Times, The New York Times, CNN, and more. On this episode, Barry and Stephanie discuss US fiscal policy, recession risks, and her New York Times bestseller The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People’s Economy.

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0:00.0	Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio News.
0:09.8	This is Masters in Business with Barry Rittholz on Bloomberg Radio.
0:16.4	This week on the podcast, I have another extra special guest. Professor Stephanie Kelton teaches public policy and economics at SUNY Stony Brook. She really came to the four in the 2010s when she was the chief economist for the U.S. Senate Budget Committee and had previously, in her career,
0:42.3	revisited the works of people like Heimann Minsky and Lord Keynes and Warren Mosler,
0:51.3	who's really probably the single largest influencer of modern monetary theory,
0:58.2	which looks at the overall economy not from the perspective of federal deficits, but the federal
1:06.4	impact on inflation. Really, just a fascinating conversation talking about what is and is not
1:15.1	heterodoxy and conventional thinking in economics and why the field is so hesitant to change,
1:23.9	even when the evidence is overwhelming that what they're doing is false or based on data
1:31.4	that just doesn't seem to add up. Her book, The Deficit Myth, was a surprise bestseller.
1:38.7	It came out right in the middle of the pandemic and did really well. She's been on all the, you know, top 100 lists, most influential thinkers,
1:48.1	women in finance, policy influencers. She's just really a fascinating person with a perspective
1:56.0	that is kind of hard to argue with. A lot of what she believes is outside of the mainstream,
2:03.6	but it is really stood the test of time when the traditional economists have said and done things. They've made forecasts. They've made predictions about what will and won't happen, and none of
2:19.4	it's come true. And so when the mainstream economists are getting it wrong, you have to look at
2:25.3	people who approach the field from a different perspective. She's done a really great job.
2:30.6	I thought the conversation was fascinating. And I think you also, with no further ado,
2:36.6	my conversation with SUNY Stony Brook's professor, Stephanie Kelton. Thank you for having me.
2:43.0	Nice to be here. Nice to have you. I've been wanting to have you here since the book first came out
2:48.5	during the pandemic and we'll spend a lot of time talking about it.
2:53.1	But before we get into that, I just want to get a handle on your background.
2:58.2	You get a bachelor's, a BA and a BS in economics and business at California, Sacramento.
	...

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