free-market No such thing. jubilee Debt Jubilee Interview with Dr. David Graeber on the subject of debt jubilee. Graeber is a respected anthropologist who teaches anthropology at Goldsmiths university of London, the author in many leading magazines and of a new book about the history of the last 5000 years of debt. myths Debunking nine myths about the deficit. The Roosevelt Institute's New Deal 2.0 blog asked seven economic thinkers to address what they see as the most dangerous myths currently circulating on the deficit. Several of these experts will be on hand to educate the public on April 28, 2010 at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. at a "Fiscal Sustainability Teach-In." In summary: Myth #1: The government should balance its books like a private household. Reality: Our federal government is the issuer of the currency, which makes its budget fundamentally different than the average citizen's. ~Pavlina R. Tcherneva, Assistant Professor, Franklin and Marshall College Myth #2: Fixing Social Security and Medicare will require "tough choices." Reality: Social Security and Medicare are not facing a financial crisis. ~Stephanie Kelton, Associate Professor, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Missouri Myth #3: We are passing on debt to our grandchildren. Reality: Payments on Treasury securities are a matter of data entry, not a financial burden. ~Randall Wray, Professor of Economics, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Missouri Myth #4: What we don't tax we have to borrow from the likes of China for our children to pay back. Reality: Paying our debt holders back consists of transferring funds between accounts. ~Marshall Auerback, Senior Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute and Warren Mosler, President, Valance Co. Myth #5: The government must tax or borrow to get money to spend. Reality: Government spending is not constrained by revenue. ~Yeva Nersisyan, Doctoral candidate in economics, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Missouri Myth #6: Deficits and government borrowing takes away savings. Reality: Deficits add to income and savings. ~Warren Mosler, President, Valance Co. Myth #7: We'll end up just like Weimar Germany or Zimbabwe. Reality: Hyperinflation in both countries was caused by circumstances far different than ours. ~Marshall Auerback, Senior Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute and Rob Parenteau, sole proprietor of MacroStrategy Edge Myth #8: Government spending increases interest rates and 'crowds out' valuable private sector investment. Reality: Banks can lend essentially without limit, and the Fed can hit any interest rate target it chooses. ~Stephanie Kelton, Associate Professor, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Missouri Myth #9: The money spent paying interest on the national debt could be spent elsewhere. Reality: Interest rates can easily be brought to zero and are not an obstacle to federal spending. ~Randall Wray, Professor of Economics, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Missouri See also: Robert Reich Debunks 6 Big GOP Lies About The Economy

state currency IMF's epic plan to conjure away debt and dethrone bankers IMF Paper explores state currency and an end to fractionated reserve banking. wage-theft Wage Theft is a Much Bigger Problem Than Other Forms of Theft—But Workers Remain Mostly Unprotected By Brady Meixell and Ross Eisenbrey • September 18, 2014 Wage theft—employers’ failure to pay workers money they are legally entitled to—affects far more people than more well-known and feared forms of theft such as bank robberies, convenience store robberies, street and highway robberies, and gas station robberies. Employers steal billions of dollars from their employees each year by working them off the clock, by failing to pay the minimum wage, or by cheating them of overtime pay they have a right to receive. Survey research shows that well over two-thirds of low-wage workers have been the victims of wage theft. In 2012, there were 292,074 robberies of all kinds, including bank robberies, residential robberies, convenience store and gas station robberies, and street robberies. The total value of the property taken in those crimes was $340,850,358. By contrast, the total amount recovered for the victims of wage theft who retained private lawyers or complained to federal or state agencies was at least $933 million in 2012. This is almost three times greater than all the money stolen in robberies that year. Further, the nearly $1 billion successfully reclaimed by workers is only the tip of the wage-theft iceberg, since most victims never sue and never complain to the government.