The Deficit Myth
Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People's Economy

Quotes

"In a world of epic, overlapping crises, Stephanie Kelton is an indispensable source of moral clarity. Whether you're all in for MMT, or merely MMT-curious, the truths that she teaches about money, debt, and deficits give us the tools we desperately need to build a safe future for all. Read it--then put it to use."—Naomi Klein, author of On Fire: The Burning Case for a Green New Deal

"Stephanie Kelton convincingly overturns the conventional wisdom that federal budget deficits are somehow bad for the nation. ...Kelton argues that our government's inability to provide for citizens isn't due to a lack for money; instead, our leaders lack political will."—Farhad Manjoo, The New York Times

"Clear and vigorously written book."—Foreign Affairs

"She has succeeded in instigating a round of heretical questioning, essential for a post-Covid-19 world, where the pantheon of economic gods will have to be reconfigured."—The Guardian

"Kelton and her colleagues have brought a great many non-economists into the economic conversation in a way that no other contemporary branch of heterodox economics has been able to....[Sh]e's dead right about a central political fact of our times: A large, active public sector is more needed today than ever, and unfounded fears of public debt are a big reason we haven't gotten it. Which means her eloquent, accessible book is performing an important public service."—The American Prospect

"A robust, well-reasoned, and highly readable walk through many common misunderstandings. A 'must-read' for anyone who wants to understand how government financing really works, and how it interplays with economic policy."
—Frank Newman, former deputy secretary of the Treasury

"Kelton certainly offers food for thought at a time when governments are spending eye-watering sums to mitigate damage from the coronavirus pandemic."
—Spear's Magazine

"Stephanie Kelton is among the most prominent of the dozen or so economists associated with MMT. Her new book The Deficit Myth is intended to bring MMT to a broader audience. In addition to an impassioned call for a bigger, more active public sector, The Deficit Myth contains a number of distinct economic arguments."
—The American Prospect

"The big thing she gets right is in the way she structures her book around our current beliefs. In addressing our current understanding of how the world works - interpretations she identifies as myths - Kelton leads us step-by-step towards a new understanding of how federal spending works."—Inside Higher Education

"The Deficit Myth is simply the most important book I've ever read. Stephanie Kelton carefully articulates a message that obliterates economic orthodoxy about public finance, which assumes that taxes precede spending and deficits are bad. Kelton's work is on a par with the genius of DaVinci and Copernicus, heretics who proved that Earth revolves around the sun."—David Cay Johnston, recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, an Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc. Medal, and the George Polk Award