Finding the Money

Stephanie Kelton and friends are presenting their radical Modern-Monetary-Theory (MMT) idea as the panacea to all of humanity problems. The main concept of MMT is that government can spend on whatever it feels like. At the end of the day, it is the bureaucrats in the government who get to decide where every citizen's toil and sweat should be channeled into. Should the government decide that Bill Gates needs to get all of your money, and he shouldn't have any competitors, they are wholly free to do so, and they are doing it. There is apparently no constraint or anything that can stop the government from choosing what is best for YOU.

The only thing that is supposedly "easy to calculate" and can stop the rampant spending by government is the risk of inflation. Kelton doesn't even try to explain what Inflation is, or how it is created, she just mentioned that it is important and easy to math out. So the government creating dollars and spending them into the economy in the trillions has nothing to do with inflation. As long as there are enough poor people who can use these dollars to spend like drunken sailors and keep the economy out of a depression.

If you ever had any interest in economy, and you read some significant books by influential economists in history, you might want to call 911 because this "documentary" is going to give you a heart attack.

The bureaucrats in the USSR would be really envious to have some of this MMT drug to explain away their perfect economic system.

First, ignore the critical reviews who don't want you to watch this film. They're akin to oil and coal lobbyists trying to gaslight us, and keep us from understanding the true origins, nature, and mechanics of money.

This film is 90 mins, but the conversations you'll have post watching this film with others is limitless--you'll be discussing these economic principles (not concepts) for the rest of your life educating others. Hyperbole? Sure, but not by much. It's my small motivator conferring the thought "Trust me. You want to, and need to, see this film."

This film is a 10/10 for what it is and it's intended purpose. View this film as an introductory "101" course. It serves this purpose well. For those familiar with MMT, it may feel a bit too shallow, but that is by design. It's wonky enough to engage economists but not overly wonky, dull, or dry.

My gut believes this is most likely the first of what will become a series of documentaries with each new release going deeper and building on the knowledge and education of this introductory film.

Shawn.

This is one of those films that sticks with you. We have all been brought up to believe a certain narrative about money, that it's like a scarce commodity or that it can only come from employers, banks, or taxation and borrowing. And, we all know the federal government can create money, but we're conditioned to believe it shouldn't unless it has to.

This doc takes all those assumptions and blows them up in your face. By demonstrating to the audience how a country's currency is simply a public tool that we have collective say in how to use, the film opens up new areas of debate in how public spending can and should be conducted.

Regardless of your political views, this film has something for you. Whether you hate the idea of taxes and inflation, or love the idea of ending climate change and inequality, you are doing yourself a favor by hearing the arguments laid out in this film. You will understand that we can afford to build any kind of world we want to build as long as we respect and understand the limits and flows of real resources in our economy.

Fantastic documentary. Explaining what money is and how the monetary system works. Pulling the veil back on many damaging misconceptions and misunderstandings which lead to terrible policy choices and terrible outcomes. Important and timely. Paradigm challenging, which will make many watching uncomfortable as it will go against everything they've ever heard and what they believe to be true intuitively, because it's what everyone says, it's what politicians say, what many economists say, and what many journalists and media say. But once you see it and it clicks, you can't unsee it. We can't solve the biggest challenges we face unless we understand the basics and how things actually work.

Finding the Money has the potential to completely upend the way you understand not only the economy but society as a whole. Few films, documentary or otherwise, can lay claim to that kind of impact upon the viewer. When the material presented is understood, suddenly everybody talking about govt policy-especially but not limited to fiscal policies like taxing and spending-starts to sound crazy. It's because they don't know what you now know. Or in some cases are pretending not to know it.

The myths that are propagated about the monetary system and the constraints it operates under are not accidents, but redound to the benefit of a power structure-a ruling class-that prefers the highly inegalitarian status quo. Economic inequality is not just an outcome of their preferred fiscal policies, but the very source of their political power. Understanding the power of fiat currency-and that money is not property belonging to individuals but a public utility-is essential to restoring egalitarianism and reclaiming democratic governance.