In a major development that has excited progressive economists, one of their own has been named Chief Economist on the Senate Budget Committee. Dr. Stephanie Kelton, a major proponent of Modern Money Theory (MMT; Modern Monetary Theory), was hired by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), as Chief Economist on the committee.
The United States Senate Committee on Budget...is responsible for drafting Congress's annual budget plan and monitoring action on the budget for the Federal Government. The committee has jurisdiction over the Congressional Budget Office. (Wikipedia)
Bernie Sanders, the ranking minority member of the committee, caucuses with the Democrats. Dr. Kelton will be his economic adviser, and while the Republicans control the Senate, Kelton, Sanders and the other Democratic committee members will hopefully have a significant impact upon the budget process.
Kelton, along with Warren Mosler and Randy Wray, all at the Econ Department at the University of Missouri Kansas City, and Australian economist Bill Mitchell, are largely responsible for formulating Modern Money Theory. Kelton will leave her post as department chair to take up the Washington position.
Are the other MMT promoters pleased with this development? Warren Mosler tweeted upon hearing the news:
Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
For an economist, that's a lot of exclamation marks to consume.
Prof. Kelton is also editor-in-chief of the MMT blog New Economic Perspectives. Daily Kos readers who haven't visited that site may recognize its name from diaries here cross-posted from it by Kossack Letsgetitdone and others.
Kelton has considerable experience in international lecturing on MMT in Italy, where she drew large audiences of students and economists, and elsewhere. Her reputation as an engaging speaker is notable; videos of her presentations can be found linked from the NEP blog noted above. She has also made TV and radio appearances for MMT (see Wikipedia). At UMKC she is also research scholar at the Center for Full Employment and Price Stability and in upstate New York at the Levy Economics Institute.
Proponents of progressive economics are counting on Prof. Kelton to help steer our unruly Congress in directions consistent with the realistic tenets of MMT.
For more on Modern Money Theory, please follow the DKos group Money and Public Purpose.