Featuring former Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, in the hot seat at the Robodebt Royal Commission. The Robodebt scandal was appalling enough by legal and ethical standards. The questioning by the Senior Counsel assisting the Royal Commission of Mr. Morrison, seemed to be aimed at determining: • how did something which is unlawful, get implemented? • why did the need for legislative change disappear from the briefings? • and why did Mr. Morrison see no reason to question this?But what ...
Dec 23, 2022
De-growth, de-carbonise, well-being, inclusion, a healthy environment. Yes, we can have an economy that is sustainable, and that includes everyone -- via full employment.MMT-informed ecological economist, Professor Phil Lawn explains how this is possible. We can harness the many wonders of the Job Guarantee (which featured recently in a Boyer lecture given by Indigenous lawyer and activist, Noel Pearson.) We can include everyone in the economy, but we wont be using a "Universal Basic Income". An...
Dec 09, 2022
MMT-informed ecological economist Professor Phil Lawn says "Growth is killing the planet". What exactly is growing? Can we have good growth and bad growth? And dare we raise the issue of population growth? Phil tells us about the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI), which brings with it some good news, and we reflect on why no-one is talking about it. (Although after we recorded our conversation, the Labor government did announce it intends to "Measure What Matters".) Creditseating the scenery B.wa...
Nov 11, 2022
How about a budget analysis without a 'Spurt in sight?Yes we had a federal budget this week. And yes it was in the context of recalibrating a budget that was formulated by the opposition just before it lost the election. So this is the budget that gives the new government its baseline; a budget to match its immediate policy changes. Anne and Kev do their due diligence with MMT-advocate Avis Williamson, to look at what this budget says about the Labor government's policies.We also ask, what is an...
Oct 28, 2022
What is an advocate of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) to think when some Marxists accuse MMT of being not much of a theory, and MMT-ers as bourgeois apologists for capital? Does MMT naively advocate printing money? Do we believe we can print our way out of economic and ecological crises?Can we flush out the irreconcilable differences between Karl Marx and MMT?With the help of economist, Dr. James Juniper, we check our theoretical tyres for punctures. CreditsTheme music:One in Ten by UB40St. Germai...
Oct 14, 2022
Why are interest rates going up? Why is inflation going up? Why is it that every time you ask a question about economics you uncover yet another swindle?By the end of this second half of our conversation with Wayne McMillan, you will know more than many past and present federal treasurers about how to run a national economy. Spoiler: it doesn't include blaming wage earners for this latest bout of inflation. CreditsReserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe warns it is unclear how high interest rates will...
Aug 26, 2022
Past and present federal treasurers voluntarily shackle themselves in the imaginary debt dungeon. We'd be happy to let them rot there, except they force the rest of us to suffer the real consequences of their flagellating fantasies. And so the current Australian Labor government refuses to spend enough to create the jobs that would lift all people out of poverty.How shall we free ourselves? Perhaps we could follow the example of lifelong "student" of economics, Wayne McMillan, who recounts his j...
Aug 12, 2022
We've proven it! Beyond a shadow of a doubt. The current "employment services" system is "mean", "horrible" and "hostile" for no legitimate reason.We speak with Associate Professor Elise Klein, about how the previous conservative Coalition government in Australia ran a "natural experiment." Brought on by the covid pandemic, the results of what would otherwise have been an unethical trial, show that people relying on social security benefits are suffering needlessly.The temporary increase in unem...
Jul 22, 2022
Are we "stumbling zombie-like into a digital dystopia"?From the frontlines of a NON-full employment economy, we speak with Dr. Simone Casey on her observations of Workforce Australia.Heterodox economists often say, there is no such thing as a "natural" or "free" market. All markets need government regulation in order to exist. Case in point: the privatised "employment services" market. This market requires both government regulation, and government money, in order to exist.This market is going t...
Jun 24, 2022
Why bother with economics? Why bother with Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)? After-all, the government can still govern without bothering about MMT.Anne & Kev make the case we need MMT to unshackle our minds from many false beliefs about the possibilities available to our new federal government. We find much to look forward to with a government that spends properly. We can prevent ourselves from becoming accidental neoliberals!Anne & Kev bounce their ideas off a webinar featuring Richard Den...
May 27, 2022
What if disposing of 17 tonnes of dead fish was part of your day job? We speak with Greens party candidate Suzette Rodoreda about what is motivating her to run for election in Melbourne's west.Kevin enlightens us on voting strategies for the connoisseur of Australia's preferential voting system in which voters can rank Senate and House of Representatives candidates in order of preference.Creditshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVnf_wXs1ucThen leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott,speaking with ho...
May 13, 2022
What if you wanted to do something, but you didn't ever spell out quite what it is you want to achieve, and you didn't put any time or energy into doing it, and you didn't reflect on your progress towards achieving it, and you never agreed to commit to it? What do you suppose would be your chances of getting it done?That's pretty much how Australia's laws are going about protecting our native plants and animals.Australia has the highest species extinction rates in the world. Depressing? Yes. Can...
Apr 22, 2022
What keeps someone working ten hours a day, in a field, under the hot sun, for as little as $3 an hour? While putting up with verbal and physical abuse? And sleeping at night in an uninsulated shipping container? And how can this be happening in present-day Australia?The answer is well known, well studied, and Australia walked into it with our eyes wide open.The answer is what we call, The Seven Circles of Temporary Migrant Worker Hell, and what researchers call the descent into a "guest worker ...
Apr 08, 2022
What's worse than not having a job? Try working in slave-like conditions.Uncovering the lie that unemployed Australians are “too lazy to pick fruit” exposes the use and abuse of temporary migrant workers.In this first of a two-part show, we hear eye-opening stories from Kate, Sherry and Tex. Kate has been picking fruit and vegetables for about three years now. Kate trained as a computer engineer in her native Taiwan. With a background in sociology, Sherry Huang came to Australia as a backpacker,...
Mar 25, 2022
What kind of politician would want to give everyone a job? A Job Guarantee is an economic game changer. It would provide jobs to the few who otherwise get left behind, and it would stabilise the economy for everyone.Anne & Kev chat with Andrew Johnson, a candidate with the Reason Australia Party, running in this upcoming election for the federal seat of Higgins in Melbourne's northeast. Andrew is a swimming instructor who knows more about the economy than many economists, thanks to his expos...
Mar 11, 2022
Taking their cue from a blogpost by Professor Bill Mitchell, Anne & Kev dig into the current debate over wage rises and inflation.Then, Anne speaks with Darren Quinn, who came to macroeconomics as a lay person, and has spent many years on social media educating Australians about how their economy works. Anne & Darren chat about the misunderstandings that often arise for people who are new to Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). Refine your grasp on economics, and find out why you might be mista...
Feb 25, 2022
What kind of politician would want to give every adult $100,000? From employment to housing to banking, Anne & Kev chat with Steve Keen about the sort of policies a progressive economist turned political candidate, might want to implement.Heterodox professor of economics, Steve Keen, recently made waves when he announced he will be running as a senate candidate with TNL party in the next federal election. Steve is an outspoken critic of mainstream economics, with his 2001, 2011 book, "Debunk...
Dec 10, 2021
Returning to the events of Anti-Poverty Week, Anne & Kev dissect a rare moment of neo-Liberal honesty. This was an article published on Oct 19, 2021, in the Australian Financial Review, written by regular columnist, Pru Goward. We look at how the anti-lockdown protests flushed out some classist attitudes not usually so boldly on display.Show notesWhy you shouldn’t underestimate the underclass by Pru GowardCreditsTheme music:One in Ten by UB40
Nov 12, 2021
On this Friday of Anti-Poverty Week, Anne & Kev chat with Daniel Levy from the Australian Unemployed Workers' Union (AUWU). We catch up on AUWU activities pre- and during the covid-19 pandemic lockdowns. We discuss organising amongst the unemployed, and how the pandemic impacts the most vulnerable workers. And never lose sight of the big picture: that the federal government contributes to poverty by choosing to have unemployment, and by choosing to pay unemployed people half the poverty rate...
Oct 22, 2021
What could be more empowering than Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)? Try mixing MMT with ecological economics. Together, they give us the tools to turn the threat of ecological collapse into the "no brainer" choice between more well-being, or suicide. Combined, MMT and ecological economics equip us to deal with the "mega-problem" of which the climate crisis is only one part.We speak with journalist and editor of Sustainability and the New Economics, Stephen Williams, about the ideas that could chang...
Sep 24, 2021
This episode Anne & Kev dissect Barnaby Joyce's economic understanding only to discover he may think baby cows come from cabbage patches. We also interview Victor & Jonathon from the newly formed political party - The New Liberals. Don't be fooled by the name, which they argue has been totally perverted by the current government. This new, progressive party has a firm understanding of the how the economy really functions, and how it could completely revolutionise our social obligations i...
Sep 10, 2021
Back in 2007, the vast majority of economists did NOT see the two-trillion-dollar global financial crisis (GFC) coming. What was going on with their economic modelling? Is an economic model only as good as your ideology? What can we reasonably ask of an economist and their economic model? And if the economy is inherently unpredictable, what is the point of an economic model?Dr. Adam Kaczynski is our guide through this thorny thicket. After a detour through Polish central planning we emerge into ...
Aug 27, 2021
Anne & Kev discuss the neoliberal origins of the libertarian freedom marchers, answer queries from listener Eric about inflation and discuss the pros and cons of the Universal Basic Income (UBI) vs the Job Guarantee (JG) from an MMT perspective.
Aug 13, 2021
Following the lead of Queensland LNP Senator Gerard Rennick, Anne & Kev poke around in the stinking rotten carcass of superannuation. They chase away the flies with some fresh economic thinking from heterodox economist and past senate candidate Dr. Cameron Murray.The federal government is well aware that half all Australians think the Age Pension wont be there when they retire. But has the government swallowed their own propaganda about retirement incomes and superannuation?Show NotesFind mo...
Jul 23, 2021
The main constraint on Government spending isn't debt. It's inflation. So what happens if we build public housing and pay aged care workers properly?
Jul 09, 2021
We are much obliged to the fast-talking and fast-thinking Luke McGregor, actor and writer on the highly acclaimed comedy, Rosehaven, and comedian well-known on the stand-up circuit. What was Luke about to say when Barnaby Joyce interrupted him on ABC's panel show Q+A? Luke reveals all. Meanwhile economist Riccardo Welters suggests the government might have a "mutual obligation" towards unemployed workers, if it insists on not providing enough good jobs for everyone who wants one.Show NotesMMT an...
Jun 25, 2021
Back in the 1970s Milton Friedman introduced a crazy theory on how to run the economy called neoliberalism, and the whole world bought it! Now Kevin is introducing his own crazy but opposite theory. Why did Bill Mitchell go "hmmm" and what could possibly go wrong?!!
Jun 11, 2021
When a central bank governor describes how money is created on computer keyboards, you might wonder why the Australian government needs to sell bonds to fund its spending. Avis Williamson joins us to wonder at how the Australian Office of Financial Management retains its sense of purpose. Professor Martin Watts joins us to debunk the debunking of the debunkers of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).
May 28, 2021
Anne & Kev are joined by Professor Bill Mitchell, Australia's foremost economist for cutting through the spin and making sense of what our government is up to.Why do we say we haven't seen anything like this budget in the last five decades of neoliberal rule? And where were we completely under-whelmed? A truly incisive commentary on the 2021 Federal budget or "fiscal statement" announced by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg.Featured music:Head in the Sand by Raging MobyTake Me Higher by Pressure Dro...
May 14, 2021
Why do women do less well out of our economy? Didn't the feminist revolution of the 1970s deal with all that? We speak with two women about a significant moment in women's lives that happens to be a key moment in their financial lives - becoming a mother then deciding when and how to return to work. Fantastic conversations with Melinda (mother and careers counsellor), and Professor Guyonne Kalb (economist at the University of Melbourne).(With cameo appearances by economist Professor Barbara Poco...
Apr 23, 2021
