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- Modern Monetary Theory: The Magic Money Tree With Roots of Rot
Modern Monetary Theory: The Magic Money Tree With Roots of Rot
Ask most people how governments “afford” massive spending and you’ll get one of two answers:
Taxes
Borrowing
Modern Monetary Theory offers a third:
Just print the money.
No, seriously.
That’s the core of MMT—the idea that a government which prints its own currency can never go bankrupt, so long as it’s not restrained by inflation.
The pitch is seductive:
Want free college? Print.
Want stimulus? Print.
Need a bailout? Print.
But behind the smooth promises lies something darker:
MMT isn’t just economic theory. It’s political wish fulfillment in disguise.
And the bill is coming due.
What MMT Actually Says
Modern Monetary Theory rests on a few bold claims:
Governments don’t need taxes to spend.
They can run unlimited deficits—as long as inflation is “controlled.”
Inflation is manageable through tax hikes, interest rates, or production boosts.
But that last part?
It’s where things fall apart.
Because once you break the spending barrier, no one wants to be the one to slam the brakes.
Especially not politicians.
Why It Breaks (and Already Is)
In theory, MMT says stop printing once inflation starts.
In reality, inflation always shows up after the damage is done.
And by then, you’re stuck in the spiral:
Print more to cover rising costs.
Raise rates to fight inflation.
Crash asset markets and freeze credit.
Blame it on “supply chains.”
Sound familiar?
Between 2020 and 2022, the U.S. added $6 trillion to its balance sheet.
Inflation spiked. Wages didn’t. And most people still don’t understand why.
Because they were told it was “transitory.”
Because no one said the quiet part:
MMT was already here. You just weren’t told its name.
The Roots Are Rotten
What makes MMT dangerous isn’t just the printing.
It’s that it removes friction from politics.
It makes every spending program sound “affordable.”
It removes tradeoffs.
And tradeoffs are what keep governments honest.
Without limits, debt becomes permanent. Money becomes political. Inflation becomes structural.
And just like that, the “magic money tree” becomes a trap.
You’ll know MMT is being used when:
Deficits explode, and no one talks about paying them back.
New spending gets sold as “investments” with no offsets.
Politicians say things like: “We can afford it. We print the currency.”
This isn’t just theory anymore.
It’s the operating manual.
MMT won’t collapse overnight. But its effects are cumulative—and corrosive.
Here’s how you stay ahead:
Don’t save in dollars alone. Favor real assets. Gold. Land. Income streams.
Question the narrative. If something sounds too good to fund… it probably is.
Protect your purchasing power, not just your account balance.
The tree may still look green.
But the roots are rotting beneath the surface.
—Death