Thursday, November 19, 2015
Sanders Advisor from UMKC
Yale Daily News reports on Stephanie Kelton’s visit to campus. Kelton is part of a school of thought dubbed Modern Monetary Theory which provides some powerful insights and critiques of the way traditional economists think about money. Many worried about Barack Obama’s trillion dollar deficits in the wake of George W. Bush’s financial panic. Just as economists had worried about Ronald Reagan’s then historic budget deficits, or Jimmy Carter’s deficits before that. MMT is very clear: the issuer of a currency can always pay its debt.
I first became aware of them when she gave this presentation which took a basic economic tenet – balance of payments – to address the then worrisome “fiscal cliff.” See it here.
Pull Quote: With just under a year left until the presidential election, Yale students got the chance to discuss pressing national economic questions with a top adviser to a major presidential candidate.
Stephanie Kelton, an advisor to Bernie Sanders, outlined the motivations and details behind the Democratic presidential candidate’s chief economic policies and also highlighted the broader economic challenges facing the United States at a discussion Monday… Kelton also took time to discuss her perspectives on the field of economics at large and potential challenges for the country going forward, drawing on her experience as an economics professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Kelton, who called herself “very nonconventional” in her economic orientation, criticized what she sees as deficiencies in the way economics is currently taught in universities — including in economics textbooks, which she said are “written for a world that no longer exists.”
Politico on Syria and Kander
Politico looks at a split among Dems on the Syria Hysteria. See it here.
Pull Quote: Though there is little evidence yet that the perpetrators of last week’s deadly attacks in Paris were from Syria, Congress has seized on the refugee resettlement program and the Obama administration’s plans to admit as many as 10,000 Syrians through the program this year amid deepening public worries that terrorists from the Islamic State will exploit the initiative…
In addition to Strickland, Cortez Masto and Hassan, Missouri Democratic Senate candidate Jason Kander also called for a pause in refugee resettlement, saying in a statement that “it is not unreasonable to take the necessary time to make sure this process is right before we start accepting refugees again.”
Those candidates are backing a policy change that most Democratic leaders do not yet support, including Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Jon Tester of Montana and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who has been cautious on the issue that has split the party.
Schmitt Presser
Sen. Eric Schmitt will hold a news conference today (1PM) to respond to a lawsuit filed by a small number of St. Louis County municipalities challenging the bipartisan reforms put in place by Senate Bill 5…
Square Prices
St. Louis tech company Square priced its IPO below expectations, valuing the company a little less than $3 billion. See it here.
Tweets of the Day
Post-Dispatch’s @elisacrouch: Kids at #Kennard school asking @GovJayNixon abt future political aspirations, who he favors in the prez race and if he has friends. #SLPS
@elisacrouch: Answer from @GovJayNixon: "It's hard to have as many friends in this kind of job than is normal."
Readers Sound Off on Syria Hysteria
Grown Up Questions
Hurling accusations of xenophobia, and making blanket statements about how immigrants make this country great, are easy refuge for the intellectually weak. They ignore both history and reality, and are counter productive to the honest and difficult conversation we need to have as a country. To wit: is sharia law compatible with democratic government; if not should our immigration/refugee policy account for that incompatibility; if so, in what way? These are not hateful, hurtful or offending questions. They are grown up questions that demand serious contemplation by dedicated public servants committed to securing a free and safe America.
Barnes Was Right
Rep. Jay Barnes' letter also was terrific -- thanks for including it. I wonder if there are any members of the legislature who have even the faintest notion of what he is referring to when he refers to The MS St. Louis, the shipload of Jewish refugees refused entry into the U.S.(and Cuba
and Canada) in 1939 who were eventually returned to Europe. Many died in the holocaust. Barnes' analogy is on point.
Service Comes in Several Forms
I agreed with your sentiment on refugees yesterday in its totality, and take great umbrage at the remarks from the person challenging the validity of your opinion based on whether or not you served. In case GI Joe is interested, I was enlisted in the Army National Guard for 9 years and was activated under Operation Noble Eagle 3 Post-9/11. I was very lucky, my unit did not deploy overseas until after I ETS'd. Regardless of my deployment record, I swore to protect the US from all enemies, foreign and domestic - and I did that to serve those who needed it, not just those who were exactly like me.
Challenging the validity of someone's opinion based on Veteran's status is an affront to the reasons for which I and many of my brothers and sisters signed up, and they should be ashamed of themselves for presuming to speak such ignorance on my behalf simply because we both wore our respective uniforms. It certainly didn't make them a better American, in my opinion.
Finally, and to address their final question, if my country once again needed my service I could probably accommodate 3 or 4, with the understanding that two of them would be sleeping on a fold out couch.
Hunters 97,171; Deer 0
Columbia Missourians reports that “deer hunters in Missouri recorded killing 97,171 deer during the opening weekend of the November firearms season this past weekend. That was a 6 percent increase from last year, in which hunters checked 91,460 deer during the opening weekend, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation... Texas County recorded the highest number of deer killed at 2,184 deer. Howell County was second at 1,959 and Franklin County third with 1,899….” See it here.
Today’s Events
From Mary Scruggs’ indispensable events calendar:
Rep. Chuck Basye Pizza – Shakespeare’s South – Columbia – 6PM.
Lobbyists Registrations
Michael Gibbons and Tricia Workman added Judevine Center for Autism.
Sam Wiles added Rockwood Asset Management.
Ginger Steinmetz deleted all of her client registrations. Her clients were Kyna Iman LLC, Amikids, Missouri Nurses Association, Johnston & Associates, Corporate Security Advisors Association, Missouri Conservation Environmental Alliance, Missouri Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds, Bluebird Network, Steinmetz Consulting LLC, MO Alliance for Animal Legislation, Missouri votes Conservation, Missouri Parks Association, Missouri Victim Assistance Network, Missouri Automobile Dealers Association, Missouri Trucking Association, Missouri Recycling Association.
$5K+ Contributions
Greitens for Missouri - $5,001 from Carter Gaffney.
Returning Government to the People - $10,000 from Fred Sauer.
District No 9 PAC - $7,618 from Machinists Non-Partisan Political League.
Friends of Todd Richardson - $10,000 from Pyramid Home Health.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Fred Dreiling, and former Rep. Kenny Jones (65).