Ep. 149: The Connection Between Government Budget Deficits & Inflation

Bob uses a recent tweet from Steve Keen to weigh in on an old controversy. Government deficits don't cause price inflation per se, but they often encourage the central bank to create more money, which is inflationary. The distinction matters: a deficit is a fiscal phenomenon, but the inflation mechanism requires monetary policy—specifically, central bank accommodation of government borrowing. Bob unpacks why Keynesians, Austrians, and MMT economists talk past each other on this question, and where each school gets the causation right and wrong. Related: - https://x.com/ProfSteveKeen/status/2083718398119166163  - https://cdn.mises.org/Making%20Economic%20Sense_3.pdf  - https://mises.org/quarterly-journal-austrian-economics/deficit-myth-modern-monetary-theory-and-birth-peoples-economy  - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaUlKM1z4kI  - https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1027301323209  Chapters: 0:00 — Intro 0:20 — Steve Keen's tweets on deficits + What deficits are (and are NOT) 6:00 — The role of the central bank: monetizing the deficit 9:40 — Why "deficits cause inflation" is imprecise 13:10 — MMT vs. Austrian economics on money printing 16:50 — Real constraints vs. fiscal constraints 20:05 — Can a government ever run out of money? 23:30 — Historical examples of deficit-driven inflation 27:00 — What Steve Keen gets right (and wrong) 29:35 — The takeaway: deficits, money, and your wallet Watch the video version of this episode here: https://youtu.be/jDMoPoX54mw  Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3XXfmGS  Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/infineogroup  Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/infineogroup  Learn more about Infineo at: https://www.infineo.io  Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth.com