#204 A Government Budget Is Nothing Like A Household Budget. So What IS It Like? with Steven Hail

Patricia and Christian talk to Professor Steven Hail about some of the tricky questions progressive leaders and activists are facing. The conversation explores Zack Polanski's bold media messaging, bond market myths, and the historic opportunity for MMT-informed politics in the UK.

 

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LIVE EVENT! THE FAUXBEL PRIZE IN ECONOMICS 2026 🏆 

Join Patricia Pino, Christian Reilly and Dr Phil Armstrong for a live version of the MMT Podcast where the audience will vote for their least-favourite talking points in economics discourse. Sat 21st March 2026, Leith, Edinburgh: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/scotlandseconomicsfestival/1913315

 

Podcast Description

The Green Party's Zack Polanski has been making waves with his bold rejection of the household budget analogy for government spending. But if government budgets aren't like household budgets, what are they actually like? 

In this episode, economist Steven Hail returns to explore this fundamental question that sits at the heart of Modern Monetary Theory. The conversation begins with Polanski's media appearances and his courageous willingness to challenge orthodox economic narratives on national television. Christian and Patricia examine why this messaging resonates - it's both empirically true and intuitively correct that governments and households operate under fundamentally different constraints. Steven provides crucial context about the unprecedented nature of Polanski's public stance, comparing it to other MMT-informed politicians globally and explaining why the UK media backlash has been so fierce. 

The discussion reveals how currency-issuing governments like the UK create new money with every expenditure, rather than spending existing tax revenue. This leads to a deep exploration of government bond markets, with Steven dismantling the myth that governments are at the mercy of bond traders. 

The conversation addresses common fears about currency depreciation and inflation, with Patricia providing analysis on food imports and energy pricing. Steven argues that the UK's high degree of monetary sovereignty means exchange rate fluctuations pose manageable rather than catastrophic risks. 

The episode tackles criticism from figures like Paul Mason, revealing contradictions in mainstream left arguments about fiscal constraints. The trio discuss practical policy implications, from a Job Guarantee as an automatic stabiliser to the importance of detailed capacity analysis for government investment programmes. Throughout, they emphasise how MMT insights could inform genuinely transformative political change, with Steven suggesting the UK may be experiencing a historic political realignment that creates unprecedented opportunities for MMT-informed governance.

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Key Topics with Timestamps

• [02:15] Government vs household spending: the mirror image concept
• [05:30] Why every government pound spent is a newly created pound
• [08:45] Zack Polanski's media strategy and establishment backlash
• [15:20] International comparison: MMT movements worldwide
• [22:10] Currency creation mechanics and tax/bond relationships
• [28:40] Addressing Paul Mason's critique of MMT
• [35:15] Exchange rate fears and monetary sovereignty
• [42:30] Food imports, energy pricing, and inflation pass-through
• [48:45] Fiscal rules and the job guarantee discussion
• [55:20] Project 2030: detailed policy development approach

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Guest Bio

Professor Steven Hail is an economist, author, and founder of Modern Money Lab. Based in Australia, he travels globally supporting MMT education and policy development.

Key Takeaways

1. Government spending always creates new money - it's not a choice between spending taxes or creating money
2. Bond markets serve investors, not governments - pension funds need bonds more than governments need to issue them
3. UK monetary sovereignty provides resilience - exchange rate fluctuations are manageable, not catastrophic
4. Political opportunity is unprecedented - both major UK parties may be collapsing simultaneously
5. Detailed policy frameworks matter - MMT insights must be coupled with sophisticated capacity analysis

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All our patron-only episodes: https://www.patreon.com/posts/57542767

 

Scotland’s Festival of Economics (Edinburgh and online) 

19th - 21st March 2026: https://www.scoteconfest.org/#learnmore

 

JOIN PATRICIA’S MMT ACTIVIST NETWORK (MMT UK): https://actionnetwork.org/forms/activist-registration-form

 

Join the MMT UK Discord server to connect with others looking to promote MMT and ecological economics in the UK!: https://discord.gg/S3UbxFe4FR

 

MMT: THE MOVIE!

• “Finding The Money”, a documentary by Maren Poitras featuring Stephanie Kelton is now available worldwide to rent or buy: https://findingthemoney.vhx.tv/products/finding-the-money
• Updates on worldwide screenings of “Finding The Money” can be found here: https://findingmoneyfilm.com/where-to-watch/
• To arrange a screening of “Finding The Money”, apply here: https://findingmoneyfilm.com/host-a-screening/

 

STUDY THE ECONOMICS OF SUSTAINABILITY!

• Details of Modern Money Lab’s online graduate, postgraduate and standalone courses in economics are here: https://modernmoneylab.org.au/

 

Relevant to this episode:

• Get tickets for Modern Money Lab’s free online lecture series coming up in January 2026: https://events.humanitix.com/economics-of-sustainability-2026-lecture-series
• “The self-financing state: An institutional analysis of government expenditure, revenue collection and debt issuance operations in the United Kingdom” (Berkeley et al, 2022): https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/sites/bartlett/files/the_self-financing_state_an_institutional_analysis_of_government_expenditure_revenue_collection_and_debt_issuance_operations_in_the_united_kingdom.pdf
• For more on the (Liz) Trussageddon, listen to Episode 147 - Dirk Ehnts: Do Markets Control Our Politics?: https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-147-dirk-72906421
• “How to Fight Back Against the False Idea that the Government is at the Mercy of Financial Markets” by Sheridan Kates: https://thealternative.org.uk/dailyalternative/2025/3/10/scotonomics-monetary-autonomy
• "There is no need to issue public debt” by Bill Mitchell: https://billmitchell.org/blog/?p=31715
• Episode 148 - Pavlina Tcherneva: Why The Job Guarantee Is Core To Modern Monetary Theory: https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-148-why-73211346
• Quick read: Pavlina Tcherneva’s Job Guarantee FAQ page: https://pavlina-tcherneva.net/job-guarantee-faq/
• Episode 30 - Steven Hail: Understanding Government Bonds (Part 1) :https://www.patreon.com/posts/29621245
• Episode 31 - Steven Hail: Understanding Government Bonds (Part 2):  https://www.patreon.com/posts/29829500
• “Federal Debt and Modern Money” by Steven Hail & David Joy: https://www.global-isp.org/wp-content/uploads/PN-121.pdf
• “Is exchange rate depreciation inflationary?” by Bill Mitchell: https://billmitchell.org/blog/?p=32922

 

For an intro to MMT:

• Our first three episodes: https://www.patreon.com/posts/41742417
• Episode 126 - Dirk Ehnts: How Banks Create Money: https://www.patreon.com/posts/62603318

 

Quick MMT reads:

• Warren’s Mosler’s MMT white paper: http://moslereconomics.com/mmt-white-paper/
• Steven Hail’s quick MMT explainer: https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-modern-monetary-theory-72095
• Quick explanation of government debt and deficit: “Some Numbers Are Big. Let Me Help You Get Over It”: https://christreilly.com/2020/02/17/some-numbers-are-big-let-me-help-you-get-over-it/

 

 

For a short, non-technical, free ebook explaining MMT, download Warren Mosler’s “7 Deadly Innocent Frauds Of Economic Policy” here: http://moslereconomics.com/wp-content/powerpoints/7DIF.pdf

 

 

Episodes on monetary operations: 

• Episode 20 - Warren Mosler: The MMT Money Story (part 1): https://www.patreon.com/posts/28004824
• Episode 126 - Dirk Ehnts: How Banks Create Money: https://www.patreon.com/posts/62603318
• Episode 13 - Steven Hail: Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Banking, But Were Afraid To Ask: https://www.patreon.com/posts/41790887
• Episode 43 - Sam Levey: Understanding Endogenous Money: https://www.patreon.com/posts/35073683 
• Episode 84 - Andrew Berkeley, Richard Tye & Neil Wilson: An Accounting Model Of The UK Exchequer (Part 1): https://www.patreon.com/posts/46352183
• Episode 86 - Andrew Berkeley, Richard Tye & Neil Wilson: An Accounting Model Of The UK Exchequer (Part 2): https://www.patreon.com/posts/46865929 

 

For more on Quantitative Easing:

• Episode 59 - Warren Mosler: What Do Central Banks Do?: https://www.patreon.com/posts/39070023
• Episode 143 - Paul Sheard: What Is Quantitative Easing?: https://www.patreon.com/posts/71589989?pr=true 

 

Episodes on inflation:

• Episode 7: Steven Hail: Inflation, Price Shocks and Other Misunderstandings: https://www.patreon.com/posts/41780508
• Episode 65 - Phil Armstrong: Understanding Inflation: https://www.patreon.com/posts/40672678
• Episode 104 - John T Harvey: Inflation, Stagflation & Healing The Nation: https://www.patreon.com/posts/52207835
• Episode 123 - Warren Mosler: Understanding The Price Level And Inflation: https://www.patreon.com/posts/59856379
• Episode 128 - L. Randall Wray & Yeva Nersisyan: What’s Causing Accelerating Inflation? Pandemic Or Policy Response?: https://www.patreon.com/posts/63776558

 

Our Job Guarantee episodes: 

• Episode 4 - Fadhel Kaboub: What is the Job Guarantee?: https://www.patreon.com/posts/41742701
• Episode 47 - Pavlina Tcherneva: Building Resilience - The Case For A Job Guarantee: https://www.patreon.com/posts/36034543
• Episode 148 - Pavlina Tcherneva: Why The Job Guarantee Is Core To Modern Monetary Theory: https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-148-why-73211346
• Quick read: Pavlina Tcherneva’s Job Guarantee FAQ page: https://pavlina-tcherneva.net/job-guarantee-faq/

 

More on government bonds (and “vigilantes”):

• Episode 30 - Steven Hail: Understanding Government Bonds (Part 1):https://www.patreon.com/posts/29621245
• Episode 31 - Steven Hail: Understanding Government Bonds (Part 2): https://www.patreon.com/posts/29829500
• Episode 143 - Paul Sheard: What Is Quantitative Easing?: https://www.patreon.com/posts/71589989?pr=true
• Episode 147 - Dirk Ehnts: Do Markets Control Our Politics?: https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-147-dirk-72906421
• Episode 144 - Warren Mosler: The Natural Rate Of Interest Is Zero: https://www.patreon.com/posts/71966513
• Episode 145 - John T Harvey: What Determines Currency Prices?: https://www.patreon.com/posts/72283811?pr=true

 

More on bank runs banking regulation: 

• Episode 162 - Warren Mosler: Anatomy Of A Bank Run: https://www.patreon.com/posts/80157783?pr=true
• Episode 163 - L. Randall Wray: Breaking Banks - The Fed’s Magical Monetarist Thinking Strikes Again: https://www.patreon.com/posts/80479169?pr=true
• Episode 165 - Robert Hockett: Sparking An Industrial Renewal By Building Banks Better: https://www.patreon.com/posts/81084983?pr=true
• MMT founder Warren Mosler’s Proposals for the Treasury, the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, and the Banking System: https://neweconomicperspectives.org/2010/02/warren-moslers-proposals-for-treasury.html

 

 

MMT Events And Courses:

• More information about Professor Bill Mitchell’s MMTed project (free public online courses in MMT) here: http://www.mmted.org/
• Details of Modern Money Lab’s online graduate and postgraduate courses in MMT and real-world economics are here: https://modernmoneylab.org.au/

 

 

Order the Gower Initiative’s “Modern Monetary Theory - Key Insights, Leading Thinkers”: https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/modern-monetary-theory-9781802208085.html

 

MMT Academic Resources compiled by The Gower Initiative for Modern Money Studies: https://www.zotero.org/groups/2251544/mmt_academic_resources_-_compiled_by_the_gower_initiative_for_modern_money_studies

 

MMT scholarship compiled by New Economic Perspectives: http://neweconomicperspectives.org/mmt-scholarship

 

 

A list of MMT-informed campaigns and organisations worldwide: https://www.patreon.com/posts/47900757

 

 

We are working towards full transcripts, but in the meantime, closed captions for all episodes are available on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEp_nGVTuMfBun2wiG-c0Ew/videos

 

 

Show notes: https://www.patreon.com/posts/146007869