Making Money Real

In a recent online discussion people who support MMT were somewhat upset because I called for MMT and a UBI. That is what I call it in my book, so that is what I call it.

Apparently, there are neoliberals busily redefining the language to suit their prejudices out there, and they’ve turned UBI into a substitute for all Social Services provided by the State. That’s not what it is in Mahinism. If you read the book, the details are laid out.

The Government, “The State,” is the entity that pays you for work. It pays you for maintaining yourself as part of society, and it pays you for the work you do if you have a job. When “Money Represents Work Done,” that work gets paid for, including caring for children and caring for your aging parents. It is all there. The UBI permits you to have the basics, and the job, if you work at something that people are willing to pay you to do, gives you a bit extra, but here’s the rub.

You aren’t paid out of “profits” or by the person you work for. They submit your hours, or you do, and the government pays you, alongside your UBI. You are paid for the work of being a citizen, which is the UBI, and for any work you do above and beyond that.

Nobody ever profits from owning something. Ownership is a legal condition; it cannot be transformed into work.

There are many details around the pay for your work. Quality, quantity, and efficiency all factor into how much those extra payments are, but those complexities are left to the pages of the book, where they are more comfortably in context.

The Services that the neoliberals wish to privatize are not. Society provides them. You do NOT pay for private medical care, dental care, education, etc., and there is no motive for establishing such private schemes, because any “profit” from them is taxed away.

Services normally provided privately can still be provided. The cost price is charged, including the cost of the environmental damage caused by the process. The state pays for the work involved.

The value of that work to society is indicated by the fact that a product is sold or used at its real cost.

A Mahinist UBI looks very much like the job guarantee espoused by the MMT advocates, but only someone who has read the book (or written it) would know that. So I thought I’d better haul that out here where everyone can see it.

This post will be edited to achieve greater clarity over time. For now, it’s an initial draft. Comments are welcome.