MMT101.ORG - Modern Monetary Theory Podcast

Undermining Economic Resilience – The Economic Impact of Adopting the European Union’s Stability and Growth Pact in an Independent Scotland
In this episode of the MMT podcast I am delighted to be talking to economist William Thomson, co-founder with Kairin Van Sweedn of the Scotonomics organisation.
Scotonomics aims are described as
“Exploring how our economic system really works—and how it could work better.”
William has - through his energy and commitment - become a leading character in Scotland’s heterodox economics community - spreading the word about how we can use our knowledge about the economy to make people’s lives better.
As well as organised economics conferences in Scotland, William has also been busy writing and co-writing discussion papers and articles on Scotland’s economy
-
including the one we chat about today called
“Undermining Economic Resilience – The Economic Impact of Adopting the European Union’s Stability and Growth Pact in an Independent Scotland.”
co-written with one previous podcasts guests, Dr Dirk Ehnts -
Dirk is a German heterodox economist and an accredited parliamentary assistant at the European Parliament in Brussels for Fabio de Masi (MEP).
As well as chatting about the paper William will also be telling me about the upcoming festival of economics called.
'Scotland’s Festival of Economics' - a nice literal title for the conference.
The conference takes place from March 19th to 21st 2026.
I’ll be attending the conference myself for the Thursday sessions.
Ok, here’s me chatting to economist William Thomson.
MMT101 Podcast Links
Scotonomics
Scotland’s Festival of Economics
Discussion paper: Undermining Economic Resilience - The Economic Impact of Adopting the European Union’s Stability and Growth Pact in an Independent Scotland (2026)
Modern Money Theory: A Simple Guide to the Monetary System - Dirk Ehnts (2024)


Get full access to MMT101.ORG - Learn Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) at mmt101.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to this week’s MMT101 Podcast. Today I’m bringing you a recent chat I had with Anne Maxwell and Kevin Gaynor of the RadioMMT podcast, a podcast based in Melbourne, Australia.
I’ve been a regular listener to Anne and Kev’s show for quite a long time. In fact, the first time I came across Kevin Gaynor was when he was on the same Modern Money Lab economics course as myself a few years ago. That was the Economics for Sustainable Prosperity course run by Steven Hail.
If you have heard of the course you will know it has the MMT perspective embedded within it.
The focus of Anne and Kev’s show is to explain what can sometimes be quite complex economics topics in a way that most people can understand, which is what I aim to do myself. That’s why I was so delighted to be invited on for a chat.
I was also delighted that they agreed to allow me to publish this episode on my own Substack MMT101 podcast.
Anyway, that’s enough from me. Just one more thing before we jump into our chat. Don’t forget to subscribe if you are not already a subscriber, and if you have any spare change please become a paid subscriber because that will allow me to continue to publish my weekly MMT101 articles and podcasts.
Note that this is an audio-only podcast. Hopefully you are ok with that. Ok, so here is myself chatting with Anne Maxwell and Kevin Gaynor of RadioMMT.


Get full access to MMT101.ORG - Learn Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) at mmt101.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode I am delighted to be talking to Bill Blain - bond trader, CEO of Wind Shift Capital Advisors and publisher of ‘Blain’s Morning Porridge’ - which is a daily commentary on global finance and markets.
Just a few things to say before we get started. Bill is an unusual guest for the podcast, in that he’s not an MMTer though he does have some views that are similar.
But Bill is a man who has been working in finance for 4 decades and as they say - that means he knows a thing or two. We don’t need to agree with the framework within which his ideas spring - and to be honest - there’s much that we don’t agree on. However, that does not mean that we can’t learn from Bill’s experience.
You’ll notice that I do steer clear of ‘arguing the point’. Instead I try to keep quiet - because I want to hear what Bill has to say - whether or not I agree with it.
Bill is sincere in his beliefs - he is not disingenuous and as you will discover as we chat - he’s a nice guy. And he knows a lot about the finance sector.
One other thing I will mention- so as not to confuse those who are MMTers who know a bit about Quantitative Easing - which we chat briefly about: is that it sounds as if I agree that QE is about the government dumping lots of money into the economy. I don’t agree.
What I’m saying is: in relation to QE the central bank swaps government bonds for reserves. Commercial banks can’t spend those reserves on houses or stocks, but the investors who sold the bonds now hold cash or deposits instead of gilts, and they spend that cash on other assets: pushing up the price of assets like housing and shares, contributing to inequality. I used the word ‘liquidity’ as a short-hand for that story.
Ok, before we get into our chat - don’t forget to subscribe to MMT101 and if you can afford to - please become a paid subscribers, it really helps me to continue with this work.
MMT101.ORG - Learn Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Books mentioned in this podcast
* Modern Money Theory: A Simple Guide to the Monetary System by Dirk Ehnts
* Modern Monetary Theory: Key Insights, Leading Thinkers
* The Invisible Doctrine: The Secret History of Neoliberalism (& How It Came to Control Your Life) - by George Monbiot and Peter Hutchison



Get full access to MMT101.ORG - Learn Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) at mmt101.substack.com/subscribe

Hi, I’m Jim Byrne and this is for people who believe we can build a fairer, greener world by understanding how the economy and our monetary system work. Subscribe for free to get my weekly post.

In this episode of the MMT101 Podcast I’m chatting with Fiona McGregor and Marlene Halliday on the Scottish Indy Podcast. The topic of conversation is my new online course, The Why, The What & The How of MMT.
They did such a great job of combining information and entertainment in our chat that I asked Fiona and Marlene if I could share it on my MMT101 Substack platform – and they very generously agreed. So, here it is. It was really enjoyable, I think you’ll like it.
Just a quick note: I make a couple of slips of the tongue. At one point, while talking about Quantitative Easing (QE), I said “exchange rates” when I meant “interest rates.”
Later, after explaining why Germany wasn’t running deficits because they were earning so much from exports, I then oversimplified the UK’s position by saying: “governments must run deficits because individuals and businesses in the private sector are savers”. Of course, I should have added: “unless the foreign sector is bringing in an equivalent amount of income.”
Marlene and Fiona’s show is a must listen for anyone with an interest in seeing Scotland once again become an independent country. I highly recommend the Scottish Indy Podcast.
And of course, for more MMT content please subscribe to MMT101.
Resources
* MMT101 - Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) – The Why, The What & The How
* Scottish Indy Podcasts
Note, that paid subscribers resources are now on this page. Downloadable factsheets, a downloadable dictionary of economic jargon, my book/journal recommendations and much more.



Get full access to MMT101.ORG - Learn Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) at mmt101.substack.com/subscribe

Hi, I’m Jim Byrne and this is for people who believe we can build a fairer, greener world by understanding how the economy and our monetary system work. Subscribe for free to get my weekly post.

Today I have the second part of my conversation with economist Steve Keen. I’m sure you will enjoy it. Steve is on form and dispenses his wisdom throughout
In this part of our chat he continues his demolition of the neoliberal understanding of the economy: from barter, to the importance of the idea of equilibrium - to loanable funds – or as he calls it – The Ashley Madison Theory of Banking.
In the last section of our conversion Steve pulls up his data tables to explain double-entry bookkeeping – in the context of our modern monetary system.
So, I suggest you watch this via the video version of this chat on my MMT101 Substack - as it will be more difficult to understand what is going on if you are just listening.
One thing I have to say before we start is that there are some swear words in this podcast episode. I initially took them out - but then I changed my mind. It felt that by removing them I was taking away the impact of what Steve was saying – and anyway it is up to you to decide whether or not you are happy or unhappy about some swear words. You don’t have to listen if you are offended.
On a different note, if you want to support my work teaching the basics of MMT, I would really appreciate it if you were to become a subscriber - or even better a paid subscriber. Because it really helps me to continue on my mission of teaching the lessons of MMT.
Take My Course To Learn Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) From The Ground Up
While I have your attention, did you know I have a comprehensive MMT online training course that is free for paid subscribers? Review the contents of my course here.
Now it a good time to learn about Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) and why it is the only approach to economics that tells us that saving the world and the people in it is possible.



Get full access to MMT101.ORG - Learn Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) at mmt101.substack.com/subscribe