Justin's note: The left has a new obsession… Modern Monetary Theory (MMT).

MMT is an economic theory which essentially argues that the U.S. government wouldn't need to collect taxes or borrow money to finance spending. It could simply print more money if necessary.

Now, this concept isn't new. It's been around for decades. But its popularity has skyrocketed, thanks to endorsements from Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), the new rising star of the Democratic Party.

This new breed of socialist Democrats has embraced MMT because it would make all their crazy ideas possible. The national debt, deficits, and inflation concerns would no longer stand in the way of projects like the Green New Deal or universal healthcare/housing/education.

In short, MMT would give the government a green light to spend money even more recklessly than it does now. That's a problem. 

So I got Doug Casey on the phone to discuss this matter at length…

Justin: Doug, what do you make of Modern Monetary Theory? Would this economic framework help or hurt the U.S. economy?

Doug: MMT centers around the notion that the economy in general, and money in particular, should be the creatures of the State. It's not a new idea – the meme has been around in one form or another since at least the days of Marx. MMT basically posits that the wise and incorruptible solons in government should create as much currency as they think is needed, spend it in areas they like, and solve any problems that occur with more laws and regulations.

It's nothing new. Just a more radical version of the economic fascism that's dominated the U.S. since at least the days of the New Deal. It's just another name for an old, and very stupid, set of economic ideas. By stupid I mean, "showing an inability to predict the indirect and delayed consequences of actions."