July 17, 20195:02 AM ET
Heard on Morning Edition
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks about the Green New Deal in Washington, D.C., on May 13. She has shined a spotlight on a once-obscure brand of economics known as "Modern Monetary Theory."Cliff Owen/AP
When Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez rolled out her "Green New Deal," calling for clean energy and guaranteed jobs, one of the first questions she got was: How do you plan to pay for it?
The New York Democrat argued that ambitious programs can easily be financed through deficit spending.
"I think the first thing that we need to do is kind of break the mistaken idea that taxes pay for 100% of government expenditure," Ocasio-Cortez told NPR's Morning Edition in February.
In doing so, she shined a spotlight on a once-obscure brand of economics known as "Modern Monetary Theory,"or MMT.
ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY COLLABORATIVE
Despite Few Details And Much Doubt, The Green New Deal Generates Enthusiasm
"There was something of an Oprah effect when she did that," said economist Stephanie Kelton of Stony Brook University. "People immediately probably started Googling 'Modern Monetary Theory' to find out what she was referring to."
