A book by Stephen Laughton
The Money Sham
Breaking Free from Fifty Years of Economic Orthodoxy
Rising prices, hospital waiting lists, unaffordable housing, rising unemployment, ill health, nurses at food banks, low wages, depression and despair, not to mention extreme heat and flooding … an incomplete list of the ills that so many face in the UK today. Real Resource Economics and The Money Sham explain how a fundamental misconception about money leaves politicians, the media and the public at the mercy of a bankrupt economic philosophy that shackles us all. We are told the UK is short of money, burdened by government debt and at the mercy of market forces that must be appeased at all costs. These myths shape British politics, foster division and despair, enrich the 1% and leave the rest of us behind. (See Myths and Fact Check)
The Author
With a degree in Philosophy in 1972, Steve has been a teacher, a trade unionist and later an employer, teacher trainer, a playwright, human resource airline safety advisor to Volga-Dnieper Airline, and a cross-cultural language awareness trainer. He gained a Masters in Economics in 2018. In 2023 he helped Mosler with an update to his Soft Currency Economics. As owner of two limited companies, his knowledge of double-entry bookkeeping, absent from academic economics, helped him to understand money. In 2024 he presented at the first UK MMT conference alongside Bill Mitchell, Warren Mosler and Stephanie Kelton. He remains a philosophical economist, who believes current economic wisdom is deeply flawed and that centrist politicians who follow it are paving the way for their own demise.
Related Work
MMTUK
The ideas within The Money Sham promote policies grounded in Real Resource Economics. They are complemented by the work of the MMTUK Research Group. See mmtuk.org for policy papers and briefings.