[simula67]

> What they say is that public debt and public deficits are irrelevant (there goes your "outlandish true" of balanced budgets) but they also say that inflation is the most important constraint in public spending.

I heard this story in a debate between an MMT economist and an Austrian economist

Imagine a husband and wife having the following conversation :

Husband : Let's go and buy a new mansion, a Lamborghini and a private jet

Wife : Are you sure we have enough money to do all that ?

Husband : Well, if we don't, I can always pick up my shotgun and hold up the nearby bank

Wife : Are you crazy ? You could go to prison. Or get shot by the police

Husband : Well, I know that. But I just wanted to point out that not having enough money was irrelevant. Going to jail or getting shot was the most important constraint from spending all that money.

[hn0]

This misses THE central point of MMT, the fundamental difference between currency issuer (souvereign authority) and currency user (households, firms, regional governments, etc).

[RobertoG]

I'm not sure that your metaphor illuminates the issue at hand.