Chevan Nanayakkara 🗽
banner
chevan.info
Chevan Nanayakkara 🗽
@chevan.info
💙 Only You Can Fix Capitalism and Democracy 🇺🇸 I'll Explain How: Macroeconomics

👉 Econ #MMT #Politics. Some Science, Tech and Media

🔗 My Links: https://linktr.ee/chevan_nanayakkara

In 2025 bootstrapping @opportunityparty.info (would love a follow ✊)
In 1946, NY Fed Chairman Beardsley Ruml said "taxes for revenue are obsolete." The federal government doesn't need tax revenue to spend. We spent 80 years forgetting what he told us. Time to remember.
Federal Taxes Don’t Fund the Government: We’ve Known This Since 1946
In January 1946, Federal Reserve Chairman Beardsley Ruml published an article explaining that the federal government doesn't need tax revenue to fund its spending. He was describing the actual mechanics of sovereign currency systems after leaving the gold standard. We spent 80 years forgetting what he told us, and it's time to remember.
chevan.info
December 2, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Reposted by Chevan Nanayakkara 🗽
Designating Saudi Arabia a major non-NATO ally gives significant military benefits. Doing so moments after dismissing Khashoggi’s murder—and attacking the journalist and network who asked about it—shows how far Trump is willing to go to elevate those U.S. intelligence has tied to murder.
Trump: "Tonight I'm pleased to announce that we're taking our military cooperation to even greater heights by formally designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally."
November 19, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Reposted by Chevan Nanayakkara 🗽
People who yell about generational inequality are liars or fools. The problem is the super-rich, not your parents deanbaker22.substack.com/p/the-rich-p...
The Rich People Who Own the Media Want Generations to Fight, not Classes
Yelling about generational inequality is a sure tell someone is a liar or clueless
deanbaker22.substack.com
November 19, 2025 at 12:53 PM
UBI fails because landlords just raise rent to capture it. We need Universal Basic Assets: provide housing, healthcare, education directly as public goods. You can't price-gouge what's free at the point of service. Let's use our understanding of monetary reality for solutions
chevan.info/ubi-vs-uba/
Universal Basic Income (UBI) isn’t the right solution, the U.S. needs Universal Basic Assets (UBA) - Chevan Nanayakkara
Universal Basic Income (UBI) has captured progressive imagination as the solution to poverty and inequality. But the policy has a fatal flaw: cash transfers into markets with inelastic demand get capt...
chevan.info
November 17, 2025 at 12:25 AM
Reposted by Chevan Nanayakkara 🗽
Just now: The plaintiffs who were arguing that Utah GOP's congressional map is illegal won in court.

The judge orders one of the two maps submitted by the plaintiffs ('map 1') be used.

The ruling, if it stands, guarantees that Democrats will pick up a congressional seat in Utah next year.
November 11, 2025 at 6:55 AM
America wastes time on capitalism vs socialism tropes while other countries build economies that work.
The real divide is between those who understand fiat currency and those stuck in gold standard thinking.
Beyond Capitalism vs. Socialism
For seventy years, American political discourse has been trapped in a Cold War binary that no longer serves us. While we debate whether government or markets should control the economy, countries from Singapore to Sweden have built prosperous societies by ignoring this false choice entirely. This essay argues that the capitalism versus socialism framework obscures the real issue: most Americans fundamentally misunderstand how money works in the post-1971 fiat currency world. This misunderstanding - what I call macroeconomic illiteracy - has led us to accept artificial constraints on what's possible, resulting in forty years of wage stagnation, wealth concentration, and declining public goods. Drawing on my previous work on monetary systems, economic models, and hidden wealth transfers, I demonstrate why successful economies use markets for what they do well (discretionary goods) and non-market mechanisms for what they don't (survival needs like healthcare and housing). The path forward isn't choosing between markets and government but understanding our monetary reality well enough to use both effectively. As democratic institutions face unprecedented threats and economic anxiety fuels political extremism, breaking free from obsolete ideological constraints isn't just an economic necessity - it's essential for preserving democracy itself.
chevan.info
November 10, 2025 at 10:18 PM
A friend worried that fiat currency destroyed the economy. In this essay, I explain why they have it backward: we've been stuck in gold standard knowledge and thinking in a fiat currency economy. That's the reason why wages stagnate while costs soar.
Why Monetary Systems Matter
This essay began as a response to a thoughtful Facebook comment expressing concerns shared by millions of Americans about inflation, government debt, and economic insecurity. The commenter blamed our problems on leaving the gold standard in 1971 and the government's ability to 'print money.' While their frustrations are entirely valid, their diagnosis misses the mark. This piece examines three fundamental misconceptions about money, debt, and government spending that have dominated American economic discourse for forty years: and explains why correcting these misconceptions is essential for building broadly shared prosperity.
chevan.info
November 9, 2025 at 9:00 PM
@umbrarchist.bsky.social Really have to thank you for sharing your ideas. I cite chevan.info/depreciation... often and use it as a centerpiece for showcasing long-term labor wealth-extraction when I try to educate people about macroeconomics and economic policy.
How Corporate-Friendly Accounting Rules Create a $30 Trillion Transfer from Consumers into Wealthy Pockets - Chevan Nanayakkara
This essay reveals how accounting rules systematically block wealth-building for middle-class families while concentrating profits in wealthy pockets. When businesses depreciate equipment, they get ta...
chevan.info
November 9, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Someone challenged me on "taxes don't fund spending" with classic monetarist arguments about deficits and inflation. This essay compares three schools of economic thought and their empirical track records.
Why Economic Models Matter
A comprehensive response examining competing economic frameworks and their predictions about money creation, government deficits, and inflation. Using evidence from quantitative easing, Japan's three-decade experiment, and the 2021-2022 inflation episode, this essay tests which theories actually explain how modern monetary systems work... and reveals why economics maintains failed models through institutional power rather than empirical success.
chevan.info
November 8, 2025 at 11:45 PM
The primary factor enabling AI psychosis is a mismatch between how easy AI systems appear to use and how difficult they are to use competently.
What is AI Psychosis? Why Using AI is very Different than a Google Search
The primary factor enabling AI psychosis is a mismatch between how easy AI systems appear to use and how difficult they are to use competently. This creates a dangerous overconfidence gap where people believe they're operating sophisticated cognitive tools effectively while potentially degrading their own thinking capabilities.
chevan.info
September 24, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Reposted by Chevan Nanayakkara 🗽
DISNEY: "OK, we are putting Jimmy Kimmel back on the air. You can resubscribe now."

ME: "I unsubscribed because you immorally bowed to fascism. I'm not going to resubscribe because you immorally bowed to finances."
September 22, 2025 at 9:14 PM
We already tried making humans into machines with SaaS workflows and ticket queues. Everyone lost. And now the real machines are here. AI can do a lot of things better than humans but here's what it can't do- and never will.
The Irreducible Human Core: 8 Capabilities That Make You More Valuable Than AI
We already tried making humans into machines with SaaS workflows and ticket queues. Everyone lost. And now the real machines are here. AI can do a lot of things better than humans but here's what it can't do- and never will.
chevan.info
September 4, 2025 at 6:12 PM
A generative human is someone who uses AI to amplify their capacity to create original insights, novel solutions, and new value rather than just consuming AI's outputs.
Thriving in the AI-Age: How to be a Generative Human using Generative AI as your Cognitive Workbench
A generative human is someone who uses AI to amplify their capacity to create original insights, novel solutions, and new value rather than just consuming AI's outputs. Generative humans become more capable, more creative, and more valuable over time because each interaction with AI enhances their thinking abilities rather than replacing them.
chevan.info
August 20, 2025 at 3:16 AM
Since OpenAI's GPT-5 model started rolling out last week, people ask me the same thing: "How do I use AI better?" The answer is simpler than you think, but it requires a shift in how you approach the problem. Instead of focusing on techniques and pro
Want to Use AI Better? Identify Your Use Case First
Since OpenAI's GPT-5 model started rolling out last week, people ask me the same thing: "How do I use AI better?" The answer is simpler than you think, but it requires a shift in how you approach the problem. Instead of focusing on techniques and prompts, you need to identify your use case first.
chevan.info
August 11, 2025 at 11:02 PM
@unitedairline.bsky.social United Airlines is the worst domestic carrier I have flown. Don’t fly them if you can help it.
August 7, 2025 at 5:08 AM
We’re watching thousands of American workers get laid off while companies simultaneously hire thousands overseas and through H-1B visas. These are roles that U.S. citizens can’t apply for and that mimics the exclusionary nature of offshoring.

open.substack.com/pub/layoffna...
🧠 The AI Mirage: July Jobs Report vs. Tech Hiring Truths
AI Is Replacing Jobs” they say, but it’s a cover
open.substack.com
August 5, 2025 at 7:31 PM
And past Presidents have at least given courtesy to the institutions of democratic processes of transparency to citizens. Just one of the reasons why Trump is anti-American.
August 4, 2025 at 4:18 PM
From Substack.
August 4, 2025 at 4:15 PM
From Substack…
August 4, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Reposted by Chevan Nanayakkara 🗽
The orange Kool-Aid will do that to you. It's strips your soul right out of your body.
July 31, 2025 at 1:54 PM
I usually write about big-picture paradigm shifts, but lately I've noticed something: while we're all living through the AI revolution, many people are struggling with the basics—understanding what everyone is actually talking about.
The AI Slang Dictionary: The 55 Terms Everyone Should Know in August 2025
I usually write about big-picture paradigm shifts, but lately I've noticed something: while we're all living through the AI revolution, many people are struggling with the basics—understanding what everyone is actually talking about.
chevan.info
August 1, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Reposted by Chevan Nanayakkara 🗽
WTF, Republicans?!
👉 Higher inflation
👉 Underfunded schools
👉 Less food for hungry kids
👉 Less care for the sick
👉 Fewer jobs for working-class families

You call this great?! Shame on all of you!

It's time to put #FamiliesFirst! Do your jobs!
July 22, 2025 at 11:33 PM