FINDING THE MONEY follows American economist Stephanie Kelton on a journey through Modern Money Theory or “MMT”. Kelton provocatively asserts the National Debt Clock that ticks ominously upwards in New York City is not actually a debt for us taxpayers at all, nor a burden for our grandchildren to pay back. Instead, Kelton describes the national debt as simply a historical record of the number of dollars created by the US federal government currently being held in pockets, as assets, by the rest of us. MMT bursts into the mainstream media, with journalists asking, “Have we been thinking about how the government spends money, all wrong?” But top economists and politicians from across the political spectrum condemn the theory as “voodoo economics”, “crazy” and “a crackpot theory”. FINDING THE MONEY traces the conflict all the way back to the story we tell about money, injecting new hope and empowering countries around the world to tackle the biggest challenges of the 21st century: from climate change to inequality. Filmmaker Maren Poitras tackles the fascinating linked concepts of taxation and debt by foregrounding the work of an underdog group of American economists including Stony Brook professor Stephanie Kelton. With a radical shift in thinking around a concept dubbed Modern Money Theory, Kelton provocatively asserts new hope for democracies around the world to tackle the biggest challenges of the 21st century.
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For more go to: findingmoneyfilm.com
Opens in select theaters nationwide & digital platforms on May 3rd
Featuring Q&As with special guest moderators, film protagonists, and filmmakers:
May 14: Laemmle Claremont 7:30pm — 450 West 2nd St. Q&A with Director Maren Poitras
May 15: Laemmle NoHo 7:30pm — 5240 Lankershim Blvd. N Hollywood — Q&A Panel with Stephanie Kelton, Maren Poitras, Michael Mezzatesta and Cory Doctorow!
May 16: Laemmle Royal 7:30pm — 11523 Santa Monica Blvd. West LA — Q&A Panel with Stephanie Kelton, Maren Poitras, and Harry Shearer!
About the subject – Stephanie Kelton is a professor of economics and public policy at Stony Brook University. She is a leading expert on Modern Monetary Theory, a former Chief Economist on the U.S. Senate Budget Committee (Democratic staff), and an advisor to Senator Bernie Sanders’ 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns. She was named by POLITICO as one of the 50 people most influencing the policy debate in America. Her highly-anticipated book, The Deficit Myth (2020), became an instant New York Times bestseller.
About the filmmaker – Maren Poitras’s feature documentary debut FINDING THE MONEY premiered at Woodstock Film Festival in fall 2023, received the Audience Award for Best Feature Film at the Green Film Festival of San Francisco, and has its European premiere at Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival. She is Associate Producer with Codebreaker Films on Enemies of the State (2020) and Reality Winner (2023). Originally from the California Bay Area, Poitras has a background in environmental science and agriculture from UC Berkeley.