Public Purpose

Public Purpose is the MMT principle that fiscal policy should prioritize full employment, price stability, and public investment to maximize societal well-being rather than achieving arbitrary financial targets.

Public Purpose is the guiding principle that government fiscal policy should prioritize societal well-being over financial constraints. This includes maintaining full employment through a Job Guarantee program that offers work to anyone ready and willing - from environmental restoration to community care services. It means using fiscal policy to maintain price stability and fund essential public investments in infrastructure, education, healthcare, and climate action. Unlike private sector goals focused on profit, Public Purpose recognizes that a monetarily sovereign government can afford anything for sale in its own currency, so policy choices should be based on real resource availability and social priorities, not arbitrary budget limits.

"Government spending on public purpose crowds out private investment" - Government spending actually creates income and demand that can stimulate private sector activity, and public investment often provides infrastructure that enhances private productivity.
"We can't afford programs that serve the public purpose" - A monetarily sovereign government can afford anything for sale in its own currency; the real constraint is available resources and productive capacity, not money.
"Public purpose programs are just make-work welfare" - Programs like the Job Guarantee provide valuable services like environmental restoration, community care, and infrastructure maintenance while ensuring full employment and economic stability.