Growth, Satiety, and the Tax Revenue from Money Creation
The analysis of the welfare cost of appropriating revenue through money creation which has traditionally assumed the absence of real income growth is extended to the case of a growing economy. Within this frame-work two cases are treated: when the revenue appropriated is not used to induce further growth and when this revenue is used to induce growth. In both cases, the traditional indictment of raising revenue through money creation is shown to remain intact. The potential conflict between setting the satiety level of real balances and revenue appropriation is discussed, some criticisms are made of Friedman's analysis, and the welfare optimality of the satiety level is questioned.