Lucrezia Reichlin, Adair Turner and Michael Woodford — Helicopter money as a policy option

With persistently weak economic conditions becoming the norm in Europe, economists are considering increasingly unconventional policy options. One tool that has yet to be taken out of storage is ‘helicopter money’, i.e. the overt monetary financing of government deficits. This column recounts a policy debate on helicopter money that was held at LBS in April 2013 among three of the world’s leading monetary economists.

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Helicopter money as a policy option
Lucrezia Reichlin, Professor of Economics at London Business School, Adair Turner, Member of the UK Financial Policy Committee, and Michael Woodford, John Bates Clark Professor of Political Economy, Columbia University

More stabbing in the dark, but at least they recognize that fiscal policy is needed instead of relying on monetary policy. But they are so bound up in "central bank independence" they are blindsided.

Hyperinflation is just around the corner...central banks are printing money...it's coming...just wait...it's almost here...you'll see...

How many times have we heard these ridiculous inflationists tell us that all the "money printing" by central banks GUARANTEES that inflation is just around the corner?

In the past four years the world's five major central banks: Fed, ECB, BOJ, SNB, BOE have "printed" over $5 TRILLION. And guess what?? Commodities and gold are collapsing.

Here's the breakdown (all figures in trillions $)

Fed 2.2
ECB 2.2
boj 0.4
boe 0.26
snb 0.3

Total = $5.36 trillion.

Not to mention the record deficits everywhere--in the U.S. Europe, Japan, etc.

Still...no inflation.

But don't worry...it's coming!

What a bunch of dopes.