With political gridlock blocking an appropriate fiscal response – after 2008, the United States Congress did not pass an annual budget, a basic component of responsible economic governance, for five years – central banks have been forced to bolster economies artificially. To do so, they have relied on near-zero interest rates and unconventional measures like quantitative easing to stimulate growth and job creation.
在常规时期，财政政策可以支持货币政策，扮演再分配角色就是办法之一。但这只是在常规时期。当政治僵局阻碍合理的财政应对措施时——2008年后，在五年的时间里，美国国会都没有通过年度预算，而年度预算乃是负责任的经济治理的一大要素——中央银行就被迫人为提振经济。为了完成这一目标，它们依靠近零利率和量化宽松等非常规手段刺激增长和就业创造。