Banks, QE, and Money-Printing
The fundamental issue with this article is that the inflation number is a lie. Housing costs are the key cost for every consumer but are excluded from CPI.<p>Western countries have been running fiscal deficits consistently for decades, QE and low interest rates for 10 years. Yet for academics and central bankers the only answer to growth is more debt.<p>Low interest rates benefit only the asset rich. They deprive everyone else of investment income. They also prevent essential restructuring as zombie companies stay alive instead of going bust.<p>High housing costs, caused by low interest rates, are causing a demographic crisis in the west. People literally can’t afford to start a family.<p>Our economies and culture have a skills crisis not a growth crisis.<p>---<p>Edit: To provide some clarity on the comments below highlighting that housing costs are included in CPI. Each country calculates inflation statistics to various methodologies. CPI in the US includes a rent equivalent value which is independent of the actual cost of purchasing a home.<p>The weighting allocated to housing is also unrepresentative as  those entering the job market in cities now are facing housing costs representing 50% of income when most inflation metrics have it at 50%.