The New Liquidity Trap

The message from Japan is loud and clear: “Bernanke… you magnificent bastard, I read your book!” Sadly, that’s no exaggeration:

The Bank of Japan made a blockbuster announcement overnight, saying that after nearly two decades of economic stagnation and falling prices, it is aiming for 2 percent inflation and will print more yen on an unlimited scale—by the trillions, if necessary—to get there.

That alone is big news; the Japanese central bank has now joined the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank in pledging bottomless resources to address their respective economic crises.

Trillions in easy money and trillions more in deficit spending haven’t worked here. They won’t work there. But central planners gotta plan, and string pushers gotta push.

RELATED: Money cannot buy growth.