Global central bankers, stuck at zero, unite in plea for help from governments, by Howard Schneider. Money manufacture in the private sector stalled in the GFC of 2008, and since then central banks have tried everything to restart the bubble of money creation that felt so good economically from 1982 to 2008. But they have failed, as is inevitable.

Mired in a world of low growth, low inflation and low interest rates, officials from the Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank said their efforts to bolster the economy through monetary policy may falter unless elected leaders stepped forward with bold measures. These would range from immigration reform in Japan to structural changes to boost productivity and growth in the U.S. and Europe. …

“What we have seen since 2007 is half-baked and half-hearted structural reforms. That does not help supporting inflation expectations. That has helped entertain disinflationary expectations,” Coeure said.

Unless they are prepared to really print, big time:

In a lunch address by Princeton University economist Christopher Sims, policymakers were told that it may take a massive program, large enough even to shock taxpayers into a different, inflationary view of the future.

Karl Denninger doesn’t mince words, in his commentary entitled “End of the Rope:”

Understand this folks:

Inflation is exactly identical to a tax in terms of its impact on your wallet, except that it is a tax on everything, not just production. Taxes can be avoided — legally — by refusing to produce.  Inflation takes that which you already earned. It is thus much like a “property tax” in form and substance in that it is both pernicious and permanent.

“Shock taxpayers”?  Yes, such a program might well do that. … Here it comes folks, and it’s going to get quite messy.

Wouldn’t be too sure about the timing though. The system is pretty resilient and might limp along for a few more years yet.