public debt

In late March, Mario Draghi broke his post-ECB silence with an article in the Financial Times that set out several recipes for how to address the economic difficulties brought on by measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Essentially calling for a “whatever it takes” part two, he urged central banks ...

Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe made history on May 5, 2020. The justices found that the European Central Bank could have acted outside its remit by purchasing government debt. Accordingly, the court suspended the Bundesbank’s participation in the ECB’s program.

When governments and critical financial institutions rig the system to facilitate irresponsible public spending, trouble is inevitable. Today’s crony socialism, masquerading as capitalism, is at the root of the crisis unleashed by the anti-coronavirus measures. Unfortunately, panicked citizens perceive the government as a part of the solution, not the problem.

Pumping still more liquidity into Europe’s pandemic-frozen economy hardly addresses underlying problems, but this happens to be the most politically palatable strategy that Brussels could pursue. How EU leaders go about financing the massive new outlays, however, is a tricky question. The most likely borrowing scheme will have long-term consequences ...