The Keynesian chorus is getting awfully Loud these days.
Paul Krugman joined Ben Bernanke in calling for helicopter money yesterday. Here's the word via Bloomberg:
"Japan should raise its inflation target to 4 percent and embark on a large but temporary fiscal stimulus to boost prices in the economy, Nobel laureate Paul Krugman said.
Speaking at a conference on Thursday in Singapore, Krugman called for 'a big burst of government spending and maybe also cash donations,' though authorities don’t necessarily need to adopt a strategy that involves 'helicopter' money, he said.
'Japan needs to get that inflation rate convincingly high,' Krugman said, adding that worrying about the 'longer-term budget outlook needs to be put on hold.' The Bank of Japan’s current target is 2 percent and consumer prices excluding fresh food, a key benchmark for the BOJ, have fallen for three straight months."
As Hedgeye CEO Keith McCullough wrote earlier today, "Krugman calls for 'a big burst of government spending and maybe also cash donations.' Godspeed to free-market capitalists." In other words, Japan has been pulling out all the stops for some time now to no effect.
Investors are voting with their feet. Take a look at the chart of Japanese equities over the past year:
https://twitter.com/KeithMcCullough/status/753906526717378560