Quantitative Easing for the People

The author contends that the eurozone is facing a critical risk of deflation due to flawed austerity policies and the failure of the European Central Bank's conventional monetary tools. The text argues that standard quantitative easing (QE) is ineffective because it primarily benefits the wealthy and fails to stimulate lending during a 'liquidity trap'. As a solution, the document proposes 'overt money financing' or 'quantitative easing for the people' (QEP), which would involve the central bank providing debt-free money directly to governments to fund public works, tax cuts, or an unconditional basic income, thereby boosting demand without increasing public debt.

• The eurozone is nearing deflation, with an average inflation rate of 0.7% as of January 2014, which is significantly below the European Central Bank's target of 'below, but close to, 2%'.
• Current macroeconomic policies in Europe, characterized by austerity and internal devaluation, have pushed the continent into recession and increased public debt levels, creating a risk of a deflationary spiral similar to the 1930s.
• Conventional quantitative easing (QE) is criticized for failing to stimulate the real economy because it inflates asset prices for the wealthy rather than increasing loans to businesses and households, a failure attributed to the 'liquidity trap' where banks refuse to lend despite having excess reserves.
• The proposed 'quantitative easing for the people' (QEP), or 'overt money financing', would bypass banks to provide debt-free money directly to governments for consumption, investment, and jobs, potentially without violating Article 123 of the Lisbon Treaty.

APA

Fazi, T. (2014). Quantitative Easing for the People. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/quantitative-easing-for-the-people/

Chicago

Fazi, Thomas. Quantitative Easing for the People. Green European Journal, 2014. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/quantitative-easing-for-the-people/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Fazi |first1=Thomas |title=Quantitative Easing for the People |publisher=Green European Journal |date=27 February 2014 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/quantitative-easing-for-the-people/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{fazi2014quantitative, author = {Fazi, Thomas}, title = {{Quantitative Easing for the People}}, publisher = {Green European Journal}, year = {2014}, month = feb, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/quantitative-easing-for-the-people/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }