Inflation is the logical consequence of debasement of the currency. It can only be justified if the fiat debt based capital issuance that causes debasement is directed a capital investments which can be reasonably expected to increase the total sum of production within the economy.

Only in this way can that debasement be justified as if an increase in production and wealth creation broadly recompenses participants in the economy for the debasement of their money.

This was recognised and regulated within the monetary system prior to the 1980s neoliberal reforms of banking by requiring commercial banks to only provide fiat debt capital funding to productive purposes.

The neoliberal 'reforms' removed this constraint and ever since commercial banks have increasingly provided fiat debt funding toward non productive speculative purposes- primarily but not exclusively- housing.

So since those 'reforms' with commercial banks no longer restricted to financing productive projects and investments the era of fiat crony capitalism has afflicted the western world. Banks inflate property markets because property mortgages are much easier to assess for risk and much more secure than most productive plant investments. Property markets have been inflated with a ceaseless pumping of fiat debt leverage. It went a bit too far and triggered the GFC but that blew over and the cycle resumed again.

Since 1990 interest rates have steadily declined enabling this parasitic non productive fiat debt leveraged crony capitalism to maintain an illusion of economic success in the west. But now that interest rates are at a level that can no longer be lowered much, nor raised much the process has reached a dead end. Property prices will stagnate at best- at worst they could decline considerably.

Meanwhile China has largely avoided this trap and invested most of its fiat debt capital toward productive assets and infrastructure and has ultimately won the trade war.

The west is left clinging to a massive pile of debt and over valued non productive assets. The outlook for the west is not bright - pOp.