Joe Weisenthal

But with all that out of the way...

When you think about upward pressure on inflation and why you're so concerned about inflation, and we've talked about energy and all that, how much does the seeming inability of government after government to engage in fiscal consolidation, how much is that a factor when you think about the future trajectory of inflation?

I've done all the thought clearing for you.

We stipulate that it doesn't seem like there is any real impulse at fiscal consolidation or capacity right now.

So what does that mean?

But so just to push further, some of these fiscal choices, like the inviolability of, say, the triple lock, which, again, I'm not asking you whether these are good or bad policies, et cetera.

But are these contributors to the persistence of upside inflation risks?

Well, let me ask you a mechanical question about the bond market, which is, are the coupon payments, as we see yields rise, and this is a question for all developing economies, and it's certainly at least a little bit of an anxiety in the US as well, as we see those coupon payments rise, are we anywhere near where those interest payments themselves are creating an inflationary impulse in the UK, which economists would call fiscal dominance?

But that's a fiscal expenditure, that coupon payment.

And so the question is, is it of a size such that that fiscal expenditure, which the screens tell us is rising when we see the rates rising,

Is that large enough or is there a delta there such that that actually itself creates an inflationary impulse?

Okay.

Can I go back to something you said at the very beginning when I asked you about what is the remit or the objective of the central bank?

And you said one thing is to support the government.

And that is not like formally, I don't think that's part of the Fed, but I know that that's like why the whole bank, that's why the Bank of England was founded was to be the government's bank and to facilitate financing of the government.

Does that functionally change anything?

Does

Does that mean something substantively different in terms of the conduct of monetary policy within the BOE versus, say, another central bank when that's sort of like part of your founding charter?

There was an incident a few years ago in which the bank helped out the government a little bit.

Are they as vigorous as Prime Minister's questions?