The document, which has been backed by the five other major NHS organisations, calls for whichever party forms the next government to end the ringfence around NHS spending, which has delivered inflation-proof increases since 2010, around £2bn-£3bn a year, and give the NHS a minimum of £1.5bn extra a year during the next five-year parliament.
Belgium argues that its system of wage indexation has not delivered higher inflation than Germany.
"That expected inflation has thus far adjusted only modestly lower during this cycle may be the result not of Fed credibility to generate inflation in the future, but instead may be the result of the fact that the Fed in the past has delivered 2 percent inflation," he wrote in a paper presented here.
It is difficult to say how these effects would net out, especially if there were uncertainty on the central bank's ability or commitment to deliver faster inflation.
Replacing Mr Bernanke with someone publicly committed to focusing on all aspects of the central bank's mission would be perceived as a direct political assault on the Fed (which would help deliver some inflation).
Mr Trichet has had a remarkable tenure: consistently delivering low inflation, deftly navigating the 2008 financial crisis, and holding the single currency together in the face of pusillanimous politicians (see article).
In Britain data released on February 17th showed that tumbling energy and transport prices had helped deliver an inflation rate of 0.3% in the year to January, one of the lowest on record.
The successful candidate will take on one of the most important roles in the UK economy -- charged with delivering low inflation (monetary stability) and also ensuring the health of the UK financial system (financial stability).
He now concedes that the Fed's success in delivering low inflation and interest rates may have made bubbles more likely, ironically, because investors are demanding less compensation for risk.Whether central banks should respond to asset-price bubbles is one of the hottest debates in monetary policy.
But before the moment of that dreamy image arrives, the governor and his top lackeys have a couple of appearances to make: delivering the inflation report on 13 August, as well as showing up for the Bank's monetary policy committee meeting this week.
The main problem is that a shift of this magnitude risks undermining hard-won central bank credibility; after all, central banks have been promising to deliver 2% inflation for a couple of decades now, and that level is deeply embedded in long-term financial contracts.
