Central bank asset purchases are actually little more than the de facto nationalization of private wealth.

If I could print money and use it to buy your house, I've basically stolen it. In theory CBs could use printed money to nationalize 100% of the economy/private wealth.

You'll often hear ppl say central bank buying is good for investors and increased wealth inequality. Nonsense. With asset purchases, income generating assets are confiscated and replaced with cash that generates nothing (-ve in EU). Investors as a class are left with less income.

The consequences of this are already starting to become apparent. Investors have less income generating assets left to fight over which drives up the price of everything. And pension funds etc are starved of income as the central bank is nationalizing income-generating bonds.

It is surprising there have not been more concern expressed about the constitutionality & desirability of governments having this degree of unchecked power. On the current policy trajectory, there is nothing to stop the CB printing and buying up half or more of the stock market.