> I'm also not keen on destroying the money printer, because the events of 100 years ago showed us what deflationary shocks look like

It's a useful safety latch where you break the glass in emergencies. Except the glass gets broken once and used like a day-to-day gas pedal after that. Which has been well reported shift in monetary policy since 2008, and again after COVID, where QE is just regular business. There's a serious lack of reduction following the crisis and a lack of long term preparation for future shocks. While markets get inflated and other foreign competitors do it too, which creates perverse incentives to maintain it.

I'm strongly in favour of separation of power, but the separation is much weaker in practice. Mostly due to as you said, politics. It still requires a culture of fiscal responsibility at multiple levels which is rare these days.

Maybe a serious debt crisis and high inflation might help remind politicians of why that culture is needed.