Dhaka, Nov. 15 -- The United States and Japan are both employing a novel inflation-fighting tool: fiscal stimulus.

US President Donald Trump and Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi are looking to placate angry electorates squeezed by cost-of-living issues. But offering lavish fiscal giveaways to cool inflation is a bit like trying to bring a breaking fire under control by dousing it with gasoline.

Earlier this month, Trump's Republican Party suffered key gubernatorial and mayoral election defeats, where concerns about the high cost of living played a major role.

The White House appears to have heard the electorate loud and clear. The president now seems set on sending a $2,000 check to most US households, a 'tariff dividend' funded v...