[pishpash]

Unemployment would have bottomed out regardless. QE did not speed it up or slow it down, and all of it went into boosting asset prices and malinvestment instead, that much is plain to see. In pegging rates to zero and compressing credit spreads, the central bank had essentially been telling everyone that there was no return in investing in the real economy and that there was not much difference between a good and a bad investment.

[cthrow]

I think we mostly agree, and I am pretty fed up with the situation too. It is painful to be raised in a system that seems to pride itself on freedom, social mobility, hard work, and meritocracy, and then to get into the labor force in the middle of a great stagnation and discover that reality is much different than the ideals you were raised to believe in.

I just don't have enough economic knowledge to say with confidence that unemployment would have bottomed out without QE2 and QE3, and that monetary policy post QE1 has been bad/unnecessary. I have to defer to CBs judgement on this matter.

If you have studies/data to the contrary I would definitely want to read them.

[cthrow]

Good timing actually - a paper came out today from the Federal Reserve Board. Supports the finding that QE1 and QE3 significantly lowered lending standards and increased risk taking among banks:

https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/feds/files/2017093pap...