[imtringued]

> The Fed cannot do helicopter money. It is not connected to the "real" economy directly, only through the banks as middle-men. Helicopter money comes via fiscal policy.

Exactly. All those people talking about money printing don't understand that money doesn't exist in a vaccum. Every dollar created is backed by one dollar of debt which ads up to a net worth of $0.

So the Fed cannot helicopter money for the obvious reason that they cannot ever pay that money back. The government can borrow and spend money into the economy because it can tax its citizens. The money will come back one day.