[cs702]

The same way previously created money ends up being used for anything in the private sector: by the actions of individuals, businesses, and non-governmental organizations. If money is cheaper to borrow, they may choose to borrow more, or take on more risk, or what have you.

But money does not "go into assets." That's a misconception. Money trades hands: For every buyer of a house there is a corresponding seller, and for every buyer of a share of stock there is a corresponding seller. Asset prices can rise, or fall, with each trade.

[CraigJPerry]

>> But money does not "go into assets." That's a misconception

How would you describe the situation when you purchase a treasury bill then?

You gave money, the money you gave ceased to exist in the economy - it is no longer available for anyone to spend, you gained an asset.

[cs702]

> How would you describe the situation when you purchase a treasury bill then?

Your cash (i.e., money) goes to the seller of the treasury bill.

If the seller is a private investor, your cash goes to the private investor (e.g., a mutual fund, a pension plan, an individual).

If the seller is the US Treasury (i.e., you bought a newly issued treasury bill), your cash goes to the US Treasury, which will deposit it, and later on, will use it to pay for the federal government's expenses, including bond interest. (Recall that, unlike the Fed, the Treasury cannot issue newly created money. The Treasury must borrow or collect taxes from the private sector to fund federal spending.)

If the seller is the Fed (through one of its primary dealers, acting as an intermediary), the trade is quantitative tightening.

[CraigJPerry]

>> If the seller is a private investor

This case is not of interest

>> If the seller is the US Treasury

This case IS of interest

>> Recall that, unlike the Fed, the Treasury cannot issue newly created money

This is where it begins to unravel and fall apart. What you say is true in theory only, it’s not true in practice:

The fed finances the primary dealer banks that participate in treasuries auctions - it accepts treasuries as collateral for repos.

The primary dealer banks are obligated to stand ready to purchase treasuries and the Federal Reserve ensures there are sufficient reserves to do so by supplying them through temporary repos (a matched purchase of Treasury debt with a requirement that the seller must repurchase later). While the Federal Reserve is not in that case directly buying the new issue directly from the Treasury, it uses the open market purchase to buy an existing bond in order to provide reserves needed for a private bank to buy the new security. The end result is exactly the same as if the central bank had bought directly from the Treasury.

The fed does also buy treasuries (the fed holds around 10% of treasuries issued - https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/TREAST).

EDIT: moved paragraph for clarity

[zozbot234]

Unless you purchased a treasury bill from the central bank as part of a money-draining operation, the money is still there. Your counterparty has sold a treasury bill and received money for it, that she'll most likely spend elsewhere.

[CraigJPerry]

We’re not talking about the unless case though - as you say the money would still exist in that case.