Do you have a theory or explanation on where all the QE went? And why it hasnt shown up in the real economy as inflation? Because that was a MASSIVE amount of money printed, or maybe we have seen it?
Some of it's been unwound (reversed) already. Most of the other actions that went with it have been unwound, though neutral interest rates are lower before. Initially, QE and the other measures kept the economy going instead of collapsing - a positive effect. So we saw "the money" primarily in the form of an economy that recovered. Year by year, as the economy strengthened, portions of the intervention were withdrawn.
In this, I don't just mean QE per se, but the whole set monetary and related interventions performed by the Fed and the US govt. By 2011, the unwinding path had been laid out, mostly by the Fed. It's kind of amazing how accurately the path has been followed. The correlation between bold plan made during stressful uncertainty and the actual step by step success is surprising to me, but calming. I'm honestly impressed.
As I understand it, the general sequence was to:
-Bail out banks with all means available, including TARP
-Slam interest rates down to zero nominal, negative real rates if inflation occurred
-Create QE
-Supplement this with auto bailout (a govt move)
-Stimulate economy via govt spending (govt move mentioned by Fed as "would be helpful")
Then the unwinding:
-Slowly pay back TARP
-Finish the stimulus, don't replace it
-Get paid back from the auto bailout
-Raise rates
-Unwind QE
Basically, they've done the whole thing except for some of the QE unwind. I'd feel better if they finished that, of course, but the overall intervention is something like 70 to 90 percent completed, depending on viewpoint. Interest rates are lower than before, but may be appropriate; in any case, they're positive in real terms as well as nominal ones.
There's an argument that since we're near the end of a boom and not done unwinding QE, we've ratcheted down by one safety level. Reasonable, but a dollar collapse seems like an unlikely outcome. In recessions since the 1980s, inflation goes down, not up. When there's no business to be had, and stocks are falling, dollars seem safer to people.
Here's some basic sources offering explanations that appear to draw on the same perspective:
"the economy was deflationary"
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/022615/why-didnt-quantitative-easing-lead-hyperinflation.asparticle noting pros and cons of completely unwinding QE, aka "returning to pre-crisis lean balance sheets". Article does document that QE, in fits and starts, partially unwound between 2014 and 2018.
https://www.worldfinance.com/banking/the-qe-reversalDoes any of that help?
Here's another way to look at it. This is an underlying idea; maybe it's the missing piece? In a recession, usually people hold onto dollars; they circulate more slowly. "Money velocity" falls. QE and the other governmenal interventsions in the economy counteracted that. As money velocity recovered, the interventions were mostly withdrawn. Here are links on money velocity:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velocity_of_moneyhttps://www.investopedia.com/terms/v/velocity.asp