QE's potential demise in the US has sent the world's stock markets into a downward spin, providing the surest indication of where much of the benefit of this money printing exercise went.
QE was meant to provide liquidity when banks weren't lending.
It has had the bonus of cancelling vast amounts of national debt since owing yourself money is not debt.
The reality is it has not boosted the economy - it has just boosted speculation and the financial institutions of the world who were the last people who needed to benefit.
It could have been so different. As I have long argued we needed green quantitative easing instead - which is a programme of spending money into the economy to create jobs and green infrastructure It could have worked. It still will work as the need for stimulus and liquidity has not gone away. The question is whether any politician will be brave enough to do it.
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Exactly Richard, the very institutions and mindset that caused the crash are those that have benefited most from QE, while most of the rest of us just get poorer.
Of course this money could have been and should have been spent in the way you suggest, but that might be to the long term benefit of society rather than the short term benefit of our ‘super efficient’ financial sector.
Far too ‘left wing’ and progressive for the US government (or ours) to even contemplate.
“Panic deepens on world financial markets”
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/06/21/econ-j21.html
“The Fed’s irrational behavior could be seen as rational if the assumption is that the Fed’s intent is not to save the economy but to save the banks.”
http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2013/06/20/the-rational-market-myth-paul-craig-roberts/
“The Fed’s irrational behavior could be seen as rational if the assumption is that the Fed’s intent is not to save the economy but to save the banks. As the Fed is committed to saving the banks “too big to fail,” it is likely that the banks know of the Fed’s announcements in advance. With inside information, the banks know precisely when to short the stock, bond, and bullion markets. The banks make billions from the inside information. The billions made help to restore the banks’ balance sheets.”
I’d say the above quote from that article you posted sums up the priorities of our governments. To hell with society at large, the wider economy, the environment, their only interest is helping the bankers. More evidence of the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of finance capital.
“Eurozone bailout fund to prop up banks from 2014”
http://euobserver.com/economic/120588
Note the word potential. I doubt this will happen because too many people are doing so well out of it.
This government in the UK have thrown £375 billion at the banks; at the same time, they have effectively paid off £375 billion of debt. £375 billion is enough to keep the NHS going for almost 4 years.
It’s important to remember too that this money was created out of nothing!
Remember that when the government next says it cannot afford pensions or benefits!
presumably this 375 billion is on top of the 1.2 trillion used for the bailout. When there is so little proof of the efficacy of the present mode of QE why can it still go on unopposed by any party? According to Richard Werner et al in ‘Where Does Money come From’ ‘since at least 2010 the main criticism of QE has been that it has failed to stimulate bank lending in the real economy.’ Where is Labour on this? (Rhetorical question!).