patrick.net

A couple of things

http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=hsW

blue line is federal deficit / GDP

red line is the fed's holdings of UST / GDP

The Fed's QE has given our system a shot in the arm, no doubt.

But the deficit itself is still greater than any time outside of WW2.

This graph:

http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=hsX

is the true story of the economy, it shows consumer debt / wages, how the consumer sector borrowed its way to prosperity 2000-2008.

By all rights we should be in a another "Great Depression", and would be had the Fed and Congress repeated the policy responses of 1930-1932.

We really boosted government spending:

http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=hsY

is real (2012 dollars) govt spending per capita, up from $16,000 immediately before the crisis to $18,000- $19,000 now.

Theoretically we should be taxing $20,000 per capita, LOL.

For a family of 4, that's $80,000/yr.

Ain't nobody got time for that.