“Print” is a misnomer, as only the US Mint prints paper currency and mints metal coins which is a very tiny sliver of the M0 money supply.
So to rephrase what actually happens: “in 2008, the Federal Reserve decided to buy a notional amount of $2 trillion in bonds and debt securities, every time it bought some it created the same amount of new US dollars at the time of transaction which becomes owned by the seller. Increasing the money supply upon payment.”
Its primary mechanism for controlling the money supply and people’s behavior is by purchasing a predetermined amount and category of assets from people. Unless authorized by Congress to do something specific.
Congress does not usually touch the Federal Reserve Act, as the whole point of the Federal Reserve system was to remove politics from management of the money supply. But they obviously can and always could alter the Federal Reserve’s charter and in 2020 they let the Federal Reserve give money directly to individuals in some of the stimulus programs.
More about breaking down exactly how the Fed's digital dollar ledger updates actually result increasing the money supply.
Despite everyone knowing the "printer go brr" meme being just a colloquialism, I don't think people are really clear on what the reality is. It is Just-In-Time creation of dollars upon transaction.
“Print” is a misnomer, as only the US Mint prints paper currency and mints metal coins which is a very tiny sliver of the M0 money supply.
So to rephrase what actually happens: “in 2008, the Federal Reserve decided to buy a notional amount of $2 trillion in bonds and debt securities, every time it bought some it created the same amount of new US dollars at the time of transaction which becomes owned by the seller. Increasing the money supply upon payment.”
Its primary mechanism for controlling the money supply and people’s behavior is by purchasing a predetermined amount and category of assets from people. Unless authorized by Congress to do something specific.
Congress does not usually touch the Federal Reserve Act, as the whole point of the Federal Reserve system was to remove politics from management of the money supply. But they obviously can and always could alter the Federal Reserve’s charter and in 2020 they let the Federal Reserve give money directly to individuals in some of the stimulus programs.