Ask HN: “government is printing money” - what does it mean in practice?
Yeah, the academic subject is called &quot;macroeconomics&quot; so if you look for good textbooks on that subject they should explain these details.<p>At a crass level, in the USA, my understanding is the main mechanism used is: there is someone at a desk with a terminal at the Fed bank in NYC that can buy and sell treasury bonds for &quot;free&quot; (dollars that vanish or appear as needed, electronically) and they do so day to day to keep the rates within the window established by the FOMC committee. (But there are other ways for the Fed to create and destroy money)<p>So really, the money is going into the hands of any and every one who borrows money during that general time period, and thus receives a lower interest rate than they would have if the government were not carrying out that policy. Larger debtors benefitting to a greater degree, naturally. If you get a mortgage on a small house, you benefit. If you borrow money to take over a large corporation for your hedge fund, you benefit.