QE does not involve printing money. How does swapping bonds for reserves, i.e. monies of different durations, invoke a money press?
EDIT: I am also using 'printing money' in the figurative sense, I'm not making some obtuse point about actual notes being printed. I don't think QE is equivalent to figurative money printing, the money is not coming out of thin air.
'Increasing fictional numbers on a computer screen through political intent' is the modern equivalent. I think everyone understands that, at this point...
Can you give a particular source? The definition of M2 used by the Fed was expanded in May 2020, so the reading of any charts must account for that.
I also think it's kind of irrelevant anyway. Drawing down the duration of money by QE will increase M2, that doesn't mean money is being created from thin air. Bonds are drawn out of the economy in exchange for increased reserves. What are bonds if not a form of money?
EDIT: I am also using 'printing money' in the figurative sense, I'm not making some obtuse point about actual notes being printed. I don't think QE is equivalent to figurative money printing, the money is not coming out of thin air.