The US Fed "owns" 8 and a half Trillion dollars of US debt, money that was spent by Congress (voters like that) without raising taxes (voters don't like that).

The US Fed "owns" 8 and a half Trillion dollars of US debt, money that was spent by Congress (voters like that) without raising taxes (voters don't like that). (In addition to treasuries, the money is spent subsidizing home loan interest rates below market).