It stops being a dumb trick the moment the Fed manages to wind down the balance sheet (i.e. never). Until then, the Fed is just the bagholder of last resort, an

It stops being a dumb trick the moment the Fed manages to wind down the balance sheet (i.e. never). Until then, the Fed is just the bagholder of last resort, and talk of a money printer is more accurate than talk about backstops and the monetary base.