It might not have completely negated the need to print off all of that money, but it would have negated a good deal of it. The alternative would have been to ha

It might not have completely negated the need to print off all of that money, but it would have negated a good deal of it. The alternative would have been to have backed the checks with pre-existing money. That would have meant having a sane tax policy and a lack of military adventures in the United States over the last 30 years. The lack of housing supply happened because some geeked-up bankers 15-20 years ago decided to gamble the nation's economy on its ability to pay for mortgage rates that had gone out of their teaser rates. That destroyed the residential construction industry. We never caught up, because catching up means that the people responsible for the whole mess to begin with would have faced real financial consequences. The fact that building codes and zoning laws are what they are doesn't help, but it all comes back to money, and remember, there's a reason those zoning laws and building codes were there to begin with.