$4.2 trillion was the total stimulus spent. I find it hard to imagine the scale of this spending, with nothing to show for it. No new infrastructure was built, and we still seem to be staring at the beginning of a recession.
That's an interesting and sobering thought. It basically bought two years of breathing room but also delivered the Fed a very tricky puzzle that they need to solve now. And solving that puzzle without causing a recession later this year is going to be very difficult.
Isn't that the whole point of preventative measures?
"not nothing": could have used less money.
Relatedly, getting a recession now does not at all mean these measures were not successful or that this recession is at all similar to the one that was prevented.
