Fair. I'm not an expert on the economy of Japan (although I know a little bit). But in this case the money being printed is being used to prop up the stock market. It's essentially creating an artificial bubble.
So yes, you're right. How you use the money matters. But the US government isn't using it to help consumers, it's using it to help corporations.
I did not articulate this in my original comment, and concede you're (mostly) right. I maintain that "the money printer goes brrrr" is the main issue in the US, but admittedly I'm not providing as much data as you and your arguments aren't bad.
btw to be clear, I don't think that the increase in money supply has had zero impact. I think it's actually a key part. Folks saved a bunch of money - to your point, invested it in the stock market - and then when restrictions lifted, they went out and bought stuff. This spike in demand contributed to inflation, no doubt, and it was in part created by new money.
I'm not sure that the alternative - at least from the Fed's perspective - of allowing the US to enter a deflationary spiral in 2020 would have done us better.
I also think that these issues are transient, and caused by a very poor transition out of COVID lockdowns and into normalcy. It's taking longer than I thought to resolve, but I do think that not taking too much dramatic action and letting the market sort it out is the path forward.
I think the amplification of these issues is transient, but that the overall trend is still up. I believe CPI will come down again soon, but then start to trend up again without drastic measures from The Fed (much more than raising rates by 25 basis points a few times a year like they're currently discussing).
The world economy is complicated though. Nobody was predicting covid a few years ago. Not many people were predicting a war last year. Who knows what crazy wrench reality will throw in the system soon.
So yes, you're right. How you use the money matters. But the US government isn't using it to help consumers, it's using it to help corporations.
I did not articulate this in my original comment, and concede you're (mostly) right. I maintain that "the money printer goes brrrr" is the main issue in the US, but admittedly I'm not providing as much data as you and your arguments aren't bad.