In taking this unprecedented step, many investment professionals assumed the Fed was out of bullets to stem the crisis.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke proved them wrong by introducing Quantitative Easing (QE). While the media lauded Bernanke for his creative ingenuity, the fact of the matter was that QE was already being employed in Japan on and off since 2001. Additionally, other versions of QE were used in the United States, most notably during the 1920's. They did not call that era the roaring 20's for nothing.

QE is often referred to as money printing because the Fed conjures U.S. dollar currency from thin air which it then uses to purchase financial securities. In this day and age, the Fed does not physically "print" new money but effectively does so electronically with a series of 1's and 0's. Despite the seemingly magical way money is created for the "benefit of all," critics of QE are not so enamored with this policy tool. Maybe they understand the long history of financial hardship that has befallen nations that relied heavily on it.