The fact is, the economy, after an economic and market bubble, is not a pretty sight. The resolution of the bubble involves pain, pain eventually felt first by investors and then by all of us. The debt bubble is demanding more and more resources, and the economy is producing less and less. As long as the Fed throws in money, the machine keeps going. The only option we didn't explore was our college student declaring bankruptcy.
Japan is faced with that right now.
Their central bank did the same thing our Fed is doing - easing credit to keep the economy going. It didn't work, though. Then their bubble burst. They are giving money away, and it still isn't helping. Some estimate a trillion dollars of bad debt sits on their banks' balance sheets.