The U.S. was thought to briefly experience a liquidity trap just following the 2008 financial crisis as interest rates fell effectively to zero while output also dropped. Because of the housing bubble, banks were unwilling to lend and shocked investors stayed away from markets, parking their assets in cash. The American economy, however, emerged from this situation after several rounds of government stimulus and central bank QE. As of the 2020s, the economy is experiencing inflation and rising interest rates, rather than the conditions that would set up another liquidity trap. Moreover, some economists doubt that the U.S. was ever really in a liquidity trap during this period, nor any other.