They are making money though. The government doesn't make money for the government. It's not like a corporation. The government makes money for the country. Saving existing institutions from collapse during a disaster tends to be a very good investment for that.

When the Fed creates $xxx billion it "makes" money. The real question is whether the Fed bought something worthwhile.

The fact that a market coalesced around the asset isn't that significant because the Fed can't withdraw from the market now without watching prices for the asset collapse.

The point of my argument is that the government can save money by keeping a company from folding. Having a bad return of a couple hundred million is better than a loss to society of larger proportions. My point is to avoid the whole, a penny wise and a pound foolish, thing.