What saved us from disaster

Credit the Federal Reserve for rescuing the U.S. economy from the financial crisis, according to a majority of economists surveyed by the WSJ. Yes, the $787 billion stimulus package has helped, but not as much as intervention by the Fed.

When asked which government policies played the biggest role in resuscitating the U.S. economy, 25 respondents chose low interest rates and 13 said it was the central bank's purchases of Treasurys and mortgages. Eight cited the bank stress tests and related capital-raising by banks. Just three said the stimulus played the biggest role.

Economists Allen Sinai and Paul Edelstein estimated that the Fed's actions boosted GDP growth by 1.9 percentage points in 2009 and would add 3.3 points this year. On average, the Journal economists estimated that the stimulus added one percentage point to growth in 2009 and 0.8 percent this year. Unfortunately, saying that something could have been worse is not the same as saying that it's good.