Past unequal effects of lower rates was due to failed loan policies, not the monetary policy itself

Juan Antonio Montecino and Gerald Epstein, “Did Quantitative Easing Increase Income Inequality?” Publisher, 4-24-17, https://www.cepweb.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Montecino-paper.pdf

These dis-equalizing impacts were due to both policy choices and deep seated structural problems. Policy wise, the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department did not design effective mechanisms to clear away obstacles for lower income households to refinance loans at lower rates. As Bair (2012) and Barofsky (2012) show, helping underwater homeowners refinance their mortgages or stay in their homes was not a top priority of the Treasury Department. Nor did the Federal Reserve try to implement any regulatory programs to do so. In addition, the Federal Reserve did not try to develop innovative programs to use its lending facilities to lend directly to state and local governments or others who would preserve or expand employment. This direct lending could have lessened the Fed’s dependence on bidding up asset prices in an attempt to generate employment and wage increases.