OP's perspective is the trending left wing theory, MMT. It is a circular theory being used to try to explain the lack of inflation when we injected trillions into our money supply during the Great Recession QE. It is a socialists power grab of an explanation.
Why didn't we have massive inflation in 2012-2016? MMT says it's because government can print without boundaries. It states the only check is inflation. It's old theory dressed up as new, with a dash of more nebulous concepts. The biggest criticism here is that MMT offers no explanation on how we get to inflation. It takes the approach used to identify porn - I'll know it when I see it. So when do we turn the printers off? Well, when there is inflation. When can we see inflation? Errrr, when it's here!!
Friedman type economics explains the lack of inflation in a way that does not attempt to move us toward socialism. We did not have the expected money multiplier because banks and companies sat on QE injections to shore up balance sheets. It did not create new loans, new deposits, new loans, etc. Partly because they didn't know the true fallout from the housing crisis, and partly because the administration was not business friendly in their rhetoric and a bank preferred to not lend and a business preferred to not spend on capex. It's why you also saw an explosion of economic activity in the trump era. To a certain extent, it was pent up demand from an idiotic administration.
In my mind, we will certainly see inflation this time around. Completely different environment with healthy balance sheets for the most part. Maybe we see USD spent internationally as a result of administration. Right now we're seeing this money go into real estate with a record number of investor buyers as smart money seeks an inflationary hedge (real estate).