Significantly different. The Government was investing in Infrastructure which built up the free trade between states. It revolutionized the economy. Look at the investment and then look at the return received.
You know before that, we didn't have the interstates and all that to connect major cities. It's hard to believe, but then again 100 years ago cars weren't everywhere. In the 1940s and 50s, it wasn't common to drive to another city for a day trip or drive somewhere for vacation. Since then, jobs have started spreading out. Detroit, for example, became a powerhouse because the auto industry took off in Detroit. The manufacturers were there, the suppliers, etc. As the roads developed, business could build in another areas. Now we see trucks transporting parts city to city. We have car manufacturers all over the country, not just isolated to Detroit.
Farming has de-centralized as well. Now we can transport food from California to New York in a couple days, so New York doesn't have to worry about having local farms. The interstate has allowed cities to grow much larger because the world became smaller with the highway.
As far as QE goes, it isn't providing anything in return. It is simply there to try to increase others to put their money in. The theory is that eventually enough companies/people will put their money in and reduce the need for QE... the problem with these new modern era economic thoughts is they can not successfully predict the actions of companies/people.
In WWII, people were being told to buy Liberty Bonds.. which was basically people giving the gov't money for an eventual return on their money. That is back when people saved money and all that great stuff. Now, with most people's bank accounts either not existing or being minimal, they have to print money (which is QE) in order to have more. Let's face it, most people are nearly living paycheck to paycheck, or have less than 2-3 months in savings.
A reference point: With the government potentially shutting down, most of the workers either are going to apply for unemployment and receive a fraction or their pay? I think in TN you get a max of like $275 a week or something, regardless. But employers don't start hiring until the end of January, meaning if they wanted to find another job, they would have to figure out how to make it from October to January.. 3-4 months! The general rule of thumb is having 6 months savings to be able to make it through this.. The American people are tapped out. Our government is tapped out. This is why we need to use QE.. this is a last resort.. because once this is done, we don't have any other options left. The budget has to start running a surplus, otherwise we're going to see the bankruptcy of the US within our lifetime, and likely within the next 20 years.