I have lost count of the number of times I have read of some evil or other laid at the feet of the Federal Reserve. I'll admit, I'm confused. What doe sthe Fed do, apart from handling exchanges/reconciliations between banks? How in the hell could modern banking function without a Central Clearinghouse? We can't exactly move gold by hand between banks anymore, yanno. I know the Fed sets the Treasury rate, but I have never understood why. What gives that authority to this quasi-public agency? If you have extreme patience and can answer my questions, thankies.
Xsited, before I get to whether the Fed does a good job, I need to better understand WTF it DOES. You advocate for its abolition? Seriously? How would banks reconcile payments between them? Weekly closings?
There's nothing "Federal" about the Federal Reserve, it's privately owned and run. Their charter runs out soon and should not be renewed. It was enacted in 1913 by Woodrow Wilson who later said: Read "The Creature From Jeckyll Island" to learn more. [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Creature-Jekyll-Island-Federal-Reserve/dp/0912986212"]Amazon.com: The Creature from Jekyll Island : A Second Look at the Federal Reserve (9780912986210): G. Edward Griffin: Books[/ame]
Anyone with a brain would read up on the Fed... seeking both positive and negative views, as well as ascertaining factually accurate information and then apply some critical thinking and form an opinion. What does Maddie do? Asks a bunch of partisans..... I bet she doesn't see the stupidity of this.
I see you're still not getting it. Here's some more information: Their agenda is to turn a profit. They do this in two different ways: They manipulate interest rates to create "boom-bust" cycles which always work out to the advantage of the hidden elite "insiders". . . as they know exactly when our economy will boom . . . and when it will bust. They increase the money supply by "creating" money through the incredibly lucrative "sweet heart" deal they've had with the U.S. government, ever since the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 was signed into law. Abolish the Federal Reserve
Seems to me, xsited, the primary function of the Fed has to be to act as a central clearinghouse for US banks. I know they also set the interest rates on T-bills, but I'm not sure why. Profit? WTF? How would the Fed even earn income, nevemind make a profit? Where is the profit opportunity on either of these functions?
Not short, but very insightful. (There are 12 segments; this is the first) [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7auQEXTWomA]Griffin[/ame] Griffin wrote [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Creature-Jekyll-Island-Edward-Griffin/dp/091298645X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297786542&sr=8-1]Amazon.com: The Creature from Jekyll Island: (9780912986456): G. Edward Griffin: Books[/ame]. An excellent book - I highly recommend it.