POLL: Federal Reserve: Is It Public or Private?

[Mad Scientist]

There seems to be some misunderstanding about the Federal Reserve so I thought I'd post a little poll to see what USMB people think.

Is the Federal Reserve a "Public" or Private" organization?

Public = Gov't Agency paid for by the tax payers and run by gov't workers.
Private = Non-Gov't Agency or Business run by Private Citizens for profit.

This is a private poll.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Neither and both. It is a private bank that handles government funds and creates government money policy with no government oversight.

 

[Mad Scientist]

Neither and both. It is a private bank that handles government funds and creates government money policy with no government oversight.

Wrong answer. How can you create gov't money policy without gov't oversight? Where in the Constitution is that allowed?

 

[expat_panama]

...a little poll to see what USMB people think. Is the Federal Reserve a "Public" or Private" organization? ...

That's a hoot! Reminds me of the second grade class that made a big fuss over whether the pet hamster was a boy or a girl, so they VOTED on it. I mean, the hamster's sex and the Fed's status is not subject to our vote, it simply is or it isn't. Anyone who cares is free look at The Structure of the Federal Reserve System and find out.

Then again, it would be entertaining to hear what people say after they've checked...

 

[expat_panama]

...Where in the Constitution is that allowed?

Nowhere in The United States Constitution is there any specific mention of "The Federal Reserve". Same goes for the the border patrol, or the federal power to issue passports and determine citizenship.

So the constitution is not a cook book, it requires a bit of thought and a sense of mission.

 

[Sundial]

The Fed has aspects of both a private corporation and of a government organization. It does have shareholders, for example, which are its member banks.

Its board, however, is chosen by the president, and whatever powers it has are given it by Congress - which can revoke those powers whenever it wants.

The Fed is not supported by tax money. It's a bank, and it makes a substantial profit - hundreds of millions of dollars. The great majority of the Fed's earnings are refunded back to the tax payer.

It makes the most sense to think of it as a part of the government, because its mission is not to make a profit, but to carry out monetary policy in a way that benefits the economy.

 

[expat_panama]

The Fed has aspects of both a private corporation and of a government organization. It does have shareholders, for example, which are its member banks...

Being a corporation doesn't make a government agency somehow 'kind of private'. There have been a number of Federal agencies that have been structured as independent agencies with shareholders that don't own the corporation; examples have included the TVA and the Panama Canal.