Am I the only one bothered by the thought of The Federal Reserve....?

[clarice]

1. It controls the flow of money, credit, and interest rates.
2. There is nothing FEDERAL about it. It is basically a network of PRIVATELY owned banks.
3. They are answerable to no one.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm

[emulatorloo]

1. No you are not the only one, right-wingers hate it.

[clarice]

4. Why only right wingers?nt

[Hotler]

5. Liberials should hate it also.

It is not a good organization. The United states should be printing our own money and not paying for it. Income taxes came about to pay the interest to the banks for their money.

[clarice]

8. Bingo !!!nt

[hfojvt]

9. here's something I learned today

"The U.S. Government receives all the system's annual profits, after a statutory dividend of 6% on member banks' capital investment is paid, and an account surplus is maintained. In 2010, the Federal Reserve made a profit of $82 billion and transferred $79 billion to the U.S. Treasury.[22]"

I did not know that.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve_System

We do, of course, print our own money, and it costs money to print too (ink and paper are not free, plus the machines, always the machines to do the work).

The "money supply" though is NOT based on the printed dollars. Much of our money is electronic, not paper, and other paper - like checks, takes the place of cash money.

Probably you can read about the money supply on wiki too - M1 and M2 and such.

As a liberal though - I love the income tax. The more progressive the better.

But it exists mostly to pay for wars, not to pay the interest on the money we borrowed to pay for our wars.

[Senator Tankerbell]

2. It is complicated

You might find some answers here:
http://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/about-the-fed.htm

I don't claim to fully understand it myself to be honest with you.

[clarice]

7. Thank you Senator. nt

[hfojvt]

3. no you are not

lots of rightwing conspiracy theorists are bothered by it too.

1. Well, it has certain tools it uses to try to manage those things. It has a job given to it by Congress "The U.S. Congress established three key objectives for monetary policy in the Federal Reserve Act: Maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates.[10] The first two objectives are sometimes referred to as the Federal Reserve's dual mandate." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve_System

2. there's quite a bit federal about it - a) it was created by federal law, b) it's a national system

3. They are about as answerable as a President or a member of congress, or especially a member of the Supreme Court. "The Federal Reserve System's structure is composed of the presidentially appointed Board of Governors or Federal Reserve Board (FRB), partially presidentially appointed Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), non presidentially appointed twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks located in major cities throughout the nation, numerous privately owned U.S. member banks and various advisory councils."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve_System

Note the presidential appointments, and at least one appointment (the chair) is confirmed by the Senate http://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/21/business/senate-confirms-greenspan-91-7-for-a-third-fed-term.html

I am not saying there couldn't be a better system, or more accountability (and never did have any use for the Wizard of Greenspan), but in practical terms, I kinda trust the FED more than I do the Democratically elected House of Representatives in the last twenty years of mostly Republican control.

[clarice]

6. Good points all...BUT....

I don't believe that only "right wingers" miss-trust it.

[hfojvt]

10. you may have to consider the source

One thing rightwingers have - is a noise machine.

They spew their propaganda all over the place. To the point where we ALL are swimming in this flood of rightwing BS.

Sometimes people with good intentions can swallow some of it, by accident, but then digest it, and accept it as a worthy idea.

Of course, I am the guy who seems to agree with the right wing about the evils of birthright citizenship.

Still, I would say, we all have to be careful what we swallow.

[nationalize the fed]

11. You're exactly right about that

making it a partisan thing is foolish. The fact is that few people understand it and that doesn't make sense because it's central to virtually everyone's lives.

Coincidentally I'm about to watch "Money for Nothing: Inside the Federal Reserve"

an independent feature-length American documentary about the Federal Reserve written and directed by Jim Bruce, and narrated by Liev Schreiber. It examines 100 years of the Federal Reserve's history, and discusses its actions and repercussions the US economy leading to the late-2000s financial crisis.

Bruce believes "a more fully and accurately informed public will promote greater accountability and more effective policies from our central bank".[1] The film features interviews with Paul Volcker and Janet Yellen as well as current and former Federal Reserve officials, top economists, financial historians, famous investors, and traders who provide insight on the Federal Reserve System
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_for_Nothing:_Inside_the_Federal_Reserve

It looks like it got good reviews

Business Insider - "We Watched 'Money For Nothing,' The 'Fahrenheit 9/11' Of Federal Reserve Documentaries"
TheStreet.com - "Doug Kass: 'Money for Nothing' Is a Must-See
Reuters - "Review: "Money for Nothing" sets crisis-film high

I found it online here-
http://putlocker.ms/watch-money-for-nothing-inside-the-federal-reserve-online-free-putlocker.html

who knows how long that link will work, but there are a few sources.

Also you might find this interesting-

A progressive case for Nationalizing the Federal Reserve

The United States today finds itself in the midst of a crisis which exists on a multitude of different levels. From the establishment of a culture of constant warfare, increasing environmental degradation, and the devolution into an outright police state, the perils of the current system are easily visible to those with eyes to see...

...From mass unemployment (estimated at approximately 25% when all factors are considered) and a growing national debt to a ballooning trade deficit and the loss of purchasing power of the dollar as well as decrepit and crumbling national infrastructure, the United States today faces a crisis of epic proportions.

Most of the blame for this economic calamity, of course, can be directly traced back to the treachery of private bankers, Wall Street, and the practice of usury combined the acts of the agents of these financiers in the halls of government at some point or other...more

http://www.progressivegazette.com/2013/12/nationalize-federal-reserve.html

It is interesting that the Fed and the income tax were created at about the same time.