Remember, the Fed is a privately owned entity, so the question now being asked is: what value does the Fed really add? It was supposed to add stability to the financial system, but the global financial crisis tells us that this is not working. Perhaps of even more concern is that the independence of the Fed is also being questioned. Is there a conflict of interest between the shareholders of the Fed (the large private banks and families) and US citizens? These questions surely need to be debated in an effort to create a more fair and stable financial system.
In my view, the single biggest issue with the current Federal Reserve system, is that its activities are beyond scrutiny. There is no public disclosure of its discussions and decisions, and although the Governance Council of the Fed is government selected, the influence of its banking shareholders cannot be underestimated.
The secrecy of the Fed is surely a major risk to world stability.
Article comments
1 - Clavos
Very interesting and informative article; welcome to Blogcritics, Richie.
I'm not quite clear, however, on how the secrecy of the Fed, which I agree is not a good thing for the country, equates to a lack of economic stability for the US? Perhaps other activities of the Fed have contributed to the instability, and the secrecy surrounding its activities is detrimental, but where is the direct correlation between secrecy and instability?
2 - Joanne Huspek
Interesting. I've often wondered what value it has, period.
3 - Louis T.
Excellent article. It's true that the fed is a secret bank owned by banks which is beholden to no one but themselves. Which is why the Fed is loaning money to banks at 0% interest and those banks are lending money to US borrowers at 6%. It's all profit.
It's all scam, too.
If the US government wants to loan out money at 0% it should lend that money to homebuyers and other US citizens, NOT to scam banks.