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Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: heraclitus who wrote (35548)	11/8/1998 9:56:00 PM
From: Ilaine	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

>>>>>My understanding is that the Fed is not a US government agency. Is this true?<<<<< Hi, Homer, good question, not an easy answer. I am looking at my 1957 edition Encyclopedia Brittanica, it says that the Federal Reserve System, "a United States banking system, which began operation on November 16, 1914," . . . "consists of 12 federal reserve banks, 25 branches, two agencies, and a government supervisory body in Washington." . . . "The twelve federal reserve banks are privately owned, but ownership does not carry with it control, due partly to the extensive powers of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, and partly to the composition of the boards of directors which are directly responsible fo the operations of the reserve banks." I like the Encyclopedia Brittanica article because it was written by a bunch of Brits with no particular political stake in US economic history, and seems fairly unbiased. I have no opinion on more recent Encyclopedia Brittanicas, because I don't have them. There is extensive information on the web, from every perspective, including the Fed's own, see: bog.frb.fed.us The members of the board of governors, including the chairman, at this time Alan Greenspan, are appointed by the president to a fixed term, which may be renewed. There are many competing interests that are impossible to satisfy at once, but, in theory, the ultimate intention is that the federal reserve system promote the interests of the American people. Whatever that means. CobaltBlue