Who Owns the Federal Reserve?
Following the numerous scandals on Wall Street and increasing distrust of our financial institutions, there's a growing criticism around the role of the Federal Reserve in the U.S. economy. And few topics will get the debate club juices flowing like asking the question, "Who Owns the Federal Reserve?"
Does the Fed print money out of thin air, and then lend it to the U.S. Government at interest? Is the Fed a private corporation owned by a handful of prestigous banking families outside the United States?
Critics of the Fed cite the following usual suspects of who really runs the Federal Reserve: Rothschild Banks of London and Berlin, Lazard Brothers Bank of Paris, Israel Moses Sieff Banks of Italy, Warburg Bank of Hamburg and Amsterdam, Lehman Brothers Bank of New York, Kuhn Loeb Bank of New York, Chase Manhattan Bank of New York, and Goldman Sachs Bank of New York.
According the "the Fed" itself, "The Federal Reserve System is not 'owned' by anyone and is not a private, profit-making institution. Instead, it is an independent entity within the government, having both public purposes and private aspects... The twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks, which were established by Congress as the operating arms of the nation's central banking system, are organized much like private corporations--possibly leading to some confusion about 'ownership.'"
Of course, the Federal Reserve's website presents just one point of view, and there are many opinions on this matter. There are bland, matter-of-fact summaries of the issues that conclude that the Fed is a necessary stabilizing factor to any capitalist economy: (see StraightDope.com: Who Owns the Federal Reserve and MSNBC's article on the subject).
Some alternative views: Wikipedia's Criticism section in About the Federal Reserve. Robin Good's: Who Owns the Federal Reserve? Mainstream Media Won't Tell You, which includes a link to an IndyMedia BitTorrent video documentary on the subject. (You'll need a BitTorrent client to view this fascinating video. Learn more about BitTorrent).
Some books on the subject showing a resurgence in popularity include:
- Secrets of the Temple: How the Federal Reserve Runs the Country
- The Creature from Jekyll Island : A Second Look at the Federal Reserve
From Thomas Jefferson:
"If the American people ever allowed the banks to control the issuance of their currency, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers occupied."
