Posted on 09/23/2022 9:27:09 AM PDT by RandFan
Fed sets the rate. However, if the rate is unreasonable it will destroy the Fed. The Fed is ‘reacting to’ government overspending, that’s what’s going on. Under Trump, they raised rates for political reasons, IMHO, now they are raising rates to combat inflation. They don’t want runaway inflation because the debt and money they get back, becomes useless. Now, they are raising rates for self protection. Frankly, the rate wouldn’t be an issue if the National
debt wasn’t out of control.
They have the power, but they haven’t and it’s unlikely that they will.
Before the creation of the Federal Reserve we had deflationary depressions every 20 years with a large percent of businesses failing, mortgage foreclosures and massive unemployment.
The Fed has done a good job of maintaining low inflation and no deflation, and managing econommic recessions.
I tend to think of it this way. The FRB is driving a large SUV but the government is controlling the accelerator by deficit spending. We, the public, are passengers with no control but are seated within the vehicle (economy). The government, drunk with power (majority rule), floors the accelerator in order to show their power (reward their supporters). The FRB, seeing an obstacle (inflation) ahead, knows it will have to brake (fight inflation) at some point. Since the government is euphoric in showing off their power (rewarding their donors), the FRB elects not to brake until the last minute. When a crash is apparent, the FRB slams on the brakes (increases interest rates) but neglects to take their foot off the accelerator. Passengers within the vehicle are thrown into the seats and windows, causing physical harm (loss of purchasing power). But, since the accelerator (government spending) is still engaged, the vehicle continues onward at a slower pace. The FRB then applies more power to the already overheated brakes, resulting in their failure (recession). The passengers, who had no control or awareness of the situation, are left bleeding (facing bankruptcy, foreclosure, loss of assets) and to fend for themselves. Meanwhile some observers (government supporters) step forward and pick up the scattered belongings of the passengers. The intent (or irony) of all this is that those who had control, knowledge (both government and FRB) and little if anything at risk (supporters)are the ones who will benefit from the wreck by picking up the pieces (assets). One will always wonder why the driver didn’t tap the accelerator (reduce spending) and coast to a reasonable speed, preventing harm to the passengers.
We are also told that we have a generally free market.
However, given that the Fed sets the interest rate, this means that one of the most important factors in the economy is not free to move with supply and demand.
If there were no Fed and the interest rate that companies charged was determined by market forces, then I believe that the interest rate would now be much higher than what the Fed is setting it at.
Still that would be better than the Fed, as it would mean that inflation would come down quicker.
If the U.S. government had not dumped an extra $4 trillion into the economy, the extent of Federal Reserve efforts to address inflation would not be what they are now. And yes, the Fed itself did not act soon enpugh against imflation, but even after they started to act Biden dumped (borrowed) $trillions more into the economy.
Yes, over the longer term going back many years, our Federal Reserve and most of the foreign central banks kepted interest rates far too low for far too long.
But then after all of that the U.S. got a President and Congress that dumped gasoline on an already burning fire.
.....and 87k agents to protect govt. connected salaries “services” agencies and contractors.
Speaking of the unelected “Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System,” since Massie took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution, why doesn't he point out the following MAJOR constitutional problems (imo) with the Federal Reserve?
The delegates to the Constitutional Convention expressly constitutionally gave the power to regulate the value of money uniquely to Congress, not to any non-elected third party, regardless whether the very corrupt, post-17th Amendment ratification Congress wants that responsibility or not.
"Article I, Section 8, Clause 5: To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof [emphasis added], and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;"
"Article I, Section 10, Clause 1: No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts [emphases added]; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility."
In fact, consider that since ordinary citizen voters have the express constitutional power to elect federal lawmakers, voters also have the power to indirectly regulate the value of money.
In other words, when misguided President Woodrow Wilson wrongly signed the bill that unconstitutionally (imo) established the constitutionally undefined Federal Reserve, he also wrongly weakened the voting power of ordinary citizen voters by doing so.
Note that if Wilson had first led Congress to successfully petition the states for a constitutional amendment authorizing the feds to establish the Federal Reserve, then I wouldn't be making this post.
Corrections, insights welcome.
If you polled the 435 members of congress and 100 senators, maybe 5-10 would have any real idea what the Federal Reserve does and what control it exerts over the economy.
Raising interests rates to crash the economy to stop inflation is pure F-—ing EVIL!!!
Hamilton rolled the federal and state debts into a bondable money supply. A properly managed federal debt, Hamilton believed, would lead to a basic conservatism in matters of federal finance. But that required a central bank to manage the debt. Hamilton was actually copying what Robert Walpole did with the Bank of England in 1694. Hamilton’s clerk would go down to the New York Stock Exchange to buy or sell federal securities to control interest rates and by extension the money supply. This led to our first major financial scandal when Hamilton’s clerk, William Duer, decided to take personal advantage of his position using his inside information to buy options on the rise or fall of interest rates. Today we call those options “derivatives.”
There was a major fight in Congress over the establishment of the Bank of the United States, but Hamilton convinced Washington to sign the bill into law.
The Federal Reserve isn’t new but was preceded by two other central banks. What drove the financial community over the edge to support the Fed was the Panic of 1907, which was caused by a black hole opening up in the insurance industry thanks to the San Francisco earthquake the year before.
Thomas Jefferson warned us:
“I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow the banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, 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.
The Federal Reserve is unconstitutional and shouldn’t exist.
I repeat:
The current theories on money and banking are bogus...nonsense and result in stupid mismanagement.
To understand money, just think of it as a way to make barter easier.
Money is only a replacement for barter. In pure barter, you must take goods to the marketplace equal in value to those you wish to get. Printing fake money and distributing it to do nothing drones has the opposite effect. The drone takes nothing of value to market, leaves paper in the place of what he buys and therefore there are less goods available to the people who arrive after him
Like magic....shortages and inflation. More money than goods.
Modern theories on money and banking are as fake and a bigger scam than global warming, the wu-flu or anything else you can name.
not sure what he’s getting at with that one. Many things in this country have the ability to destroy the things you own.
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