Content-type: text/html Federal Reserve Research

Federal Reserve Research

Intro (draft)

Very rough right now. This is a complex topic that warrants in-depth research in order to better understand how it all works. To that end, I'm creating this page with the plan that I might return to update it as further information is uncovered so I can have everything I've found "in one place". It's being posted publicly because... well... I figure some others might find it interesting too.

Links

(some of these may have already been posted, but I'm putting them here too for completeness sake and easy access)

JFK assassinated because of attempt at currency reform? (comments section) -- Unverified, but plausible.
Who Owns the Fed -- Describes the structure and workings of the fed. Writer has obvious libertarian bias, seems intent on debunking "conspiracy theorists". Appears to be well-sourced; lots of good facts, but probably not quite a complete picture. Completely neglects to mention fractional reserve banking and its possible effects on the system.
Secrets of the Federal Reserve. Author claims to have done extensive research to find material in Library of Congress during the early 50's. Clearly Anti-Fed bias. Veracity of some statements might be questionable, but might also illuminate some of the trickery that goes on behind the scenes, provided verification can be found from other sources.
Wikipedia article. Somewhat sketchy, but the basic summary is there. Also a lot of good links to a variety of other sites with different biases.
Wizards of Money (audio). Radio program put on by an anonymous informer who claims to hold a position in Wall Street financing, and wants to demystify the "world of money" to the rest of us. I listened to several episodes a while ago. Clearly a progressive/leftist bent, but she (and the occassional guest) talk about a lot of informative stuff. Some of them might warrant reviewing.
Fractional Reserve Banking -- Describes how fractional reserve banking works and why it leads to greater instability in the event of a panic.

Notes and Quotes

Selection of the Board of Directors

From Secrets... (p. 5)

In the chapter on Jekyll Island in his biography of Aldrich, Stephenson writes of the conference:

"How was the Reserve Bank to be controlled? It must be controlled by Congress. The government was to be represented in the board of directors, it was to have full knowledge of all the Bank's affairs, but a majority of the directors were to be chosen, directly or indirectly, by the banks of the association."

Thus the proposed Federal Reserve Bank was to be "controlled by Congress" and answerable to the government, but the majority of the directors were to be chosen, "directly or indirectly" by the banks of the association. In the final refinement of Warburg's plan, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors would be appointed by the President of the United States, but the real work of the Board would be controlled by a Federal Advisory Council, meeting with the Governors. The Council would be chosen by the directors of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks, and would remain unknown to the public.

The part about the board seems to jive with what is stated in Who Owns...

There are seven members of the Board of Governors and they are appointed by the president of the United States with the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate. [...]

The Board of Governors dominates the twelve Federal Reserve banks. Not only does it appoint one-third of their boards of directors, it has an effective veto power over the selection of the twelve Federal Reserve bank presidents.

So I guess the question in determining how much control the Congress+President can assert comes down to: How much power does appointing one third of the board of directors, plus veto power over Federal Reserve bank presidents, confer? Since the banks control the other two thirds of the boards, I'd be inclined to believe they hold quite a large extent of power over its operation, as the first quote implies.

Also, Secrets of the Federal Reserve mentions the secretly-chosen "Federal Advisory Council" as holding significant influence. No mention in the other article about that. Then again, it's late and night and I probably need to step back from this for a bit. Need to research it further and read more later though.