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CB's avatar

Thank you for this. It's reached such levels of absurdity. What makes it even more difficult is we face a broader public that's not only desensitized to controversy, but exhausted by it. The Fed needs to be reined in so that we can preserve any hope of the US being economically competitive moving forward. Short term economic priorities for the few need to be replaced with what stands to benefit even future generations. I'm with you and working to raise awareness on an individual level.

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Lasse Karagiannis's avatar

Could you write an essay which probes into the internals of the FED regarding its status as a privately owned Central Bank? If I've understood my private correspondance with Dr. Paul Craig Roberts correct, there are privatley owned banks who are secret stockholders. He said that the books written by American investigators regarding the true nature of the FED are essentially correct but he didn't want to endeorse a particular book.

I suspect he was thinking of Griffin's "Creture from Jekyll Island" and Mullins "Federal Reserve Bank" which both say that the FED is a privately owned Central Bank.

There needs to be more light shed upon the privately owned status.

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Occupy the Fed Movement's avatar

We can certainly delve into that more in a future article, but the answer is that the Fed is both public and private. The Federal Reserve Board in DC run by Powell is a public agency that is supposed to oversee the entire Federal Reserve system and operate solely in the American public's interest (which is complete bullshit - they act solely in the megabanks' and 1%'s interest).

The 12 Federal Reserve Regional Banks (that Congress just threatened to eliminate) are owned by private banks. The largest shareholders who own the NY Fed, in particular, are 5 of Wall Street's largest banks as explained by Wall Street on Parade (and the great books you mention).

The FRBs don't themselves run for profit (https://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/about_14986.htm), but that's not the problem. The problem is the megabanks use their control of the FRBs and their Presidents (who cycle on and off the FOMC, except the NY Fed ALWAYS has a seat on the Troika) to direct policy and bail their own asses out to infinity and beyond.

Great question, please keep 'em coming!

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Lasse Karagiannis's avatar

Reading the federal reserve link you provided, the Orwellian double speak detector goes off

:-)

"Commercial banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System hold stock in their District's Reserve Bank.

However, owning Reserve Bank stock is quite different from owning stock in a private company.

The Reserve Banks are not operated for profit, and ownership of a certain amount of stock is, by law, a condition of membership in the System.

In fact, the Reserve Banks are required by law to transfer net earnings to the U.S. Treasury, after providing for all necessary expenses of the Reserve Banks, legally required dividend payments, and maintaining a limited balance in a surplus fund."

-So net earnings are payed to the US Treasury AFTER "legally required dividend payments".....but not for profit. Sure.

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Occupy the Fed Movement's avatar

Yes, you got it! But anything the FRBs might earn is truly small peanuts compared to what the megabanks really get - total control over American monetary policy, tens of trillions in bailouts, QE and zero interest money. What do we get? Skyrocketing inflation, negative real wages, unaffordable housing, boom bust cycles etc. etc.

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