The US Federal Reserve, what do you know about it?

This is open to everyone. What do you know about the US Federal Reserve system? A secondary question is, how much of the Federal Tax on US citizens goes to pay the "interest" on the "US National Debt".

 

i only saw it in die hard 3.
why they reserved in gold anyway, don't they affraid maybe someday gold is not that valuable anymore?

 

The debt is there because of the choices made in fiscal policy. If the Fed doesn't buy the debt, the private sector and the foreign public sector will.
In addition, the Fed pays the Treasury back a large percentage of the interest earned (80% last year). The rest is used to pay expenses.
Most people have no idea that the Fed is obligated to pay the Treasury back.

 

it's a place called fort knox and it dont have any money in it

 

I know that the Income Tax is a complete farce and you dont have to pay it...

 

OP, what is it that you want to know about the Fed?

 

The fed rsv is neither federal nor does it have any reserves. It is all spelled out in Title 22 of the US Code. google Modern Money Mechanics as it is in there too and you'll get the whole enchilada...

 

Bingo.

Money was once used only as a more easily tranportable/exchangle means of bartering. It used to be redeemable with and backed up by gold.

Never more...never more...

Anyone ever read a book called "Rule By Secrecy"?

 

Yep as of 1933 the dollar is no longer redeemable in gold... It is basically worth nothing, but easily manipulated by those who print it.

"Gold certificates were withdrawn from circulation along with all gold coins and gold bullion as required by the Gold Reserve Act of 1934. Gold certificates circulated until December 28, 1933. That is when the President ordered private owners of gold certificates to deliver their notes to the Treasurer of the United States by midnight on January 17, 1934. It was then illegal to hold gold certificates" http://www.ustreas.gov/education/faq/currency/sales.shtml

 

yeah, and look how much our economy grew after we implemented the fiat money system.

 

Well, I have read a bit here and there about how it was created I believe sometime around 1914 and that "bankers" were behind the idea and that they profit from the "debt" that is created when the US "borrows" money from the Federal Reserve. Some claim that a large portion of our federal tax dollars go to pay interest on this "debt".

So I am looking for clarification from those that know about the system. Do US taxpayer dollars go to pay interest to the Federal Reserve? If so, who benefits from those interest payments and what percentage of tax dollars are used to pay that interest. Also, do you feel the Federal Reserve is needed, why or why not?

Here are the conspiracy theories regarding the Federal Reserve from the Wikipedia:

[edit] Allegations of conspiracies and secret agendas
In his book, The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve, author G. Edward Griffin argues that "the Federal Reserve Bank" was organized in secret at a conspiracy of financiers.

Masters of the Universe: The Secret Birth of the Federal Reserve is a 1999 documentary featuring authors Michael Collins Piper, William Gill, and Eustace Mullins, all of whom contend that "The Fed" is illegal and is the source of America's multi-trillion dollar national debt.

The Money Masters is an economic-historic documentary DVD that goes into the historical background for banking, the history and multiple attempts at creating central banks throughout the north-atlantic communities of Europe and the United States.

America: Freedom to Fascism is a 2006 motion picture produced and directed by Aaron Russo, who contends that the Federal Reserve enslaves Americans through the process of loaning money from private banks to the US government at interest when the government itself already possesses the right to coin money on its own behalf without interest.

Karl Steinhauser claims that the Federal Reserve System prints Federal Reserve Notes and "lends" them to the government of United States at high interest rates, that this is the sole purpose and function of the Federal Reserve, and that the Federal Reserve does not produce any products or provide any services in exchange for charging interest. He describes this as a theft from "honest and hard working laborers". He claims that the total amount of interest so collected from 1913 to 1964 totalled $310 billion.[50]

Common among the criticisms of the federal reserve system is the history of the falling value of the dollar, in spite of claims that the system is in place to protect the dollar's purchasing power.[citation needed] These criticisms cite the fact that relative to its value in 1913, the dollar today is worth only four cents.[51]

A few quotes regarding the control of money:

Thomas Jefferson
"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.
Already they have raised up a monied aristocracy that has set the government at defiance. The
issuing power (of money) should be taken away from the banks and restored to the people to
whom it properly belongs."--Thomas Jefferson, U.S. President.

Andrew Jackson
"If Congress has the right [it doesn't] to issue paper money [currency], it was given to them to be
used by...[the government] and not to be delegated to individuals or corporations" -- President
Andrew Jackson, Vetoed Bank Bill of 1836

James Madison
"History records that the money changers have used every form of abuse, intrigue, deceit, and violent means possible to
maintain their control over governments by controlling money and it's issuance". -- James Madison

 

Webdev, you ask some very good fundamental questions about the Fed, and these questions should be addressed because people seem to be confused about them.
First of all, the Fed itself is a non-profit organization. However, it's member banks are not. Last year, our tax dollars did not pay for more than 20% of the interest owed to the Fed, but it paid for 100% of the interest owed to the private sector and foreigners (other than payment made from borrowed money). This is because the Fed returned the 80% back to the Treasury. The rest of the money (20%) was used for expenses. (source: Federal Reserve Banks Combined Statements of Income - 93rd Annual Report; Audited by the Office of Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office under the Federal Banking Agency Audit Act)
This is what the conspiracists fail to tell you.

Another thing that should be clarified is the concept of "printing" money.
The government spends more than it earns, and that is why it is in debt. This debt is largely owned by 4 different sources: the government itself, the Fed (together, the "public sector"), the citizens (the "private sector), and foreigners (public and private sectors). The Department of Treasury issues government securities (basically bonds) and sells them to these people and organizations. Of course, they have to pay interest on it.
The Fed must buy these securities because they are used in open market operations, one of the three monetary tools used by the Fed to keep inflation under control. These securities are purchased by "printing" money (the money isn't actually physically printed; it simply appears on an account). The treasury does pay interest on these securities, but as mentioned above, much of the interest is paid back. Remember that interest owed to the private sector and foreigners must be paid back 100%. Therefore, it costs less money to borrow from the Fed.

The conspiracy argument has been debunked.

 

Call me a dumb - but what you said didn't really clarify anything for me...

Anyone else?

 

FR is not a non-profit

 

I think the most horrific thing about this scam is that U.S. debt to FR can never be repaid. Imagine that you owe someone $11, and there is only $10 in circulation.


Who owns the Federal Reserve Bank? A phone conversation about the unseen operations of the Federal Reserve System

http://www.wikiprotest.com/index.php?title=A_Phone_Call_With_The_Federal_Reserve

 

The real question is why create money that requires an interest payment at all? i.e. through issuing bonds?

Why not go back to the Gold Standard? No interest payments required?

 

Because banksters would have to get a real job

 

Who told you this?

 

Is my $10 silver certificate illegal then?

crud, here comes the FBI and the IRS...

 

Very interesting article here, a bit of a conspiracy theory...
I have looked into some of the info in the article, and so far it seems to check out.
http://educate-yourself.org/cn/fedreservebankexplained19dec05.shtml
DD