When government (or a President) claims that Federal Reserve policy is hurting the economy, they are either grandstanding, or are ignorant about the function and purpose of the Federal Reserve.
No one wants to see the economy suffer, anymore than they want to see a plague, or infectious disease, affect millions of people. And no President wants to be in office to preside over a recession or depression. But neither can they exercise any power or influence regarding the implementation of Fed policy; particularly when it comes to interest rates.
“President Trump nominated Jerome H. Powell as the new Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank. Don’t look for much to change. And Janet Yellen’s announcement that she will resign from the board upon Mr. Powell’s induction as board chair is pretty much a non-event. Where we are today is the culmination of decades of irresponsible financial/fiscal policies and a complete abdication of fundamental economics. Kelsey Williams/New Fed Chairman, Same Old Story/Nov2017
The Federal Reserve’s self-proclaimed purpose is to manage the economic cycles; ostensibly, in order to smooth out or eliminate recessions and depressions.
But they are not acting in concert with our best interests. They are not “on our side” and never have been. And their attempt to manage the economic cycles is a veiled effort to disguise other intents and purposes.
The Federal Reserve exists at the discretion of Congress for the purpose of funding the U.S. government:
“…in other words, maintaining their (the U.S. Government’s) ability to borrow money by issuing more and more debt in the form of Treasury securities. In my opinion, this is the sole and overriding purpose behind the existence of the Federal Reserve. And it drives every decision they make. It is not about the economic effects of their policies on U.S. citizens. It is ALL ABOUT KEEPING THE U.S. GOVERNMENT SOLVENT. The U.S. Government is not solvent, of course, but maintaining and reinforcing the confidence in their financial viability is absolutely essential.” …Kelsey Williams
As long as people continue to “look to the Fed” for direction, then they are demonstrating a degree of confidence that keeps things from unraveling. And it helps the Fed maintain a semblance of status quo. Which in turn benefits the U.S. Government.
But the Federal Reserve benefits from this arrangement, too.
The Federal Reserve is a central bank, consisting of member banks (investment banks, commercial banks). It was the brainchild of a small, select group of highly prominent bankers.
The plan was to have an independent organization that would allow banks to operate in a relatively autonomous manner; and keep certain “weaker banks” from spreading contamination throughout the system – a sort of safety net, if you will.
Banks are in business to loan money. By promising to provide funding to the U.S. government – as well as depicting themselves in an appropriate manner and playing the political game to the hilt – they were able to finally secure Congressional approval for their proprietary scheme.
Of course, the practice of creating money out of nothing is not limited to the Federal Reserve Bank. The dance that brings the Fed and the U.S. Treasury together as partners is just the tip of the iceberg.
When someone is granted a loan by their bank, the proceeds are made available by a calculation dictated by the Federal Reserve. All banks are required to keep on hand a minimum of ten percent of the deposits that have been received and booked. The remaining ninety percent is available for investing or lending; usually in the form of loans to individuals, businesses, etc.
At first glance, it appears that banks are loaning out a portion (most) of their depositors’ money. But are they?
The depositors’ money is still available to them (the depositors) as needed, sometimes with minor restrictions like maturity dates on a certificate of deposit. But, essentially, on a practical and realistic basis, it is available on demand. And it is part of the supply of money and credit that is already in the system.
When someone receives proceeds of a loan from their bank, they are receiving new money. It is money that was not available before the loan was granted.
In other words, if the bank had one hundred million dollars in deposits at the close of business one day, and loans out ninety million dollars the next day, there is now one hundred and ninety million dollars in circulation.
Where did the additional ninety million dollars come from for the bank to lend out? It was created out of nothing by attaching a value to the loan agreement signed by the borrower.
Even if the borrower is posting collateral, it does not change the fact that the proceeds are new money that was not in existence before the loan was granted.
But it doesn’t end there. Any monies loaned out get redeposited as new money and are available again for new loans. Voila! Something from nothing repeated over and over again.
Now consider the implications of adding trillions of dollars of esoteric financial products to the mix. Things like collateralized debt obligations, leveraged ETFs, options on futures, etc. And those things are in addition to ordinary securities margin accounts.
It can be argued that the use of funds made available by banks via fractional-reserve accounting is productive and helpful. Nevertheless, that does not reduce the risk to the system. It adds to it. Because it furthers leverages the same dollars over and over again. And many of the uses are risky enough on their own.
Did you ever play Monopoly? If so, didn’t you ever wonder where the bank got all of its money? Now you know.
Whatever action the Fed takes, or avoids taking, is rooted in perpetuation of the system as explained in this article. Which is why there is such an emphasis on borrowing and spending. This is true, irregardless of the effects on consumers and citizens. It is not about you.
Our economic system is dependent on the perpetual creation of credit for the purpose of consumption by the borrower.
And, just as in Monopoly, eventually the game ends. But the bank never loses.
Kelsey Williams is the author of two books: INFLATION, WHAT IT IS, WHAT IT ISN’T, AND WHO’S RESPONSIBLE FOR IT and ALL HAIL THE FED!