The Fed: 100 Years Old...But You Wouldn't Know It
The Fed will be 100 years old this December. Have you seen any stories about this in the main stream media? I haven't. You'd think this would be a big deal, given how much controversy the Fed stirs up in certain quarters. But maybe that's exactly why there's been nothing about the Fed's birthday. Those certain quarters typically include people who've been criticizing the Fed for years...and years and years. And they just keep doing what they've been doing: criticizing, birthday or no birthday.
On the other hand, those who support the Fed's role as monetary master really don't want to bring up the birthday, since someone might ask just how well the monetary master has handled its charge of managing our money - the U.S. dollar - since it began managing our money in 1913. After all, the U.S. dollar today is worth roughly 3% of what it was worth in 1913. So you can understand the reluctance to bring up the subject.
Well, despite the critics, the track record and those who would defend the Fed, give credit to the Fed masters themselves. After 100 years, they're continuing to build up the institution, even after the latest debacle of the 2007-2008 financial crisis, the flirtation with financial Armageddon that the Fed not only didn't predict, but denied even as it was unfolding. And now, five years after the crisis, without any remorse of shame over their lack of action to head off or minimize the crisis before it reached the edge of the cliff in 2008, we see they now will use that very crisis to increase their power and influence:
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On the other hand, those who support the Fed's role as monetary master really don't want to bring up the birthday, since someone might ask just how well the monetary master has handled its charge of managing our money - the U.S. dollar - since it began managing our money in 1913. After all, the U.S. dollar today is worth roughly 3% of what it was worth in 1913. So you can understand the reluctance to bring up the subject.
Well, despite the critics, the track record and those who would defend the Fed, give credit to the Fed masters themselves. After 100 years, they're continuing to build up the institution, even after the latest debacle of the 2007-2008 financial crisis, the flirtation with financial Armageddon that the Fed not only didn't predict, but denied even as it was unfolding. And now, five years after the crisis, without any remorse of shame over their lack of action to head off or minimize the crisis before it reached the edge of the cliff in 2008, we see they now will use that very crisis to increase their power and influence:
CHAIRMAN Ben Bernanke says the US Federal Reserve is drafting rules to close large insolvent banks without bringing down the broader financial system, one of many steps regulators must take to prevent another financial crisis.Heck, why not. It's 100 years and still counting.
Bernanke said the absence of a process to deal with systemically important institutions in 2008 left regulators facing the "terrible choices of a bailout or allowing a potentially destabilising collapse".
Bernanke is making the comments at a conference sponsored by the International Monetary Fund.
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