4 ms·

You do know the Federal Reserve is not actually federal and is owned by private banks right? Perhaps there is some definition of US government sector I'm not aw

You do know the Federal Reserve is not actually federal and is owned by private banks right? Perhaps there is some definition of US government sector I'm not aware of.

stephen_g 9y ago
That's a common misconception. It's technically a soft of public-private hybrid, but the "ownership" by private banks is purely symbolic. The system is considered "independent within the Government", not independent of the Government. The Federal Reserve's governors are appointed by the President and confirmed by the US Senate, and it derives all its authority only from the Federal Reserve Act. The organisation is accountable to the Government Accountability Office as well. Most central banks though are just directly owned by the Government of the country, even if they are meant to operate independently. The "independence" of central banks is generally a bad thing though - the point is supposedly to "depoliticise" them but really it's just an attempt to remove any democratic control of them.
- arca_vorago 9y ago
  Your first paragraph is just flat wrong. I know quite a bit about the Fed, and I'd like you to cite your source on both the "public-private hybrid" part and the "purely symbolic" part. Neither are true, unless you consider 6% of trillions and trillions (after expenses) "purely symbolic". I have no idea where you get the hybrid part. No government owns shares of the fed. Also, for your information, the GAO audits are anything but accountability. After finally getting the GAO audit part passed in 78 there were so many limitations on thier audits as to make them so piecemeal they are more of a rubber stamp than anything. (Not to mention a few times when it got out the Fed destroyed source documents) Don't call something a common misconception when you don't have a more solid understanding of the subject please. The common misconception is that they are federal, not the other way around.

You do know the Federal Reserve is not actually federal and is owned by private banks right? Perhaps there is some definition of US government sector I'm not aware of.

stephen_g 9y ago

That's a common misconception. It's technically a soft of public-private hybrid, but the "ownership" by private banks is purely symbolic. The system is considered "independent within the Government", not independent of the Government. The Federal Reserve's governors are appointed by the President and confirmed by the US Senate, and it derives all its authority only from the Federal Reserve Act. The organisation is accountable to the Government Accountability Office as well. Most central banks though are just directly owned by the Government of the country, even if they are meant to operate independently. The "independence" of central banks is generally a bad thing though - the point is supposedly to "depoliticise" them but really it's just an attempt to remove any democratic control of them.

arca_vorago 9y ago
Your first paragraph is just flat wrong. I know quite a bit about the Fed, and I'd like you to cite your source on both the "public-private hybrid" part and the "purely symbolic" part. Neither are true, unless you consider 6% of trillions and trillions (after expenses) "purely symbolic". I have no idea where you get the hybrid part. No government owns shares of the fed. Also, for your information, the GAO audits are anything but accountability. After finally getting the GAO audit part passed in 78 there were so many limitations on thier audits as to make them so piecemeal they are more of a rubber stamp than anything. (Not to mention a few times when it got out the Fed destroyed source documents) Don't call something a common misconception when you don't have a more solid understanding of the subject please. The common misconception is that they are federal, not the other way around.