http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve_Note http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve_Note Fascinating stuff. Without going into the details... you k

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve_Note http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve_Note Fascinating stuff. Without going into the details... you know that the Federal Reserve doesn't pay the bills, right? The Treasury does. And when the Treasury pays the bills, it doesn't really have much to do with the Fed buying bonds on the open market. The Treasury pays bills based on interest on national debt, stuff like social security and spending approved by congress. For some reason, congress implemented laws which mean that they have to give permission to the Treasury to pay the bills that congress itself voted into the budget. My point is that this whole debacle doesn't really have to do much with the Fed, and the Treasury is just following the orders of congress. *Edit: Ah, I see from stalking your profile that you are not American. Well I can see why you'd be confused - shit's confusing. I don't think even most US citizens understand how it works.