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Criticisms of Fed Reserve

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A large number of criticisms have been leveled against the United States federal reserve system. Conduct a web search on the criticisms about the system. Do you agree with these views? Why or why not? What changes would you recommend to the system?

While conducting a web search on criticisms concerning the federal reserve system, I found that most of the articles and encyclopedias included the same critiques.

One criticism is the Fed’s inability to stop inflation, indicating that inflation was going up at a faster rate than wages, thus leaving people with overall lower wages. (“US real wages fall at fastest rate in 14 years” http://www.ft.com/cms/s/f269a8f4-c173-11d9-943f-00000e2511c8.html)

Another criticism involves the legality of the federal system. As others have already stated, the constitution granted the Congress the authority to coin money and regulate the value of the currency. It doesn’t, as Congressman Ron Paul states, “give Congress the authority to delegate control over monetary policy to a central bank. Furthermore, the Constitution certainly does not empower the federal government to erode the American standard of living via an inflationary monetary policy.” (“Criticism of the Federal Reserve” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_the_Federal_Reserve)

The Fed also stirs up controversy based on the fact that they are owned, through stock issuance, by private member banks, who most likely would not work in the interest of the people. “Charles August Lindbergh … criticized the problem of private banks working against the best interests of the citizens: ‘The financial system has been turned over to the Federal Reserve Board. That Board administers the finance system by authority of a purely profiteering group. The system is Private, conducted for the sole purpose of obtaining the greatest possible profits from the use of other

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