The Federal Reserve System and the Economy
(last updated 11/11/2008)

● Exactly what is the Federal Reserve System (sometimes called just "the Fed")? 

According to their web site, they, "...provide the nation with a safe, flexible, and stable monetary and financial system".  Their web site address ends in ".gov" so they must be a part of the U.S. government, right?  Wrong.  The Fed is a criminal, unconstitutional banking cartel that is privately owned. 

● Why is the Federal Reserve a criminal organization? 

A criminal is someone who expects something for nothing.  In other words, there is no exchange - it is all a one-way flow toward the criminal.  When the Federal Reserve loans money to the U.S. Government, the Fed writes a check to the U.S. Government for money it does not have.  The money to cover the check is then created out of thin air.  The Federal Reserve gets its share of the money and the U.S. Government gets further in debt.  If you or I did this we would end up in prison.

● Why is the Federal Reserve unconstitutional? 

The U.S. Constitution states in Article I: "The Congress shall have Power To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures; No State shall make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of debts."  Here is a movie titled "The Fiat Empire" that has more info on the unconstitutionality of the Federal Reserve.  (The term "fiat" means currency that is not backed by anything of value, such as gold or silver - it is just paper.)

● Why is the Federal Reserve a cartel? 

Web site www.cwfs.org.au/terminology.0.html defines a cartel as, "An alliance or arrangement among industrial or commercial enterprises or nations aimed at limiting competition or exercising monopoly power in a market."  This is a good description of how the Federal Reserve and its member banks function.

● If it a privately owned organization, then who owns it? 

According to the Federal Reserve's web site, the Federal Reserve "is owned by the member banks".  This still does not answer the question of "who owns it".  There are two types of "shares" involved in the ownership.  First, there are private, internal shares.  These shares are not publicly traded so there is no requirement by the Securities and Exchange Commission to publish a list of the major shareholders.  When a bank joins the Federal Reserve System, that bank is required to purchase this type of share. Whether or not there are share holders other than the member banks is not really known since no public scrutiny is currently available.  

The second type of shares is the publicly traded shares of the member banks. 

Here is an extract of the book called "Secrets of the Federal Reserve" which seems to be the most plausible explanation of who owns the Federal Reserve:

For many years, there has been considerable mystery about who actually owns the stock of the Federal Reserve Banks. Congressman Wright Patman, leading critic of the System, tried to find out who the stockholders were.

The stock in the original twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks was purchased by national banks in those twelve regions. Because the Federal Reserve Bank of New York was to set the interest rates and direct open market operations, thus controlling the daily supply and price of money throughout the United States, it is the stockholders of that bank who are the real directors of the entire system. For the first time, it can be revealed who those stockholders are.

This writer has the original organization certificates of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks, giving the ownership of shares by the national banks in each district. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York issued 203,053 shares, and, as filed with the Comptroller of the Currency May 19, 1914, the large New York City banks took more than half of the outstanding shares.

The Rockefeller, Kuhn, Loeb-controlled National City Bank took the largest number of shares of any bank, 30,000 shares. J.P. Morgan’s First National Bank took 15,000 shares. When these two banks merged in 1955, they owned in one block almost one fourth of the shares in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which controlled the entire system, and thus they could name Paul Volcker or anyone else they chose to be Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

Chase National Bank took 6,000 shares. The Marine Nation Bank of Buffalo, later known as Marine Midland, took 6,000 shares. This bank was owned by the Schoellkopf family, which controlled Niagara Power Company and other large interests. National Bank of Commerce of New York City took 21,000 shares. The shareholders of these banks which own the stock of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York are the people who have controlled our political and economic destinies since 1914. They are the Rothschilds, of Europe, Lazard Freres (Eugene Meyer), Kuhn Loeb Company, Warburg Company, Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, the Rockefeller family, and the J.P. Morgan interests. These interests have merged and consolidated in recent years, so that the control is much more concentrated.

National Bank of Commerce is now Morgan Guaranty Trust Company. Lehman Brothers has merged with Kuhn, Loeb Company, First National Bank has merged with the National City Bank, and in the other eleven Federal Reserve Districts, these same shareholders indirectly own or control shares in those banks, with the other shares owned by the leading families in those areas who own or control the principal industries in these regions.

You can download the complete book from this page.

So we can see from the above that the Federal Reserve is apparently owned by or at least controlled by the following:

- The Rothschilds of England and Germany
- Lazard Freres (Eugene Meyer) of France
- Kuhn Loeb Company of Germany
- The Warburg Company of Germany
- Lehman Brothers of the United States
- Goldman Sachs of the United States
- The Rockefeller family of the United States
- The J.P. Morgan interests of the United States.

These interests have merged and consolidated in recent years, so that the control is much more concentrated.

The key point to remember is that when reference is made to "The Federal Reserve" that we are talking about a person (such as David Rockefeller) or a small group of people, not some faceless, nameless entity called "The Fed".  Thus, for example, when we say, "The Fed raised the interest rates today", we mean a person or small group of people made that decision.

● Why should I be concerned about what the Federal Reserve does?

It has been stated that the Federal Reserve is more powerful than the U.S. Government, the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Courts and the U.S. Military.  The Federal Reserve determines what your house payment and car payment will be, whether or not you have a job, and even whether or not the U.S. goes to war against some foreign enemy.  This insidious influence is not understood by most people who don't know the real reason behind economic situations that affect their lives.  Mayer Amschel Rothschild is quoted as saying, "Give me control of a nation's money and I care not who makes its laws".

● How does the Federal Reserve affect the National Debt?

The money created by the Federal Reserve (called "Federal Reserve Notes") is not backed by gold or silver, it is only paper and the only value it has is the value assigned to it by the public.  This is called a "fiat" system of money. Since the money is not backed by anything of value, then there is no limit to the amount of money that can be created.  This is good for politicians who pass massive spending bills (such as the war on Iraq and Afghanistan), but it is bad for the people because it ultimately creates dollar devaluation and price inflation (meaning everything costs more).  It also increases the National Debt which has grown by over 5.5 TRILLION dollars (nearly a 100% increase) just since President Bush took office.  Just the interest on the national debt is BILLIONS of dollars a day. More information on the national debt can be found at the Treasury Department's FAQ page on the debt.

Just how big is the national debt?  Consider this: A new city called New Songdo City is being built in Inchoen, Korea.  It costs 35 billion dollars and will take nearly 10 years to complete (it's scheduled for completion in 2015).  This city will have residential centers, commercial and retail centers, a hospital, schools, a golf course, hotels, parks, government offices, etc.  In other words, it is a complete city.  Our current national debt could build over 300 cities like this!  Also, our national debt is growing at the rate of about 4 billion dollars a day.  That means we could add another New Songdo City every 9 DAYS. 

● Is the Federal Reserve System controlled by the U.S. Government?  

Here are some facts taken directly from the Federal Reserve's website at www.federalreserve.gov:

- The Federal Reserve has a Board of Governors (just called "the board") and Ben Bernanke is the Chairman of the Board.

- The seven members of the board are appointed by the U.S. President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve 14-year terms of office.  The President designates, and the Senate confirms, two members of the Board to be Chairman and Vice Chairman, for four-year terms.

- The president selects the seven members from a list provided by the Federal Reserve.  The list includes members of the Federal Reserve from the twelve Federal Reserve districts.

- The Federal Reserve chairman is required to report to congress twice annually on monetary policy goals and objectives. 

- The term "monetary policy" refers to the actions undertaken by a central bank, such as the Federal Reserve, to influence the availability and cost of money and credit to help promote national economic goals. The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 gave the Federal Reserve responsibility for setting monetary policy.

- The seven Board members constitute the majority of the 12-member Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the group that makes the key decisions affecting the cost and availability of money and credit in the economy.  The president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is the 8th member and presidents from four other Federal Reserve Banks complete the 12-member committee.  The four other Federal Reserve presidents vote on a rotating basis.  When establishing monetary policy, different weights are placed on the votes:  The chairman of the Board has the most weight followed by the other Board members followed by the President of the New York Fed, followed by the four other Fed presidents. 

- In addition to monetary policy responsibilities, the Federal Reserve Board has regulatory and supervisory responsibilities over banks that are members of the System.

- The Board usually meets several times a week. If the Board has convened to consider confidential financial information, the sessions are closed to public observation.

- As they carry out their duties, members of the Board routinely confer with officials of other government agencies, representatives of banking industry groups, officials of the central banks of other countries, members of Congress and academicians.

- The Federal Reserve's income is derived primarily from the interest on U.S. government securities that it has acquired through open market operations.

Allen Greenspan, former Chairman of the Board of the Federal Reserve System has stated, "The Federal Reserve is an independent agency.  That means basically that there is no other agency of government that can overrule the actions we [the Federal Reserve] take."

As you can see the U.S. Government has virtually NO authority over the Federal Reserve.  The Federal Reserve has full authority over the monetary policy of the U.S. and only consults with and reports its actions to the U.S. Government.  Even when congress disagrees with the Fed's monetary policy, the only thing they can do is ask questions and state their objections.  Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution states, "Congress shall have the power to... coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin...".  However, it is the Federal Reserve that regulates the value of money through its manipulation of the interest rate.

● Does the Federal Reserve loan money to the U.S. Government?

Here is how it works:

- Congress authorizes the spending of money for which funds are not currently available.

- Congress authorizes the U.S. Treasury to print U.S. Treasury Securities (T-Bills, T-Notes and T-Bonds) for the funds needed.  These are interest bearing securities.  For example, a $100 bond may be redeemed for $105 when it matures.

- The U.S. Treasury Securities are placed in the Federal Reserve's Open Market Operation which sets the interest rate for the securities based on recommendations from the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).  Some of the securities are purchased by the public.  How much is purchased depends on the interest rate that the securities bear (the higher the interest given, the more willing the public is to buy the securities).  FOMC decisions are made at secret meetings.  A brief report is released to the public six weeks later, but transcripts of the deliberations are destroyed. That policy was begun in 1970 after the Freedom of Information Act was passed in 1966.

- The Federal Reserve writes out a check to buy the remaining Treasury Securities via the Federal Reserve's Open Market operations.  There is no money in any account to cover this check.  Anyone else doing this would be sent to prison.  Accounting entries are created for the purchase.  NOTE: Typically, the Federal Reserve does not actually print the money needed to cover the purchase.  Only about 3% of the money in the U.S. is actually in paper bills (Federal Reserve Notes) and coins.  The remaining 97% is in checks and electronic accounting entries. 

- The check written to the U.S. Government is deposited into the government's account so it now becomes money that the government can use to cover the cost of its overspending.

- Because new money was introduced into the economy, the new money dilutes the value of each existing dollar causing dollar depreciation and ultimately price inflation.

- The U.S. Government now has a liability (debt) in the form of the U.S. Treasury Securities and owes principle and interest on the securities to the security holders.  The national debt increases by the amount of the face value of the Treasury Securities.

- The Federal Reserve also sells some of the U.S. Treasury Securities that it purchased to individual, institutional and international investors.  Thus, for example, if China purchases these securities, then we say China "owns" that amount the U.S. national debt.

So, as you can see, all money is created from debt.  In other words, money cannot be created without creating debt.  A good video called "Money as Debt" explains this further.  The inflation created by the above process is a hidden tax on the public.  It makes no difference whether your $100 is now worth only $90 because of inflation, or the government took out $10 for taxes.  Either way, you are left with the same depreciated value of $90.

● Are the books of the Federal Reserve audited on an annual basis and are they public record?

No.  Despite numerous attempts by Congressman Wright Patman and others who have called for an audit of the books of the Federal Reserve System, no audit has been made available to the public since the Fed was founded in 1913.  Congressman Ron Paul has stated that, "We [congress] have more access to CIA files than we do to Federal Reserve files".

● Does the Federal Reserve print money?

Actually the U.S. Bureau of Printing and Engraving (a division of the U.S. Treasury) prints the money. Here is a section from their web site at www.moneyfactory.gov:

"Welcome to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing’s (BEP) website. We are the largest producer of security documents in the United States. The BEP prints billions of Federal Reserve Notes for delivery to the Federal Reserve System each year."

The U.S. Mint creates the coins (non-paper money).

The key point is that the Federal Reserve CREATES the money.  What division of the U.S. government actually prints the money is not important. 

● Who benefits from the Federal Reserve? 

Certainly not the public.  The only ones who really benefit are the politicians (who can spend freely without an apparent increase in taxes) and a handful of families who own the Federal Reserve.  The current setup is a way to funnel money from the masses to the elite.  Here is a good article on how the recent economic downturn has made the Fed an even more powerful organization.

Here is what Presidents and Congressmen have said about banking and the Federal Reserve: 

Thomas Jefferson, U.S. President 1801-1809 in a Letter to the Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin (1802):

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs."

James Madison, U.S. President 1809-1817:

"History records that the money changers [central banking institutions] have used every form of abuse, intrigue, deceit, and violent means possible to maintain their control over governments by controlling money and its issuance." 

Madison was considered to be the "father of the constitution" since he was the principle author of the document.

Andrew Jackson, U.S. President 1829-1837, had this to say in 1835 after shutting down the Central Bank of that time:

"The bold efforts the present bank has made to control the Government... are but premonitions of the fate that awaits the American people should they be deluded into a perpetuation of this institution, or the establishment of another like it."

By the way, there were several attempts on Jackson's life.  On January 30th, 1835, Richard Lawrence tried to shoot Jackson.  Lawrence had two pistols and both misfired.

Abraham Lincoln, U.S. President 1861-1865 (assassinated in office):

"The government should create, issue, and circulate all the currency and credits needed to satisfy the spending power of the Government and the buying power of consumers.  By the adoption of these principles, the taxpayers will be saved immense sums of money."

James A. Garfield, U.S. President 1881 (assassinated in office):

"Whoever controls the volume of money in our country is absolute master of all industry and commerce... and when you realize that the entire system is very easily controlled, one way or another, by a few powerful men at the top, you will not have to be told how periods of inflation and depression originate".

Woodrow Wilson, U.S. President 1913-1921 who in 1913 had signed the Federal Reserve System into law:

"A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world.  No longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men."

Louis McFaden, U.S. House of Representatives 1915-1935 (speaking about the creation of the Federal Reserve):

"A world banking system was being set up here... a super state controlled by international bankers... acting together to enslave the world for their own pleasure.  The Fed has usurped the government."

In 1933, he introduced House Resolution No. 158, Articles of impeachment for the Secretary of the Treasury, two assistant Secretaries of the Treasury, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, and the officers and directors of its twelve regional banks.  There were two attempts on McFadden's life, a failed shooting and an apparent poisoning that made him "violently ill" after attending a political banquet in Washington.

Wright Patman, U.S. Congressman1928-1976, Chairman of the Committee on Banking and Currency 1963-1975:

"I have never yet had anyone who could, through the use of logic and reason, justify the Federal Government borrowing the use of its own money... I believe the time will come when people will demand that this be changed.  I believe the time will come in this country when they will actually blame you and me and everyone else connected with congress for sitting idly by and permitting such an idiotic system to continue."

Ron Paul, the U.S. Congressman from Texas, said this about the Federal Reserve System:

“[the Federal Reserve System] is the strangest, most dangerous advantage ever placed in the hands of a special privileged class by any Government that ever existed."

The last president who attempted to abolish the Federal Reserve was John. F. Kennedy.  On June 4th, 1963, he signed executive order number 11110 that returned to the U.S. government the power to issue currency (money), without going through the Federal Reserve System.  This would have put the Federal Reserve out of business.  Five months later Kennedy was assassinated and the executive order was never enforced.

Nine American Presidents have been the targets of assassination: Andrew Jackson in 1835 (opposed a private national bank), Abraham Lincoln in 1865 (opposed a private national bank), James Garfield in 1881 (opposed a private national bank), William McKinley in 1901, Harry S. Truman in 1950, John F. Kennedy in 1963 (opposed a private national bank), Richard Nixon in 1974, Gerald Ford twice in 1975, and Ronald Reagan in 1981 (opposed a private national bank).

● How does the Federal Reserve affect our monetary system?

Often people have no idea WHY we have periods of inflation, deflation, recession, depression, etc.  Since the Federal Reserve has full control over the monetary system, then these "...ions" are caused directly by the Federal Reserve and its influence on government.  The Federal Reserve's influence on the U.S. Government has been a constant, on-going activity.  This includes promoting and financing wars, the creation of boom-bust cycles, various "bailouts", etc.  Ben Bernanke, the current Chairman of the Board of the Federal Reserve is a member of the Bilderberg Group, a highly influential group of international members, including politicians, business leaders and media moguls.

Here is an example of the Federal Reserve's creation of boom-bust cycles, including the great depression of 1929 (this is exerted from the movie Zeitgeist): 

From 1914 to 1919 the Federal Reserve doubled the money supply resulting in extensive loans to small banks and the public. Then in 1920, the Fed called in mass percentages of the money supply.  Thus resulting in the supporting banks having to call in huge numbers of loans and bank runs, bankruptcies and collapse occurred.  Over 5400 competitive banks outside of the Federal Reserve System collapsed, further consolidating the monopoly of the Federal Reserve.

From 1921 to 1929, the Federal Reserve again increased the money supply by 62% resulting once again in extensive loans to the public and banks.  There was also a new type of loan called a margin loan in the stock market.  This allowed investors to put down only 10% of the purchase price of a stock and to finance the remaining 90%.  For example, for the price of 100 shares, a stock holder could purchase 1000 shares of stock.  This was very popular in the roaring 1920's since everyone seemed to be making money in the market. However, there was a catch to this loan.  It could be called in at any time and had to be paid within 24 hours.  This is termed a margin call and the typical result of a margin call is the sale of the stock purchased with the loan.  So, a few months before October 1929 John D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, Joseph P. Kennedy, Bernard Baruch and other marketplace insiders quietly exited the market.  Then on October 24th 1929, New York financiers who financed the margin loans started calling them in en-mass. This sparked an instantaneous massive selloff in the market since everyone had to sell the stock in order to cover the bank loans.  It also triggered mass bank runs for the same reason collapsing over 16,000 banks and enabling the conspiring international bankers to not only buy up rival banks at a discount, but to buy up whole corporations at pennies on the dollar.  But the Fed did not stop there.  Instead of increasing the money supply the Fed actually contracted it setting off the largest depression in history.  

Here is a clip from the movie quoted above.

● Does the Federal Reserve affect our government's policies?

Here is an example of the Federal Reserve's involvement in U.S. policy (foreign and domestic): When Henry Kissinger was the Secretary of State (from 1973 to 1977) under Richard Nixon, he visited each major oil producing country in the world.  He stated that the U.S. would buy oil from them and make them wealthy.  The catch?  They had to do 2 things:  1) Denominate all oil prices in U.S. dollars and 2) Finance the U.S. national debt by using some of their oil revenues to buy Treasury Securities.  Saudi Arabia and many other countries agreed.  Two countries that did not agree were Iraq and Iran.  Saudi Arabia has the largest known reserves of oil.  Buying Treasury Securities allows the U.S. to borrow even more money from the Federal Reserve System, which means paying more interest to the Federal Reserve. As a result, domestic oil production has decreased dramatically (due to restrictions on drilling) and oil imports have increased dramatically.  This chart shows domestic production versus imports.  As a result, the more dependent we are on imported oil, the more the Federal Reserve benefits.  Contrary to common belief, the U.S. has massive reserves of oil.  One such reserve is Gull Island off the northern coast of Alaska.  See the book "The Energy Non-Crisis" by Lindsey Williams and Clifford Wilson for more information on Gull Island.  There is also an 8-part video of a speech given by Lindsey Williams available here.

The Federal Reserve's involvement in World War I and II is well documented in G. Edward Griffin's book, "The Creature from Jekyll Island".  War is very a profitable venture for the Federal Reserve.  Just look at how much the national debt has increased since the U.S. invaded Iraq and Afghanistan.  During WW-II, the Federal Reserve and its associates funded not only Europe, but Hitler and Stalin as well so that the war could be prolonged.  The Federal Reserve's goal with regards to war is not for one side to win, but for the war to be never ending.

● What is "Fractional Reserve Banking"?

Another major cause of dollar depreciation is fractional reserve banking which allows banks to loan out up to 10 times the amount of money actually held in deposits.  In other words, if a bank has $1,000,000 in deposits (checking accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit, etc.), then it can loan out up to $10,000,000 in mortgage loans, car loans, business loans, personal loans, etc.  This creates an availability of money that is 10 times the actual monetary base.  Here is how it works: Bank A gets a deposit of $100.  Since it has a 10% reserve requirement, then it can loan out $90 which goes to bank B.  Bank B now has a $90 deposit and since it has a 10% reserve requirement, then it can loan out $81 (90% of the $90) which goes to bank C.  Bank C now has a $81 deposit and since it has a 10% reserve requirement, then it can loan out $72.90 (90% of the $81) which goes to bank D, and so forth until the original $100 has generated $1000 in loans.  Here is a good article on this "money creation".  

As you can see, this fractional-reserve banking policy over-inflates the amount of money actually in circulation by a factor of 10 (assuming a 10% reserve factor). Now imagine what having a fractional reserve factor of only 3% would do.  Even worse, imagine if there was NO required reserve.  Currently, the Federal Reserve requires a minimum reserve of 10% on deposits over $47.6 million but only 3% on deposits from $7 million up to that amount and no reserves whatsoever below that amount.  If a bank gets into trouble because of a high level of withdrawals, then it can borrow money from the other banks in the system via the Federal Funds program.

● Should the Federal Reserve be eliminated?

From the above it should be obvious that eliminating the Federal Reserve and paying off the national debt would save BILLIONS of dollars a DAY (interest on the national debt) since the process of printing U.S. Treasury Securities (interest bearing instruments) could be eliminated.  Having the U.S. government create the money directly (instead of having the Federal Reserve System create it) would eliminate the need for U.S. Securities so there would be no interest on the money printed.  Thus, money could be created without also creating debt.

We could totally eliminate the national debt within a year by doing the following:

1) Eliminate the Federal Reserve System so that money is not created from debt.
2) Begin printing U.S. Notes (instead of Federal Reserve Notes) and use the notes to pay off the national debt.
3) As the national debt is reduced by paying it off with U.S. Notes, the practice of fractional banking is reduced accordingly.

In other words, if 10% of the national debt is paid off (using newly printed U.S. Notes), then fractional reserve banking would be reduced by 10% to 9 to 1 (loans can be up to 9 times the amount of money held in deposits) and when 50% of the national debt is paid off, then fractional reserve banking is reduced 50% to 5 to 1.  As you can see, the availability of money would be reduced at the same rate as new money (U.S. Notes) is printed and made available. 

If only steps 1 and 2 above were done, then we would experience tremendous inflation since the market would be flooded with new money.  But by including step 3 above to accordingly reduce fractional reserve banking, there would be NO net change in the availability of money.  The national debt would be paid off and the practice of fractional banking would be eliminated.  Here is a video on this.

Once the above is done, then the U.S. could return to a more stable monetary system where the ideal scene is:

- The national debt is eliminated.

- The practice of fractional banking is eliminated.

- Printing of currency is done by the U.S. government per the U.S. Constitution and is not delegated to any private enterprise.

- All U.S. currency is backed by precious metals (such as gold and silver).  That means it has REAL value and is not just fiat money.

- The amount of currency available is limited to the government's reserve of precious metals.  This would place a cap on the currency available and would eliminate inflation and create a strong U.S. dollar.

- New money (as opposed to printing new currency to replace worn out currency) can only be printed if the government's supply of precious metals increases.

- Congress cannot spend money for which funding is not available (the "balanced budget" act).

- The U.S. Government cannot "borrow" money by issuing U.S. Treasury Securities.

- Government financial surplus (money received by the government above and beyond the money spent by the government) is placed in reserve each year and can be made made available by Congress to help handle emergency situations such as hurricane Katrina.

- All programs such as Social Security are self-funding (meaning that they provide for income sufficient to meet program expenses).

- Congress cannot "borrow" funds from programs like Social Security to pay for other programs.

● Where can I find more information about the Federal Reserve?

There are many excellent resources for learning more about the Fed:

- Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve

- The Creature from Jekyll Island: A second Look at the Federal Reserve (paperback) by G. Edward Griffin.

- A 41 minute video on the Fed: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-466210540567002553
        (be sure to check out the "related videos" too)

- A 5-part video on the history of the Fed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dmPchuXIXQ

- G. Edward Griffin at the July 12th, 2008 rally in Washington DC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3lL_Huxv_w
        This short (9 minute) video pretty much sums up what the Fed is.  If you don't watch anything else, watch this!

- The Federal Reserve's connection with the Bilderberg Group: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mBRSUUxWM8

- More details on the birth of the Fed and how it works: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30-WtZTH06o

- Educational web site on the Federal Reserve: http://www.federalreserveeducation.org/fed101/history/.

- Free publication on the Federal Reserve System: http://www.federalreserve.gov/pf/pf.htm.

- The value of the dollar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaxdUPNYj2s.

- The Money Masters web site.

- More info on the Federal Reserve.

- More Info on the Federal Reserve.

So, what can I do?

● Participate in the November 22, 2008 End The Fed rally.  Find the rally for your city here.

● Demand the elimination of the Federal Reserve System.

● Support HR 2275 (abolish the Federal Reserve).

● Buy and read G. Edward Griffin's book, "The Creature from Jekyll Island".

● Demand that the dollar return to a gold and silver standard.

● Demand that Executive Order 11110 be implemented.

● Notice that the first step in the printing of new money is that Congress authorizes funds that it does not have.  Demand that congress stop overspending and that they downsize the government.

● Visit http://www.downsizedc.org/.

● Get out of personal debt.  Debt = dependency = control = loss of liberty.

● Do not buy or invest in U.S. Government Securities (Treasury Bills, Notes and Bonds) - you will only be contributing to the National Debt and to inflation.

● Join the march on the Federal Reserve on November 22, 2008 (45th anniversary of JFK's death).  Here is another website promoting the same march.

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