Preview

The Federal Reserve

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1149 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Federal Reserve
The Role of the Federal Reserve
Have you ever wondered who controls the money supply in the United States? I mean it’s certainly one of the most important roles someone can play in the U.S. government; the answer is the Fed. The Fed is also known as the Federal Reserve
System. It’s the central banking system of the United States. It was established in 1913 by congress to control monetary policy, the use of changes in the amount of money in circulation to alter credit markets, employment and the rate of inflation (Thomson
Wadsworth). It consists of seven members, including the second most important person in the government, former chairperson Ben Bernanke. All board of governors and the chairperson are elected by the President and approved by the Senate for 14-year appointments. Through the Fed and its Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), decisions about monetary policy are made eight times a year. The FOMC is the most important body within the Federal Reserve System; it decides how the Fed should carry out monetary policy (Thomson Wadsworth). The Fed is an independent source of economic power that isn’t governed by the President or Congress. Even though the
Federal Reserve System has 12 regional banks, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is first among equals. Its jurisdiction over Wall Street makes it the largest of the Fed banks.
Aside from that, the Fed has 3000 member banks.
The Fed has many methods to their madness. They have many tools that they use to control and monitor monetary policy. They’re known for their most effective method of bond buying and selling. During periods of recession and unemployment they expand rate of growth of the money supply. They do so by buying bonds and securities from primary dealers. On the other hand, when inflation occurs they do the counter-opposite of selling bonds and securities. Although that’s they’re most popular method, it’s not their only. The Feds other tools include: reserve requirement,

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    3. Which of the following do policy makers tend to target when setting monetary policy?…

    • 276 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Nsl Study Guide

    • 1431 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Federal Reserve is in charge of _____________ policy. They adjust the money supply by adjusting __________________.…

    • 1431 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Federal Reserve was created in 1913 in response to several financial panics, including a particularly severe one in 1907, to serve as the central bank of the United States, and given the authority to issue legal tender. According to its founding documentation, it is enlisted with the duties of conducting the nation’s monetary policy, regulating the nation’s banking industry, and preserving the stability of the financial system. Despite the apparent prosperity during the 1920’s, there were many warning signs that the burgeoning economy was not as strong as it appeared. After the stock market crash of 1929, the Federal Reserve did little to rectify the situation, adhering to a policy of sound finance, due both to their structure and their belief of how the economy functioned. With banks failing across the country, the Federal Reserve chose not to bail them out, allowing them to go bankrupt and the public to lose faith in the strength of the economy. Today, many, including Milton Friedman, Ben Bernanke, and Anna Schwartz, blame the Federal Reserve, not for causing the Great Depression,…

    • 4966 Words
    • 20 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Federal Reserve Board of Governors Federal Reserve Functions The Money Supply Inflation Cause Effect Controlling Conclusion…

    • 4310 Words
    • 18 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Federal reserve is the backbone of the US economy. The Federal Reserve serves as our country nation’s bank. The fed functions are to regulate our major financial institutions and control the flow of money in our country.…

    • 737 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Great Depression Dbq

    • 1188 Words
    • 5 Pages

    This is the nation’s central bank, set up by the government in early 1900s to help banks across the country operate properly. It also controls the nation’s money supply, and inspects the financial records of banks to make sure they are being run correctly. In 1930 and 1931 the Federal Reserve did not act quickly enough to help the banks that were failing all over the country.…

    • 1188 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Finance Questions

    • 600 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Federal Reserve Board, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Thrift Supervision, Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency…

    • 600 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Federal Reserve Paper

    • 926 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Federal Reserve System is also known as the central banking system of the United States. The Federal Reserve System is run by the Board of Governors, and is composed of 12 regional banks. The Federal Reserve Bank is independent of political pressure decisions that a government influenced by political pressures cannot make.…

    • 926 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The first goal of the Fed’s dual mandate is for the United States to have maximum employment and good economic growth. They just want to make sure the country stays out of a recession and the unemployment…

    • 1244 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Federal Reserve

    • 1488 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Arnold Kling, a scholar for the Cato Institute, explained that the Federal Reserve has importantly changed the procedures and goals it had for a long time. Kling is pushing for an audit of the Fed to help him gain a clearer picture in understanding why QE is used the way it is. The Federal Reserve has "more than doubled its balance sheet, paid interest to banks on reserves held as deposits with the fed...invested in assets that expose taxpayers to large losses" (Kling). Now, with that much money being on stake, it seems like the best idea would be to manuscript each and every step taken by the Fed. However, there seems to be a lot of opposition towards the audit bill in Congress, so it might be a harder goal to achieve than originally planned. In Kling 's article, it states the audit opponents ' concern of political pressure influencing the bank, knowing that the larger question at hand is its change from the standard procedures. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is a bodily organization that undertakes investigations for the Congress, the case of auditing being one of them; it has the authority to conduct operations and functions of the Federal Reserve. The Congress also "recently granted the GAO new authority to…

    • 1488 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    1. What are the three tools the Fed uses to keep the economy stable? (1.0 points)…

    • 280 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Federal Reserve Benefits

    • 3493 Words
    • 14 Pages

    In today’s economic times of futility, the Federal Reserve of the United States has been rising in prominence in the media and news. But what exactly does the Federal Reserve do and what is its role in the country’s economy? The Federal Reserve is actually a more recent addition to the country’s economic system and is in fact something that the Federal Government fought against for a long period of time. The Federal Reserve had to go through a tough process to be implemented, but has been standing ever since. The powers and abilities of this institution are extensive and while some feel that consolidating the nation’s economic power in one institution is beneficial, a look at the process and structure of the Federal Reserve shows that while…

    • 3493 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Federal Reserve System, though it has many different functions was established to serve the public's interest. The Federal Reserve has three vital sectors that help in its day to day function: the Board of Governors, the Reserve Banks, and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). “The Master said: “Learning without thinking is useless. Thinking without learning is dangerous”’ (Confucius The Analects pg. 7).…

    • 938 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Over time, the roles and responsibilities of the Federal Reserve System have expanded, and its structure has evolved. Events such as the Great Depression were major factors leading to changes in the system. The U.S. Congress established three key objectives for monetary policy in the Federal Reserve Act: Maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates. Its duties have expanded over the years, and today, according to official Federal Reserve documentation, include conducting the nation’s monetary policy, supervising and regulating banking institutions, maintaining the stability of the financial system and providing financial system and providing financial services to depository institution, the U.S. government and foreign official institutions.…

    • 5225 Words
    • 21 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Federal Reserve is the central banking system of the United States. It was created in December 1913. The Reserve is government licensed and privately owned; also it is not accountable to anyone. It was created by Congress and signed in by President Woodrow Wilson. The U. S. Congress established three key objectives: Maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates. Today its duties have expanded well beyond those things (Bullamore).…

    • 412 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays