The Federal Reserve, a government entity...

So I noticed that on Bernie Sander's website he refers to the Federal Reserve as a government entity. Why is that? I had always been led to believe that the Fed was, in fact, a private entity. So which is it?

dbl post

a reply to: jtma508

It's both. It was created along the concept of the original Bank of the United States where it is owned privately but also has to adhere to government oversight.

First Bank of the United States

Structure of the Federal Reserve System

According to the board of governors of the Federal Reserve, "It is not 'owned' by anyone and is 'not a private, profit-making institution'. Instead, it is an independent entity within the government, having both public purposes and private aspects."[4] The U.S. Government does not own shares in the Federal Reserve System or its component banks, but does receive all of the system's annual profits after a statutory dividend of 6% on their capital investment is paid to member banks and a capital account surplus is maintained. The government also exercises some control over the Federal Reserve by appointing and setting the salaries of the system's highest-level employees.

a reply to: jtma508

It's a private bank. I don't think he knows what he's talking about.

It is compulsory "owned" by its shareholding banks - but it's chairman and board of governors are appointed by the government.

IIRC it returns a flat 6% to it's shareholders - any extra going to the government.

So it is a pretty unique public-private entity - it suits conspiracy nuts to totally ignore the public control aspects.

a reply to: D0MiNAT0R 1OOO

Wow - 1st reply and already completely off topic with the racism and jew-baiting!!

Government entities are subject to Freedom of Information requests. That should tell you what you need to know.

a reply to: VictorVonDoom

So that would be yes it is a government entity because you can make an FOIA request of it

a reply to: jtma508
Sanders is right, of course. The Federal Reserve System comprises the Governing Board of the Federal Reserve, the Open Market Committee, and the twelve Federal Reserve Banks. The Governing Board is all government employees. The OMC includes the Governing Board and presidents of some of the banks. The banks are government corporations, meaning they're kind of private sector--employees aren't in the civil service, they fund their own operations--but their functions are spelled out by law and they're subject to Federal oversight. The bank directors are a mix of bank appointees and Governing Board appointees.

www.federalreserve.gov...

originally posted by: Aloysius the Gaul
a reply to: VictorVonDoom

So that would be yes it is a government entity because you can make an FOIA request of it

Congress can't even get straight answers from the Fed. They have yet to be audited. They sent $600billion to European banks without oversight or approval by our representatives. I'd say they act on their own volition and for their own cause.

a reply to: Bilk22

I never said they gave straight answers - I was pointing out that they are subject to the FOIA - hence meet the previous poster's definition of a government agency.

originally posted by: Aloysius the Gaul
a reply to: Bilk22

I never said they gave straight answers - I was pointing out that they are subject to the FOIA - hence meet the previous poster's definition of a government agency.

LOL so what good are FOIA requests if they lie?

originally posted by: Aloysius the Gaul
a reply to: VictorVonDoom

So that would be yes it is a government entity because you can make an FOIA request of it

That would be a no because the Fed is under no obligation to respond at all.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is not an agency as defined by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and is therefore not subject to the provisions of FOIA. However, the New York Fed is committed to complying with the spirit of FOIA.

www.newyorkfed.org... html

So you can ask, but they can tell you to buzz off or not respond at all.

If you make an FOI request to any other agency, like the CIA or NSA, they either have to provide the information requested or tell you why they can't (national security, information not available, etc.)

But if you want another clue, does the Fed fall under the jurisdiction of the Executive, Legislative, or Judicial branch of the government?

a reply to: VictorVonDoom

The federal Reserve Bank of New York is not "the Fed"

there is a difference between the Federal Reserve Bank of New York - which is 1 of twelve REGIONAL reserve banks, and "The Fed", which is generally considered the board of governors

originally posted by: Bilk22

originally posted by: Aloysius the Gaul
a reply to: Bilk22

I never said they gave straight answers - I was pointing out that they are subject to the FOIA - hence meet the previous poster's definition of a government agency.

LOL so what good are FOIA requests if they lie?

I didn't say they lie either.
But if you do catch someone in a lie to an FOI request I imagine you get to sue the bejeezuz out of them

The "FED" is not where the stock is held.

Banks own stock in their Federal Reserve District bank branches.

Banks have private stockholders.

Fed Reserve is one of the most misunderstood entities in the country. Ask the average citizen what it is and 8 out of 10 don't have a clue.

a reply to: CIAGypsy

Well to be fair to the average citizen, it isn't a topic that gets much coverage...whether it be in school or the news.

It is also a topic that is riddled with misinformation and conspiracy theories, so it makes it hard to get a grasp on.

The reality is that the FED is there to help the US and global economies grow and remain as stable as possible. China controls and manipulates their currency/economy so much more than the US does.

If you want to talk about conspiracy and corruption involving money look to countries like Russia and China for that.

Keeping 6% and paying the government the rest doesn't fix anything. The debt is still always larger than the money supply. The government's share of the 'profits' is less than the finance charge of the debt. Where do you think the profits for the Federal Reserve come from? How can we be 18 trillion dollars in debt if the government is reaping 94% of the profit from its own debt to the Federal Reserve?

Compounding interest grows exponentially no matter how small the percentages are. The powers that be don't care about having a lot of money, they want everybody to owe them a lot of money. That is a different level of wealth than Bill Gates or Donald Trump.