But, according to your logic and your definition of ownership, aren't the private banks in turn owned by their shareholders? So, by simple transitivity, the Fed is owned by the public (whether directly or intermediated by financial institutions). As to the lending in exchange for interest, I ask you the same question I asked achilles. Please be kind enough to explain to me the specifics of lending in exchange for interest that the Fed does.
Firstly, it's not very polite to answer a question with another question, achilles. Secondly, whether or not I know the answer (and I do) is immaterial. You're making a certain claim, but in very general, vague terms. I would like to hear exactly how you think this lending is done by the Fed.
Of course it does, just like most modern central banks. Whatever payments are made to the Fed on its outright holdings of securities are passed back to the US Treasury in full (apart from costs) at the end of each fiscal year. In terms of monetary operations, the Fed, like any other repo/reverse repo cpty, might be a payer or a receiver of interest payments.
Now we're getting somewhere. That's right. So why should we pay taxes on debt owned by the FED, when those interest and principle payments are just remitted back to the Treasury and destroyed? Think about it. Income taxes that Americans labored over, get handed over to the FED > Treasury > destroyed. The net result is taxpayers pay interest on money they borrow from themselves. Because Government institutions and contractors spend that money first and enjoy the benefit of lower prices, it's the taxpayer who bears the burden of that spending through inflated CPI + interest + bubbles from artificially suppressed interest rates, taxpayers finance! Had interest free money just been printed and spent, taxpayers only shoulder debasement. Not debasement + interest. It unfairly punishes taxpayers for the benefit of Government, contractors, and Bankers who use that money first. And btw, you answered my question with a question. So please.
Martinghoul I suggest you inform yourself on how FED works This documentary link shows how wrong you are. Assuming you are not a paid FED shill. Spreading propaganda and lies that everything is peachy. Things are not Peachy, things are rotten peachy
Martinghoul, I have a question -- It was my understanding that the Fed initially DID collect interest on the national debt for the benefit of the Fed's owners (Rothschild's, etc.) until a law change in 1947 caused almost all of the interest on the debt to go back to Treasury. Correct or no?
I am not sure which bankers own the regional fed banks or what their structure is - are you? For that matter do we know who really runs JPM or Citi? Is GS a shareholder, is morgan are europeans? Could it be those same european families who (allegedly) helped one of my grandfather's relatives (as family lore has it) avert a panic almost a century ago paving the way for the fed?