Here are the responsibilities of the Federal Reserve, now ask yourself have they done there job? And should they be given more power based on the handling of there current duties. I would like to here from you guys. According to official documentation, the Federal Reserve's duties fall into four general areas:[4] (1) conducting the nation's monetary policy by influencing the monetary and credit conditions in the economy in pursuit of maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates; (2) supervising and regulating banking institutions to ensure the safety and soundness of the nation's banking and financial system and to protect the credit rights of consumers; (3) maintaining the stability of the financial system and containing systemic risk that may arise in financial markets; and (4) providing financial services to depository institutions, the U.S. government, and foreign official institutions, including playing a major role in operating the nation's payments system.
When you consider that the REAL objective of the Fed is to PROMOTE INFLATION.. all the while they LIE and claim they "fight" inflation... they have done a bang-up job! The $USD has lost between 94-99% of its buying power, depending upon the source quoted, since the creation of the Fed in 1913. Should they be given more power? HELL NO! They are the problem, not the solution. They should be gotten rid of..
http://www.amazon.com/Meltdown-Free...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1249393314&sr=1-1 Have they done what they're suppossed to do? Possibly, but after reading the above book, Meltdown by Thomas Woods, I'm convinced they are the source of market bubbles, extended recessions and inflation. But, on the flipside, trading wouldn't be nearly as profitable without them.
I think they're like the pyro who sets a building on fire and then rescues the people inside. Technically, he saved their lives, but they were only in danger because of what he did. That's a little harsh though since although they should have seen the housing bubble and done something to moderate it - like raise rates - it's not like that was the only factor. Who would have guessed that the rating agencies would rubber stamp every piece of shit the banks put under their nose? Did the Fed know that AIG and others were writing CDS's that had maturities of up to 30 years? What about the insane leverage in the CDS market - I think I've seen 40:1 or more. In fact, didn't AIG et al. get special dispensation from Congress to leverage themselves out the wazoo? And who would have guessed that banks would abandon any kind of underwriting process in originating new loans and that the GSE's would buy that shit? Overall, I'd have to say that they have contributed more to getting us out of this than they did to getting us in.