The fed is a private group. Families and Trusts own the shares of the various fed regional branches. This has already been documented in past congressional testimony, speeches on the House and Senate Floor, and GAO reports. Every request by elected members of the US Government has been denied to have a complete current accounting for who owns all privately held branch shares. The Fed even acknowledges the regional branches are privately owned with authority above the US Government.
That's not entirely true. As Moynihan said, you're entitled to your own opinion, but not to your own facts. The regional Federal Reserve Banks are not privately owned but are part of the government. There are private banks that have chosen to be associated with the Federal Reserve system. But these are not the same as the Regional Federal Reserve Banks. from Wikipedia: " In the current system, private banks are for-profit businesses but government regulation places restrictions on what they can do. The Federal Reserve System is a part of government that regulates the private banks. The balance between privatization and government involvement is also seen in the structure of the system. Private banks elect members of the board of directors at their regional Federal Reserve Bank while the members of the Board of Governors are selected by the President of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. The private banks give input to the government officials about their economic situation and these government officials use this input in Federal Reserve policy decisions. In the end, private banking businesses are able to run a profitable business while the U.S. government, through the Federal Reserve System, oversees and regulates the activities of the private banks." (underlining in the above quote is mine.) And once again, let me emphasize that shareholder owned private banks that have chosen to be associated with the Federal reserve system are required to contribute capital to the Federal Reserve System via share purchase, but these shares are nothing like the ordinary shares issued by a corporation. In return for the use of their capital, the banks that own shares in the federal reserve system receive a dividend of a few percent annually. After operating expenses and dividends paid to private member banks, and a small reserve amount retained by the Federal Reserve, profits of the Federal reserve banks flow to the U.S. Treasury, not to private banks.
I could not agree more with this. I will simply observe that unlike postings on You Tube, Wikipedia articles are subjected to review, and that process has rather remarkably improved in reliability since the early days of Wikipedia when almost anything could find itself onto its pages. It has now become relatively reliable as a source of mostly, perhaps almost entirely, correct information. It is becoming a wonderful resource of information on a very wide range of topics.
Take your disinformation shilling off this site please. You want facts on Federal Reserve and why all countries that adopted private Central Banking system have exponential debt? You get yourself real facts for a change The Creature from Jekyll Island https://www.amazon.ca/The-Creature-Jekyll-Island-Federal/dp/0912986395 http://www.amazon.com/The-Creature-Jekyll-Island-Federal/dp/0912986212
I can see no justification for any of the Feds to be private. Just the usual fatcats with their OWN money making machines. Do they care about the national interest ? Of course not. Why should they ?
Neither do I, and the U.S. Fed system is not privately owned, it is a government agency that allows privately held banks that have chosen to be part of system participate, via Regional Reserve Bank Boards, in Federal Reserve deliberations. The control of the Federal Reserve rests with the Board of Governors who are appointed by the Congress and the President, and ultimately with the U.S. House of Representatives. The Fed is audited by both an independent auditor and also by the government accounting office. Recently there has been a call in the House for more thorough auditing with the specific aim of uncovering specific detail of internal Fed deliberations and justifications for Fed policy. Not surprisingly, the Fed has opposed this because the Fed believes deeper probing into Fed policy decisions will lead to political interference with Fed operation. Though the Fed is a government, rather than private operation, as it should be of course, the Congress has permitted it to operate as an independent agency, without Congressional interference in Fed policy decisions. The Congress, via legislation, can change both Fed priorities and the way it operates. Many people mistakenly believe that the Federal Reserve System is privately owned because there are private banks that have chosen to be part of the Reserve system that own "stock" in the Federal Reserve Bank System. This is not the kind of stock, however, that imparts ownership. The member private banks are required to buy this "stock" as a condition of joining the Federal Reserve System, and in return, for use of their capital, receive a small dividend each year from Fed operations. In the past this has been similar to the yield on U.S. Treasuries. Typically about 90% of Fed profits flow to the U.S. Treasury. If the Fed was owned by private interests its profits would flow to the private member banks instead. Congress determines Fed priorities and charges the Fed with responsibility of setting policies that will achieve these priorities. Current priorities include full employment and inflation control. There is no question that there are more conspiracy theories surrounding the U.S. Federal Reserve than any other government agency.
Even though it will do no good at all to post the following statement taken directly from the Federal Reserve's Web Site --which anyone who has an interest in the Truth should take the time to visit-- I'm going to do it anyway. Those hunkered down in their bunkers with their ammo and AK-47's will not bother to read this, having already decided that Fed agents armed to the hilt are on their way to seize their bunkers and ammo. "Who owns the Federal Reserve?" "The Federal Reserve System fulfills its public mission as an independent entity within government. It is not "owned" by anyone and is not a private, profit-making institution. As the nation's central bank, the Federal Reserve derives its authority from the Congress of the United States. It is considered an independent central bank because its monetary policy decisions do not have to be approved by the President or anyone else in the executive or legislative branches of government, it does not receive funding appropriated by the Congress, and the terms of the members of the Board of Governors span multiple presidential and congressional terms. However, the Federal Reserve is subject to oversight by the Congress, which often reviews the Federal Reserve's activities and can alter its responsibilities by statute. Therefore, the Federal Reserve can be more accurately described as "independent within the government" rather than "independent of government. The 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks, which were established by the Congress as the operating arms of the nation's central banking system, are organized similarly to private corporations--possibly leading to some confusion about "ownership." For example, the Reserve Banks issue shares of stock to member banks. However, owning Reserve Bank stock is quite different from owning stock in a private company. The Reserve Banks are not operated for profit, and ownership of a certain amount of stock is, by law, a condition of membership in the System. The stock may not be sold, traded, or pledged as security for a loan; dividends are, by law, 6 percent per year."
You can't be serious! But that's a book title Oliver Stone should buy. It will make a great movie !!! THE CREATURE from JEKYLL ISLAND
That's strange. Somehow I must have missed that in the above statement in italics taken directly from the Federal Reserve Website. (On a more serious note, where do you folks come from? The dark side of the moon?)