The Federal Reserve is the central banking unit of the United States. The bank is made up of twelve regional banks, a Federal Open Market Committee, and a board of governors who are all responsible for the oversight of the nations banking system.
The Federal Reserve also has the power to alter the money supply by changing the short term interest rates banks use to lend to each other. By acting as a semi-private and semi-public entity the Federal Reserve has been subject to criticism in the past over its role of supervising banks. Many of the Federal Reserve Bank’s policies have prompted long bouts of inflation caused by its easy credit policies.
The resources below explain how the Federal Reserve Bank has brought on some of the most devastating economic calamities through its day to day operations.
Articles
- Banking Before the Federal Reserve: The U.S. and Canada Compared by Donald R. Wells
- The Great Depression According to Milton Friedman by Ivan Pongracic Jr
- The Federal Reserve System by Hans F. Sennholz
- Taking Money Back: Part 1 by Murray N. Rothbard
- Fractional Reserve Banking: Part 2 by Murray N. Rothbard
- Monetary Policy Disasters of the Twentieth Century by Kirby R. Cundiff
- The Impossible Task of the Fed by Ernest G. Ross
- The Reserve Requirement Debacle of 1935-1938 by Richard H. Timberlake
- A Competitor for the Fed? by Lawrence H. White
Audio
- Free Banking by Lawrence White
