Federal Reserve Bank
Posted by Cheryl Gaer-Barlow (+479) 13 years ago
Did you know the Federal Reserve Bank is a private industry and not a government office? Yet they control all our currency.
Also, does anyone know how much of the gold in Fort Knox is owned by the U.S.? Some say it is all foreign gold. I'm not sure that's true. Has this information ever been given?
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Posted by Amorette Allison (+12826) 13 years ago
Oy, vey.
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Posted by Bob L. (+5095) 13 years ago
Procreating Jews, I tells ya
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Posted by Bob L. (+5095) 13 years ago
Cheryl: You should buy some gold from the company Glenn Beck is pitching. That's what I'd do.
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Posted by Steve Craddock (+2732) 13 years ago
I like Cheryl. When she hears things that sound weird or illogical, she asks about them.

Be honest with yourselves and try to remember the first time someone explained the Federal Reserve to you. I mean, if anything about our economic structure is weird and illogical and hard to understand, it's gotta be the Federal Reserve.

So now, back to Cheryl. She could easily be like Michele Bachman and hear some crazy rumor and immediately start running through town (or, in Michele's case, onto the FOX Network) spreading the news like it was the gospel truth. But she doesn't. She comes here to MilesCity.com where she knows she'll probably catch grief from most of us, but she does it anyway and she asks her questions. That takes guts, and I admire her for it.

Cheryl, you rock!
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Posted by Bob Netherton II (+1905) 13 years ago
Australia. They own most of that gold.
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Posted by Steve Sullivan (+1481) 13 years ago
It's all owned by China now.

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Posted by Amorette Allison (+12826) 13 years ago
The Fed is definitely, positively and completely a part of the U.S. government. However, it is NOT under the political control of Congress or the President, and this pisses off some of those voted-in folks. Board members and chair are appointed by the President and confirmed by Congress but neither the Pres nor the Cons can tell the Fed what to do.

The gold in Fort Knox is ours. However, we have sold bonds, which are backed by the gold, to a number of foreign countries including China. Should China suddenly want cash and we can't cough it up, technically, we could send them some gold. I doubt that would ever happen if only because the shipping would be astronomical.

So, no the Fed is not a private industry and yes, we own the gold in Fort Knox.
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Posted by Steve Craddock (+2732) 13 years ago
Wow Amorette. You explained that better than any of my civics or American government teachers ever did. Where were you when I needed you?
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Posted by Amorette Allison (+12826) 13 years ago
Ritin' is wot I doez.
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Posted by Steve Craddock (+2732) 13 years ago
Wut bout rithmatic?
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Posted by Cactus Plains (+96) 13 years ago
I think Amorette is 100 % wrong. The Vatican created the Federal Reserve, Wall Street, and the Corporations. Americans got nothing but brainwashed, robbed, and poisoned since 1954.

jump buck n kick

Cactus Plains
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Posted by Richard Bonine, Jr (+15582) 13 years ago
Umm... The Vatican exsisted before 1954.
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Posted by CK (+851) 13 years ago
If you want a clear cut explanation of capitalism, federal reserve, how the US creates bonds/debts, and a whole host of interesting economic principles....read The Alpha Strategy. It is really interesting. I bought a copy on Amazon for like 1.50. You can download it for free though. Really worth the read.
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Posted by Amorette Allison (+12826) 13 years ago
The Fed also predates 1954 by some time, as do corporations and Wall Street, let alone the Vatican.

Cactus continues to baffle, even more so than the religion thread.

Anyway, Fed is government and we own the gold.
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Posted by Gunnar Emilsson (+18758) 13 years ago
Sigh....Cactus Plains, you have the patience of Job.

I admire your trying to set Amorette straight, but I fear its not working.

Amorette, I suggest you go buy this book....it may help you out (note that one of the authors is a HISTORIAN):



I believe on page 57, you will find that the Rothschild family owns both the gold in Fort Knox AND the Federal Reserve System.
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Posted by Cactus Plains (+96) 13 years ago
The bankers for the Vatican. You get a free copy of Sagebrush's Ecological Intelligence Report #51, if you want.

1954 WWW111 Germs poison America with the shot heard around the world,the brucella polio shot!

sleep sleep sleep

red devils in the rain and killing all native plants, plus others

Amorette and Richard don't care ... is it stupidisitiosis caused by brucella?

Cactus Plains
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Posted by Richard Bonine, Jr (+15582) 13 years ago
A more likely scenario: the "red devils killing your native range" are your 200 head of 1700 lbs Gelbvieh cows in a pasture that could maybe carry 50 for 6 months. Reduce your stocking rate and stop over-grazing your rangeland and in 5 years your problem will go away.



You get a free copy of Sagebrush's Ecological Intelligence Report #51, if you want.


Yes, please.

PO Box 2106
Gillette, WY 82717

[This message has been edited by Richard Bonine, Jr (11/10/2010)]
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Posted by Rick Kuchynka (+4463) 13 years ago
You can't handle the truth.

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Posted by Buck Showalter (+4461) 13 years ago
Why don't you post it in PDF form, Cactus? Why would you want to hide the secrets you think are so important for everyone to find out?
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Posted by Cheryl Gaer-Barlow (+479) 13 years ago
C.K.: I ordered the book. Thank you.
Amorette: You appear powerfully authoritative. I get most of my info from Forbes, the ABJournal and the Wall Street Journal. Unfortunately, I tossed the article so I can't be more specific. Do you mind citing your sources? Thanks.
Steve: It's good to grapple with criticism. There's a thin line between courage and being the biggest fool alive. If you are never embarrassed or hurt or afraid, this means you never take chances. Shouldn't we try to do the things we are most afraid to do? MilesCity.com is a good growth experience! Anyway, thanks.
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Posted by Rick Kuchynka (+4463) 13 years ago
Shouldn't we try to do the things we are most afraid to do?


Depends on the reason you're afraid. I'm afraid to do electrical work in standing water. That probably shouldn't make it a personal growth challenge.
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Posted by Cheryl Gaer-Barlow (+479) 13 years ago
Thanks for the giggle. Yes, MilesCity .com does stress communication without any ambiguity, evasion or vagueness. It certainly trains you to become specific!
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Posted by Steve Allison (+981) 13 years ago
Federal Reserve System
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Federal Reserve System (also known as the Federal Reserve, and informally as The Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. It was created in 1913 with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, and was largely a response to a series of financial panics, particularly a severe panic in 1907.[1][2][3] Over time, the roles and responsibilities of the Federal Reserve System have expanded and its structure has evolved.[2][4] Events such as the Great Depression were major factors leading to changes in the system.[5] Its duties today, according to official Federal Reserve documentation, are to conduct the nation's monetary policy, supervise and regulate banking institutions, maintain the stability of the financial system and provide financial services to depository institutions, the U.S. government, and foreign official institutions.[6]
The Federal Reserve System's structure is composed of the presidentially appointed Board of Governors (or Federal Reserve Board), the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks located in major cities throughout the nation, numerous other private U.S. member banks and various advisory councils.[7][8][9] The FOMC is the committee responsible for setting monetary policy and consists of all seven members of the Board of Governors and the twelve regional bank presidents, though only five bank presidents vote at any given time. This division of responsibilities of the central bank falls into several separate and independent parts, some private and some public. The result is a structure that is considered unique among central banks. It is also unusual in that an entity (the United States Department of the Treasury) outside of the central bank creates the currency used.[10]
According to the Board of Governors, the Federal Reserve is independent within government because "its decisions do not have to be ratified by the President or anyone else in the executive or legislative branch of government." However, its authority is derived from the U.S. Congress and is subject to congressional oversight. Additionally, the members of the Board of Governors, including its chairman and vice-chairman, are chosen by the President and confirmed by Congress. The government also exercises some control over the Federal Reserve by appointing and setting the salaries of the system's highest-level employees. Thus the Federal Reserve has both private and public aspects.[11] The U.S. Government receives all of the system's annual profits, after a statutory dividend of 6% on member banks' capital investment is paid, and an account surplus is maintained. The Federal Reserve transferred a record amount of $45 billion to the U.S. Treasury in 2009.[12]
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Posted by Steve Allison (+981) 13 years ago
History
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Central banking in the United States
Main article: History of central banking in the United States
The first paper money issued in the United States was by the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1690. Soon other colonies began printing their own money as well. The demand for currency in the colonies was due to the scarcity of coins, which had been the primary means of trade at the time.[13] A colony's currency was used to pay for its expenses, as well as a means to loan money to the colony's citizens. The bills quickly became the primary means of exchange within the colonies, and were even used in financial transactions with other colonies.[14] However, some currencies were not redeemable in gold and silver, which caused their value to depreciate quickly.[13]
The first attempt at a national currency was during the Revolutionary war. In 1775 the Continental Congress issued paper currency, and called their bills "Continentals". But the money was not backed by gold or silver and its value depreciated quickly.[13]
In 1791, which was after the U.S. Constitution was ratified, the government granted the First Bank of the United States a charter to operate as the U.S.'s central bank until 1811.[13] Unlike the prior attempt at a centralized currency, the increase in the federal government's power-granted to it by the constitution-allowed national central banks to possess a monopoly on the minting of U.S currency.[15] Nonetheless, The First Bank of the United States came to an end when President Madison refused to renew its charter. The Second Bank of the United States met a similar fate under President Jackson. Both banks were based upon the Bank of England.[16] Ultimately, a third national bank-known as the Federal Reserve-was established in 1913 and still exists to this day. The time line of central banking in the United States is as follows:[17][18][19]
1791-1811 First Bank of the United States
? 1811-1816 No central bank
? 1816-1836 Second Bank of the United States
? 1837-1862 Free Bank Era
? 1846-1921 Independent Treasury System
? 1863-1913 National Banks
? 1913-Present Federal Reserve System
Creation of First and Second Central Bank
The first U.S. institution with central banking responsibilities was the First Bank of the United States, chartered by Congress and signed into law by President George Washington on February 25, 1791 at the urging of Alexander Hamilton. This was done despite strong opposition from Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, among numerous others. The charter was for twenty years and expired in 1811 under President James Madison, because Congress refused to renew it.[20]
In 1816, however, Madison revived it in the form of the Second Bank of the United States. Early renewal of the bank's charter became the primary issue in the reelection of President Andrew Jackson. After Jackson, who was opposed to the central bank, was reelected, he pulled the government's funds out of the bank. Nicholas Biddle, President of the Second Bank of the United States, responded by contracting the money supply to pressure Jackson to renew the bank's charter forcing the country into a recession, which the bank blamed on Jackson's policies. Interestingly, Jackson is the only President to completely pay off the national debt. The bank's charter was not renewed in 1836. From 1837 to 1862, in the Free Banking Era there was no formal central bank. From 1862 to 1913, a system of national banks was instituted by the 1863 National Banking Act. A series of bank panics, in 1873, 1893, and 1907, provided strong demand for the creation of a centralized banking system.
[edit]
Creation of Third Central Bank
Main article: History of the Federal Reserve System
The main motivation for the third central banking system came from the Panic of 1907, which caused renewed demands for banking and currency reform.[21] During the last quarter of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century the United States economy went through a series of financial panics.[22] According to many economists, the previous national banking system had two main weaknesses: an inelastic currency and a lack of liquidity.[22] In 1908, Congress enacted the Aldrich-Vreeland Act, which provided for an emergency currency and established the National Monetary Commission to study banking and currency reform.[23] The National Monetary Commission returned with recommendations which later became the basis of the Federal Reserve Act, passed in 1913.
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Federal Reserve Act
The head of the bipartisan National Monetary Commission was financial expert and Senate Republican leader Nelson Aldrich. Aldrich set up two commissions-one to study the American monetary system in depth and the other, headed by Aldrich himself, to study the European central banking systems and report on them.[23] Aldrich went to Europe opposed to centralized banking, but after viewing Germany's monetary system he came away believing that a centralized bank was better than the government-issued bond system that he had previously supported.
In early November 1910, Aldrich met with five well known members of the New York banking community to devise a central banking bill. Paul Warburg, an attendee of the meeting and long time advocate of central banking in the U.S., later wrote that Aldrich was "bewildered at all that he had absorbed abroad and he was faced with the difficult task of writing a highly technical bill while being harassed by the daily grind of his parliamentary duties."[24] After ten days of deliberation, the bill, which would later be referred to as the "Aldrich Plan", was agreed upon. It had several key components including: a central bank with a Washington based headquarters and fifteen branches located throughout the U.S. in geographically strategic locations, and a uniform elastic currency based on gold and commercial paper. Aldrich believed a central banking system with no political involvement was best, but was convinced by Warburg that a plan with no public control was not politically feasible.[24] The compromise involved representation of the public sector on the Board of Directors.[25]
Aldrich's bill was met with much opposition from politicians. Critics were suspicious of a central bank, and charged Aldrich of being biased due to his close ties to wealthy bankers such as J. P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Aldrich's son-in-law. Most Republicans favored the Aldrich Plan,[25] but it lacked enough support in Congress to pass because rural and western states viewed it as favoring the "eastern establishment".[1] In contrast, progressive Democrats favored a reserve system owned and operated by the government; they believed that public ownership of the central bank would end Wall Street's control of the American currency supply.[25] Conservative Democrats fought for a privately owned, yet decentralized, reserve system, which would still be free of Wall Street's control.[25]
The original Aldrich Plan was dealt a fatal blow in 1912, when Democrats won the White House and Congress.[24] Nonetheless, President Woodrow Wilson believed that the Aldrich plan would suffice with a few modifications. The plan became the basis for the Federal Reserve Act, which was proposed by Senator Robert Owen in May 1913. The primary difference between the two bills was the transfer of control of the Board of Directors (called the Federal Open Market Committee in the Federal Reserve Act) to the government.[1][20] The bill passed Congress in late 1913[26][27] on a mostly partisan basis, with most Democrats voting "yea" and most Republicans voting "nay".[20]
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Posted by Cheryl Gaer-Barlow (+479) 13 years ago
Oh, yes! That explains everything! Thank you!
I looked up Wikipedia for Fort Knox and it said the gold is foreign owned, but, stupid me, did not look up Wikipedia on the Federal Reserve Bank. Appreciate it!
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Posted by Richard Bonine, Jr (+15582) 13 years ago
Nice word search puzzle, Steve.
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Posted by Steve Allison (+981) 13 years ago
The gold in Fort Knox is the United States, the Federal Reserve Bank is the depository that holds foreign gold. I once saw a documentary on it. Each country has a vault and as deals are made between them, bars of gold are rolled back and forth to make the needed payments.


from Wiki

The United States Bullion Depository commonly called Fort Knox, is a fortified vault building located adjacent to Fort Knox, Kentucky, which is used to store a large portion of United States official gold reserves and, occasionally, other precious items belonging or entrusted to the federal government.
The United States Bullion Depository holds about 4,603 tons (4,176 metric tonnes) of gold bullion (147.4 million troy ounces[1]). It is second in the United States only to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's underground vault in Manhattan, which holds about 5,000 metric tonnes of gold in trust for many foreign nations, central banks and official international organizations.
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Posted by Amorette Allison (+12826) 13 years ago
I just went by what I learned in high school civics class. I was one of those annoying students who paid attention.
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