As you read this post, think about what Greenspan says about "fed speak". He described it as "a language of purposeful obfuscation". I think a better term would be sophistry. The Federal Reserve web site is full of fed speak. Here is a cut and paste of the applicable section regarding ownership of the fed and my comments are in red:
Who owns the Federal Reserve?
The Federal Reserve System is not "owned" by anyone and is not a private, profit-making institution. Instead, it is an independent entity within the government, having both public purposes and private aspects.The big lie is always the first line. Then the truth is told in an obfuscated way but people do not take the time to analyze things so the lie stands. The above line is very clear in the statements it tries to make:
· Nobody owns the federal reserve
· It is not private
· It does not make a profit
· It is entirely within the government
As the nation's central bank, the Federal Reserve derives its authority from the U.S. Congress. It is considered an independent central bank because its decisions do not have to be ratified by the President or anyone else in the executive or legislative branch of government, it does not receive funding appropriated by 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 Congress, which periodically reviews its activities and can alter its responsibilities by statute. Also, the Federal Reserve must work within the framework of the overall objectives of economic and financial policy established by the government. Therefore, the Federal Reserve can be more accurately described as "independent within the government."
· Independent within the government? That’s doublespeak. The president has great power in appointing the fed chief. If you don’t support the president’s vote buying attempts you don’t get to be fed chief.
The twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks, which were established by Congress as the operating arms of the nation's central banking system, are organized much like private corporations--possibly leading to some confusion about "ownership." For example, the Reserve Banks issue shares of stock to member banks.
· OK so despite the initial effort to deny private ownership, the fact is that the reserve bank has the concept of shares and these shares are issued to the 12 member banks. Why have stock if not to imply ownership? And what is ownership anyway? I define it as 2 major things: the owner collects the profits and has control over direction. If these things apply to you then you own something no matter what someone else might call it. Without these characteristics you don’t own it.
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.
- So this is the big difference in fed stock that makes it not privately owned??? This is obvious double talk. The ownership is clearly indicated by the ownership of the stock and whether something is “operated for profit” or not makes no difference. The fact that ownership of a certain amount of stock being mandated by law also does not affect ownership. In fact, the fed web site uses the very term “ownership” in its own attempt to convince us that no ownership is involved. Typical fed speak. The fact that the stock may not be sold or traded or used to backstop a loan is simply a set of rules which ensure the ownership will never be transferred from its current owners. That means that the framers of the fed wanted to ensure it would pass down through their bloodlines. Oh, and if the fed is not a for profit agency then what is this 6% stuff about? Sounds like profit to me! And it’s profit on something they never earned in the first place! They just print the money up from thin air and charge us interest on it. SCAM ALERT!! Also, if the fed is not “for profit” then why did the fed have 800 billion in cash and cash equivalents on hand before the start of the crash? Where did all that PROFIT come from? All the information is available on the web to understand the scams if people will only suspend disbelief and take the time to research and analyze these things.
Here is a good read on the fed by the author of the book “The Creature From Jekyll Island”:
The fed is a scam, pure and simple.
