By Al Colombo
Copyright©1997
05 April 1997
When asked who governs the United States, most citizens would say, Congress. Although this is what our forefathers intended, the plan somehow went awry.
Under the Constitution of 1789, the United States, as a federated republic, is primarily responsible for foreign policy, interstate commerce, and military matters. The states share equally in other matters of national government. And yet, at every turn, the federal government has continually worked to wrangle local control from the state governments.
The fact is, the United States is ruled by about 1/2 to 1% of the entire population. This is because this 1% has control of the vast majority of the monetary resources within this country. Rulership is achieved through direct control of this nation's private economy. In addition, the elite of U.S. society controls the national communications media as well as the executive branch of the federal government by virtue of the Federal Reserve.
Henry Ford once said that if the people of this great nation were to know the truth about the Federal Reserve, there would be rioting in the streets by morning.
Let me tell you one reason why. The Federal Reserve is made up of 12 Federal Reserve Banks, all of which are owned by private corporations. Although these are not typical corporations, the individuals who own them are private citizens. The only thing public about the FED is the Federal Reserve Board, which is a function of the federal government, although it is fully funded and monetarily supported by the 12 Federal Reserve Banks.
Why is all this so important? Because those who control this country's money inherently control this country! What that means is that 1/2 to 1% of the population rules the other 99 to 99.5%. What we have here is the minority ruling the majority. This is not how our forefathers envisioned life in the United States of America.
In the next few weeks to come I will provide interesting information concerning the Federal Reserve system that most citizens should find enlightening. The source of my information will be the General Accounting Office as well as documents available via the internet. Be sure to check back from time to time so you do not miss anything.
God bless America
Al Colombo
Perhaps we mistrust the Federal Reserve because most of us know very little about it. Then again, those who know a lot about it often say that they don't entirely trust the FED either. Who do you believe? It's been said that Henry Ford once commented that if the citizens of this great country were to fully understand the FED, there would be rioting in the streets before morning. Pretty strong language coming from such a famous man as he.
Perhaps the first step in judging the intent and sincerity of the Federal Reserve system is to learn more about it. For example, the general purpose of the FED is to conduct monetary policy, maintain the stability of the financial markets, provide services related to financial and government agencies, and supervise and regulate banks and bank-holding companies.
The Federal Reserve system itself was created by the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. The intent was to create an independent, decentralized central banking institution capable of ensuring monetary policy. In order to maintain the integrity of the FED, its creators decided to also exempt it from Presidential or Congressional control. This, it was thought, would prevent politics from playing a part in U.S. monetary .policy.
As pointed out in the section above, the Federal Reserve system is comprised of twelve chartered corporations, called Federal Reserve Banks, with 25 individual branch locations scattered throughout the country. The irony of this is that these twelve corporations and their 25 branch locations are not subject to Presidential or Congressional control and policy. This is because they are private corporations made up of commercial banks, not government agencies. The stock, however, does not carry the same benefits associated with traditional stock ownership.
Although these banks operate independent of Presidential and Congressional control, they are still subject to scrutiny from the Federal Reserve Board, an agency of the Federal Government, comprised of 7 board members who are appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Collectively, this agency is referred to as the Board of Governors.
Each reserve bank has its own management structure and set of nine governors. The Chairman of the Board and three of the nine are picked by the Board of Governors. Appointment and salary matters regarding the President and Vice President at each location are also handled by the Board of Governors.
As mentioned earlier, the twelve Federal Reserve Banks that comprise the FED are subject to the Board of Governors. An audit of each bank is routinely ordered each year by the Board of Governors. Other than that, however, the Act of 1913 does not assign any other supervisory tasks to the Board of Governors.
The Board of Governors also impliments supervision by operations reviews, financial examinations, budget reviews, and year-end evaluations.The Act does, however, limit the ability of the Board of Governors in matters related to the closure or opening of a Federal Reserve Bank. This requires the approval of Congress.
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