who owns The Federal Reserve ?

Question

http://www.geocities.com/northstarzone/FED.html

Answer 1

Its private or separate from federal government, illegitimately so its part of a world banking system started in the late 1918-1920s somewhere in this time, one more smooth move done by the ruling class to screw over the American public! The other countries involved were up to the same no good for there public! This organization should not exist & be first on the agenda of removal if the legal citizen ever organize to gain control by majority rule & control etc.

Answer 2

That site hardly seems like a definitive authoritative reference on the subject. One must remember that the internet is probably one of the best sources for readily available misinformation from practically any political agenda. A good clue on the liklihood that a site contains agendized misinformation is the amount of capitalized sentences in their presentation.

To address this properly, we need to break it down.

Q. Is the Federal Reserve a private company?

A. No. the system is managed and overseen by government officials. However there is some semblence at the branch level.

To elaborate: At the top of the Federal Reserve System is the Board of Governors. These are all appointed for 14-year terms by the president and confirmed by congress. It operates per it's charter and laws set by congress. it is also overseen by congress. There is absolutely no structure or mechanism for private ownership at this level. (If someone disagrees, please explain how someone could take legal title to own and control the Board of Governors).

The 12 branches, however, are organized similar to private corporations. Member banks are required to buy shares in their branch. They can vote for 6 of their 9 board members. The shares get a standard 6% dividend. The shares cannot be sold on the open market. All 'profit' from the Federal Reserve branches are turned over to the Treasury at the end of the year. Whether this branch structure constitutes 'private ownership' is the subject of much debate. Even the courts have a hard time with making the distinction in related decisions. I personally equate it to contracting out; the Board of Governors has oversight and ultimate responsibility but the branch work is carried out by this contrived joint partnership arrangement of member banks.


Q. Does the Federal Reserve collect interest on the national debt?

A. Yes, they hold about $770B in T-notes per their open market operations to regulate the monetary supply. (The remaining $9T in debt is held by the public or interagancy).

Q. ... and distribute it to their member banks?

No, not really. Beyond the standard 6% dividend on shares, all remaining profit goes to the Treasury.

Should you be outraged? No, in fact this is a good thing for the taxpayer. After expenses, about 98% of the interest paid to the Federal Reserve is returned make it almost an interest free loan. That's interest that you the tax payer will not have to pay.



Q. Do foreigners own the shares of the Federal Branches?

A. If they do, it is not significant.

First, no individual can own shares in a Federal Reserve branch. Second, all shares in a Federal Reserve branch are owned by their member banks. There is no foreign-chartered banks as members. (However, this info could be dated. Can anyone cite a foreign bank with Federal Branch membership?)

So what about these domestic-chartered member banks? Are they owned by foreigners? The SEC requires disclosure of ownership > 5%. An analysis of the publicly disclosed ownership does not support the thesis of foreign ownership. A well researched article on the topic can be found at http://www.usagold.com/FederalReserve.html

Regardless, ownership within the branch only has influence into how that branch carries out operations per the direction of the Board of Governors. The Board of Governors carries out all public monetary policy.

The article reference revealing the secrets of the 12 branches is frequently repeated poppycock (with the exception of Chase). If you want to know the 'owners', just get a list of member banks and their size. Ownership by member banks is proportional to their size.


Q. Is it illegal for Congress to delegate this responsibility?

A. Of course not. Congress delegates authority all the time and it has survived court challenges. Every regulatory agency is given the power to create enforcable regulations within it's purview. The Federal Reserve has its power because Congress granted it and for no other reason.


There is so much more obvious misinformation that I could go on but it's boring an tedious, probably for us both.

Just learn to be skeptical of sites like this. We live in a fairly open society and it's pretty easy to cross-check questionable claims.

I will say that a healthly skepticism of government and those in power is a good thing for a thriving democracy.

If we the citizens want truth to win out, we need to avoid getting caught up in these red-herring conspiracy sites.

Answer 3

Good link! Though I have read that many times before. It just goes to show how ignorant most people are when it comes to our government and the Constitution! You TRY to tell people the truth...and they still won't listen. That will be our downfall....people still believing anything and everything that the government tells them. Maybe when they wake up in detention/concentration camps....will they believe then??? When it's too late??

Answer 4

The people!

Answer 5

Thanks for the link.