Monday
Jan022012
The Fed Under Fire: The Federal Reserve Is The Black Hole In American Democracy (Phenomenal 8-Minute Short Film)
We receive video submissions daily, and this is one of the most impressive piece we've ever seen: a short film by Lagan Sebert and Harry Hanbury of the American News Project featuring Ron Paul, Wlliam Greider, Dennis Kucinich, Darrell Issa and Alan Grayson.
Film produced in July 2009.
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Jan 2, 2012 at 12:22 PM
Reader Comments (65)
What did you think of the clip? I was highly impressed with the production value. It really was more like a short film than a typical video.
If you ever have anything from Goldman666 that you guys want to publish here, just let me know.
Teamwork to achieve awareness among the sheeple and then eventually, glorious, succulent, hardened victory.
http://dailybail.com/home/bailout-news-music-video-fk-the-fed.html
We cover all stories related to the institutionally dysfunctional, painfully inept and completely counter-productive taxpayer bailout of failed people, ideas, businesses, pensions, municipalities, states and ultimately, we fear, of our federal government.
Tell your friends about our site and what's going on in Washington. Help us spread the word about the immoral transfer of debt from failed, private banks directly onto the backs of your chldren. And to young people directly, seriously wake the f up, and realize that it's mostly your cash that's headed out the door.
Things look good, I'll say that. Pretty crazy for our 5th month.
I pledge allegence to the flag of the united States of America and to the REPUBLIC for which it stands......
I love the info here at the DB, but I hate politicians who don't really understand the words they use sometimes.
I sure hope these guys do more. Should be run on national tv, imho.
Neutering may be a good idea. Do we really want to know what that balance sheet looks like?
The Fed resists an audit by insisting they must remain independent of pressure. But if O and the Dems take control of the Fed as they propose then how would they explain why they still won't audit?
I know you were being somewhat sarcastic and i get the gallows humor, but yes, I do WANT to know what the balance sheet looks like. I know they purchased about $52 billion of toxicity from AIG last Fall (not a LOAN...an outright purchase of AIG assets and stuffed it all into Maiden Lane II and III...that junk could be close to worthless.
If you want the real story of America's banking system and the Fed, check out "The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve" by G. Edward Griffin.
If you want to know what money is and how it is created, check out "The Mystery of Banking" by Murray Rothbard free here: http://mises.org/Books/mysteryofbanking.pdf
Fractional Reserve Banking is a banking system in which banks are supposed to maintain a quantity of reserves from their depositors. This quantity is a fixed fraction of the amount of new money the banks are then allowed to create. This newly created money is then loaned to the bank’s borrowers.
Fractional reserve banking has a major flaw called insolvency. More commonly known as a "bank run" and is easy enough to understand. If the system’s depositors demand in excess of the reserve amount within a short time span, the entire system theoretically just runs out of printed capital and goes broke. To prevent this system crash, governments often resort to a massive printing of currency, resulting in massive devaluation of the currency and its eventual demise by hyperinflation.
Here is how fractional reserve banking works in the United States, using the current approximate 10% fractional reserve ratio requirement:
1) A depositor deposits $100 with a bank. (This depositor could be a citizen, or another bank,
Total Reserves: $100, Total Loans: $0, Total Money Supply: $100
2) The bank holds $10 for its reserves and loans out the other $90 to other banks or people. If it is a person, this money is temporarily held outside the banking system until they decide to deposit the money into a bank.
Total Reserves: $10, Total Loans: $90, Total Money Supply: $100
3) Next, the second bank takes the $90 in deposits, holds $9 for its reserves, and loans out the other $81.
Total Reserves: $19, Total Loans: $171, Total Money Supply: $190
4) Step 3 repeats. The third bank takes the $81 as a deposit, holds $8.10 for its reserves, and then loans out $72.90.
Total Reserves: $27.10, Total Loans: $243.90, Total Money Supply: $271
5) Step 3 repeats again. The fourth bank takes the $72.90 as a deposit, holds $7.29 for its reserves, and then loans out $65.61.
Total Reserves: $34.39, Total Loans: $309.51, Total Money Supply: $343.90
6) And so on. The bulk of the money creation is done after 15 repeats, but what is eventually left after 40 or 50 repeats is pretty much:
Total Reserves: $100, Total Loans: $900, Total Money Supply: $1000
So within a very short period of time, banks transferring to other banks within the system can CREATE $900 from the initial $100 deposit. For many, this process is so crazy that it is hard to grasp.
Here’s where it gets fun, when the FED buys Treasuries, although it is the same process for whatever asset they wish to purchase.
1) The FED’s Open Market Committee (FOMC) decides to expand the nation’s money supply and purchases, for example, $10 billion in Treasury bonds.
Monetary Supply Expansion: $0
2) The FED writes a check on itself for $10 billion. [Where did it get the money? FROM NOWHERE!]
Monetary Supply Expansion: $10 billion
3) This $10 billion FED check then goes to one of the government bond dealers (such as some of these companies getting bailed out) in exchange for the $10 billion in Treasuries.
Monetary Supply Expansion: $10 billion
4) Then the bond dealer deposits its $10 billion FED check at a bank.
Monetary Supply Expansion: $10 billion
5) Go to the fractional reserve loop above. And see how this deposit will very quickly be "grow" and lead to $10 billion in deposits and $90 billion in loans within the banking system.
Monetary Supply Expansion: $100 billion
And yes, the US government DOES pay interest on the Treasuries to the FED, which many are angered about, since the interest can never be paid back because there are not enough dollars in the banking system to ever clear all of the debt owed.
Many of the Congressmen and Senators that howl the most about the bailouts of all the criminal corporations involved in the Fed deception are only howling because they are not receiving the “campaign contributions” to maintain status quo.
The rest are showing true bi-partisanship and co-sponsoring Ron Paul’s bill. If you click on the link provided and then click show sponsors you will see the level of support by both parties.
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1207
"We can have a democratic society or we can have the concentration of great wealth in the hands of the few. We cannot have both."
-- Louis Brandeis, Supreme Court Justice from 1916-1939.
Law grinds the poor, and rich men rule the law.
-- Oliver Goldsmith
"The American Republic will endure, until politicians realize they can bribe the people with their own money."
-- Alexis de Tocqueville
This crap is "accounted for" on the NY Fed website, and apparently it has lost value since they purchased it (whoda thunk?), but I'm not sure whether it's being marked to market or what.
Here's the link to Maiden Lane I (Bear) and there are tabs for Maiden Lane II and III (AIG). At the bottom of each Maiden Lane page is a link with financial statements up to Dec 2008. I studied econ as an undergrad and did some M&A work right after college, but I still know NOTHING about accounting, so if anyone else wants to take a look, you could certainly help the rest of us understand what's going on.
http://www.newyorkfed.org/markets/maidenlane.html
I don't think the old system was much better than the current system other than the fact that it was backed by ANYTHING then. The point it that the Fed is loaning our government Federal Reserve Notes with interest that was never backed by their own assets - backed by our government's precious metals then and out of thin air now. It would be like me lending you Official Spideydouble Reserve IOUs with interest, after having you print them at Kinkos and charging you for the privilege - backed first by your own family jewels and then by nothing at all other than your ability to pay my IOUs back. It is equally treasonous that our congress, in their infinite wisdom, made Federal Reserve Notes the sole form of legal tender, excluding everything else, even tender with intrinsic worth.
I agree with you regarding Barney Frank. This talk of his own alternate bill including a more restrictive Fed audit and preserving monetary policy is a smokescreen. If that passes, surely it will come to NOTHING.
Take a look at Frank's top campaign contributors for the last 2008 cycle: http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cycle=2008&type=I&cid=N00000275&newMem=N . Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. and Bank of America were top contributors. Due some diligence on Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. This is publicly recorded bribe money, not to mention what he may be taking under the table. Frank may very well be compromised.
While you are at it, look up President Obama's top campaign contributors for the 2008 cycle: http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00009638 . Goldman Sachs was his single largest corporate contributor. The best government money can buy ...
Paulson says he did it, not Bernanke. (Lewis is still crooked as a snake.)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124767091551845767.html?ru=yahoo
"I don't think the old system was much better than the current system other than the fact that it was backed by ANYTHING then."
To which I ask, what money would you prefer to see created other than a backed currency?
No system has ever survived using any of the many forms of fiat currency, as it has worth only as long as people recognize it has worth, and the money doesn’t exist to pay the debt. In our own nation you have but to look to the civil war to see the collapse of the south’s fake money after they lost the war.
To your point of: ”The point is that the Fed is loaning our government Federal Reserve Notes with interest that was never backed by their own assets - backed by our government's precious metals then and out of thin air now. “ I believe I stated “By leaving our old system that was backed by a solid physical commodity to one that was created out of thin air by the Fed and then loaned to us was an incredibly arrogant form of treason”. And then ”the US government DOES pay interest on the Treasuries to the FED, which many are angered about, since the interest can never be paid back because there are not enough dollars in the banking system to ever clear all of the debt owed”. I am one of the angry, and I understand the problem better than most due to my unique cicumstances.
I’ve seen some really good stuff you have been writing, but apparently you have not been reading my posts or you would see that I am completely against the Fed and their lackeys who suckle at the contributions (bribes) they hand out ( and that is both parties). You will see the co-sponsors change if they have to hand out more “contributions” to stop this, for that is what shapes policy .
I broke this down in the last post into layman terms for those who don’t realize how the Fed works and continues to think it’s Bush or Clinton, or Carter, etc. when it has been everyone since 1913 except Kennedy who tried to eliminate the Fed and was killed.
You might also want to look at this link for Mccain’s contributors and you will see that he has been feeding at the same trough of government bond dealers and bankers courtesy of the Fed, and maybe look up the Keating 5 to see there is no saint in him either, he's been at the trough a loooong time.
http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cycle=2008&cid=n00006424
P.S. congress does not make or authorize Federal Reserve Notes and Goldman Sachs is one of the government bond dealers I mentioned above as well as many others that have been mentioned in these posts. They are taking care of their own with our money and changing who is in power under this system of government only means different names on the contribution checks.
"We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office."
-- Aesop
"If ye love wealth greater than liberty,
the tranquility of servitude greater than
the animating contest for freedom,
go home from us in peace.
We seek not your counsel, nor your arms.
Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you.
May your chains set lightly upon you,
and may posterity forget
that ye were our countrymen."
-- Samuel Adams
Their ostensible fear is that interest rates would be kept too low for too long. Oh the irony.
http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/107347/5-Kinds-of-stores-discounting-deeply.html?mod=bb-budgeting&sec=topStories&pos=2&asset=&ccode=
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2009/07/15/petition-for-fed-independence%20/?mod=yahoo_free
@Spidey
Give me some more color (educate me) about what was wrong with Greider's book, etc...I haven't read it ever completely and it's been a long time.
"To which I ask, what money would you prefer to see created other than a backed currency?"
We are in agreement. I am by no means advocating or defending a fiat currency. I support a representative currency backed by real commodities. I think that you are missing my point that even before Bretton Woods and under it, the Fed was lending a currency to our government with interest based on our own assets rather than assets belonging to the Fed.
Just as the UK never returned to a gold standard post WWII under Churchill in order to avoid sovereign bankruptcy, I believe the U.S. equally needed to avoid a sovereign bankruptcy. Keynes argued against a gold standard and proposed a privately owned Bank of England, who by a continuous process of inflation could "confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens" rather than publicly elected officials doing so. This makes perfect sense. Wealth confiscation would no longer be arbitrary, but directed to enrich even fewer freeborn men of adequate pedigree and well-recommended. Governments could likewise temporarily borrow unencumbered from central bank monopolies rather than bargain shop rates from multiple independent competing banks.
Unfortunately, the new liberal international economic system of central banks under Bretton Woods never enhanced stability, sustainable monetary policy, nor peace. A series of one-upmanship by Charles de Gaulle divesting France’s dollar reserves in exchanged for U.S. Government gold and LBJ’s Société Minor debt slave programs and Vietnam War profiteering led Nixon to unilaterally terminate convertibility of U.S. dollars to gold in 1971 and the system likewise imploded. The suckers who had signed on to Bretton Woods and not followed France’s paper for gold exchange program now had a default world “reserve currency”. The irony is not lost on me. Additionally, U.S. atom bomb hegemony gave the U.S. the ultimate debt avoidance and collection tool. Your money is safe with the world’s top nuclear power. Of course, virtually universal conversion to fiat currencies and central banks may have been Adam Smith’s invisible hand at work all along benevolently directing humanity to utopia.
"I’ve seen some really good stuff you have been writing, but apparently you have not been reading my posts or you would see that I am completely against the Fed and their lackeys who suckle at the contributions (bribes) they hand out ( and that is both parties). You will see the co-sponsors change if they have to hand out more “contributions” to stop this, for that is what shapes policy ."
I do read your posts and agree with you. Keep up the great analysis.
I've got nothing against Greider personally. He is a very intelligent and personable guy and a damn good journalist, but he, fright face Nancy Pelosi, and the filmmakers of this clip seem to be hyping his book "Secrets of the Temple" for sales and possibly to keep the curious in the dark about much better resources out there.
Greider does not explain money and banking at all and rather seems to promote the illusion that the Fed is another department of the U.S. Government - Constitution Ave HQ, roman columns, Great Seal, American flag and all - (okay, maybe I am overreaching here) and cheer leads their interest rate decisions in detail. Greider doesn't even give a thorough analysis of the history of the creation of the Fed and the backgrounds of the players involved. Secrets of the Temple? Hardly.
Thanks for the clarification, I was a little confused with the direction you were heading. I do enjoy your posts
We cover all stories related to the institutionally dysfunctional, painfully inept and completely counter-productive taxpayer bailout of failed people, ideas, businesses, pensions, municipalities, states and ultimately, we fear, of our federal government.
Tell your friends about our site and what's going on in Washington. Help us spread the word about the immoral transfer of debt from failed, private banks directly onto the backs of your chldren. And to young people directly, seriously wake the f up, and realize that it's mostly your cash that's headed out the door.
Become a regular in our conversation if you can...I respect your passion.
All very sensible elements of a solution. Please stick around this site and join the discussion.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1578455/the_penny_king_advises_president_obama.html?singlepage=true&cat=9
I remember being in eighth grade economics and telling my liberal teacher in order to get a rise, " I don't care if the world's money supply is secretly run by 12 men, as long as I'm one of them and the others are Jews." It was supposed to be a joke. I'm not one of them and God knows, I'm not sure I want to know what they've been doing...
Here's what I want to know specifically and have written as much. We need to know about the assets in Maiden Lane 1,2 and 3.
http://dailybail.com/home/what-an-audit-of-the-fed-might-reveal-about-maiden-lane-i-ii.html
And we also deserve to know about the Asset Guarantees given to citi and BAC...$300 billion and $118 billion...
The fact that the head of the Fed Reserve does not even know where money went is truly alarming ! WHO IS MINDING THE STORE???? Why are apparently these people still sitting in the head chair? if they are not doing what they were appointed for??? Believe it's time the entire governmental protocol system is audited department by department and those not presenting results of their efforts should be deleted.....cut out those not performing, cut down employees who are in place and simply draining a paycheck....I'm sure there are plenty in every department....if those in place would do what they are supposed to do there would be less need for more people.......
The huge books given out with the current proposed budget should be reviewed by congress page by page, department by department.......each department should be under fire and scruteny for at least a month to clean out unnecessary spending and employees.......corruption of our government has reached an alarming high with no overseers to clamp down or keep correct protocol intact........our government is out of control big time.................and the American people feel stymied and unable to do anything about it since WE THE PEOPLE seem to have no say in what is needed to be done........what kind of governmen tis this?????? What WE THE PEOPLE decree or wish has no bearing on what is actually done or even attempted, is of no consequence, falls on dead ears..............
It's time WE THE PEOPLE become more aware of the corruption we are being governed by, the lies and coverups going on. It's time we demand to have more voice in how our money is spent, more voice in needs of the people since our leaders are seemingly unaware of our needs, and more voice in how the country is run. If our government can dole out billions and billions to other countries who in fact have more money than we do, yet our government cannot even feed the hungry, the destitute and homeless citizens of this country, something is very, very wrong in our government. Those in charge need to be held accountable financially, morally, and politically !! Start taking retribution out of their paychecks and cutting their benefits based on effective work efforts and see how fast they get back to reality!!! It appears John Behner and only one or two others "got the point" of how the public feels......it's time to stop playing games and do what needs to be done......
Obamacare is and will be a ruination of our entire basic economy. Information on waste in our present medical system has been published of an astounding amount and what should be viewed by government as an abomination! Yet nothing is being done or has been done about it! If the waste alone was monitored and stopped, billions would be saved for the program with the government spending less. REALITY! It appears the fraudulent medical business (insurance companies, doctors, hospitals, AMA, etc, etc.) is out of control and should be brought back into tow, someone is not doing their job in monitoring the apparent ongoing fraud and waste that occur every minute of EVERY day throughout the nation. Yet the government does not seem concerned or does not understand, or does not even care about this end of the medical problems !!!! Yes, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security have been shown as being the most costly programs in the pie, yet those in charge seem only interested in cutting the benefits and helping the people less, when cutting waste and putting more effort forth to monitor the wasteful activities would save more and would be a more sensible and less costely avenue in dealing with the issue........ Obamacare only entitles insurance companies, AMA, and the medical industry to greater avenues of draining more money from those in the public sector yet offering less needed medical coverage, it only entitles them to do less for more money at the expense of lives of the needy in time of illness; i.e., it only provides and legalizes more avenues of less medical help for more money as already proven ----- and the program has not yet even started in full force!!......we are putting the lives of WE THE PEOPLE at stake just to give more to insurance companies and the medical industry who are already draining the people with no monitoring of their routines, they make their own laws, manipulate loopholes and the system, and the American people have to suffer with the situation since we have no say in what needs to be done or should be done......the people have spoken, government is aware of what the people want, yet what the people want is of no concern to our leaders........we are apparently on the road to genocide at the hand of one person! who is usurping the power of the office and shoving it down the throats of the American people.......we see this discussed every day on TV, everyone knows the negativity, the unrest, and the wish of the people for repeal that Obamacare has generated.......yet government will drag their feet for years in carrying out the WILL OF THE PEOPLE !!!! This is pure idiocy, irresponsibility!! Do wishes of the majority of the people have no meaning???? Apparently not!!! There should be no question or problems in issuing a repeal, but acting as always government and our judicial system will play around with the problem, will allow it to begin the first phase, will allow more hardship and suffering to begin, while they sit back and draw their paychecks and benefits with no concern for the urgency of the situation!! This is only biding for time as once it goes into effect they believe it will remain and there will be no problem......duh....again, people not doing anything, playing around, unconcerned of the needs of the people and of the nation..... how sad that we have allowed our nation to come to the condition we are now living in.........
The present administration is playing with fire......duping the people. Speeches are pretty, they sound good with all the charisma poured on, promises are made, but with no action, no followup with results, no concern for emergent needs of the nation and of the people! Yes, one needs to consider the future and progress for the nation, but when things are so bad that people in America are having financial problems with even having enough food to eat and a home, having problems with even the bare essentials of life itself and government not wishing to address the issues, something is very wrong that needs fixed now and to h..... with the future!!!! The public is becoming more and more frustrated, angry, they are on the verge of waking up and God help us when they do wake up and realize they need to do something to end the corruption!!!! I'm concerned that what we have just witnessed in Egypt will at some point occur in this country.......has this occurred to anyone else? Obama said in his speech that this "has not occurred here YET", did anyone else catch that?........for some reason the entire world is at a turning point in time, this is becoming more apparent every day and this unrest is spreading over great areas quickly. If America is to remain great, stable, and the leader over all, something has to be done and fast! And if the government is not willing to do anything to bring order and solidarity, then perhaps it is time WE THE PEOPLE step up to the plate. When nothing else works or has obtained needed results, government will not listen, what other recourse will the people have? Our national checkbook is supposedly now out of money come March 4, we are in the red, we are out of balance, we are "giving" more to others than we give to our own and this is pure insanity, it cannot be continued if we are to stabilize !!!!! It seems our government is more concerned about "world" problems rather than problems in our own back door with people in this country living on streets, people in this country unable to afford decent medical care, people in this country unable to eat or maintain housing with no avenue of help or hope, no efforts on the part of the government to resolve problems and suffering of the people.......charity and caring is supposed to start at home! They can give away billions yet gripe and cut out about any amount of help given to WE THE PEOPLE who should be the top priority ..... if the essentials are cut from the people in this nation, they will only give more to people in other nations!!. Are the people expected to sit back and swallow this?
It is apparent that those in our government have no idea of the problems in our nation, no idea of needs of the people, no feeling of responsibility or patriotism in performing substantially for the people of our great nation! They seem to care more about what goes on in other countries! The circus that goes on before the public now is absurd, cruel, undiplomatic, out of reality and out of control......anything goes, wrong is right, temper tantrums in public view......what kind of government is this! How can this government expect WE THE PEOPLE to put up with this much longer ???? Have we stooped so low that we no longer care??? What has happened to our morals and values, our enthusiasm to work harder to make things better???
In this perilous time with all the problems going on in other nations, and with the condition of our nation, it is time for this administration and those in congress to forget political parties and work together to get America back up and running to its full potential.....government needs to wake up, we are on a dangerous ledge and ready to topple over, the country has gone to the dogs as they say, we are physically and mentally deteriorating.....our leaders need to cut the bickering, cut the circus act and partying and do whatever it takes to break the downfall of our nation..........planning for the future will be of no consequence if we deteriorate much further.........we have reached the pivotal point of no return.......
God be with us all even though we have forgotten Him.......WAKE UP, AMERICA !!!!
BTW, suicide means the destruction of the host, i.e., the United States.
Conan, editor of Loudping as found via NewsBlok
They still refuse to comply in spite of federal court orders to do an accounting.
The Fed Reserve steals from their own citizens AND from Native American Indians who are also citizens.
The case is still in court and the Indians are DEMANDING an accounting of the trust land money. The Fed Reserve doesn't want this accounting to happen because their fraud to their own people will also be exposed:
http://www.americanbanker.com/people/elouise-cobell-obituary-1043251-1.html
Now US citizens know what it feels like to be CHEATED like Native American Indians have been for centuries.
The FED has even more power today than in 2009. The banks are even bigger. Wall Street is the primary source of funding for AIPAC's operations. AIPAC acts as the funnel for campaign contributions and other bribes that flow to Washington. AiPAC in turn ensures that the source of money, the Wall STreet ponzi scheme operates to maximize the profits since it is % of profits that gets redistributed to Washington through AIPAC.
As long as AIPAC and sister organizations are allowed to operate in Washington, nothing will change.