I got a question about QE

[QEHedge]

It seems to me that the Federal Reserve has the ability to print vast quantities of money into the economy simply by making it appear out of thin air. But this causes Inflation.

Is there a committee or organization that overlooks what the federal reserve does? Or are they higher than government and other entities?

Because lets be realistic , if you had a money printer , wouldn't you just go absolutely nuts with it and distribute back to the population at interest?

[arklan]

federal reserve, despite the name, isn't a part of the government, they're separate from it. and, effectively, yea, they're the final authority on printing money. ...sort of.

see, they don't print it, the mint's do, for coin, and the bureau of engraving and printing does for bills, at least as far as physical ones go. obviously not all money is physical...

the federal reserve effectively loans the government money by, yes, creating it out of nothing. the government is then supposed to pay it back with interest, which is where the fed's changing rates to effect the economy and inflation coems from, if i understand it right.

these loans are then used as limits on what can be printed or spent.

i'm probably horribly, horribly wrong, by the way. don't take anything i'm saying here as hard truth.

but yes, they're effectively the final word.

...except for banks. you've heard of fractional reserve banking? a bank has 10,000 dollars init's holdings, but can loan out 100,000, say.  well, what happens when bob gets a loan from Bank A and deposits it at Bank B? bank B add's it to it's holdings of course. which it can loan against...

but that's getting quite off topic...

[QEHedge]

federal reserve, despite the name, isn't a part of the government, they're separate from it. and, effectively, yea, they're the final authority on printing money. ...sort of.

see, they don't print it, the mint's do, for coin, and the bureau of engraving and printing does for bills, at least as far as physical ones go. obviously not all money is physical...

the federal reserve effectively loans the government money by, yes, creating it out of nothing. the government is then supposed to pay it back with interest, which is where the fed's changing rates to effect the economy and inflation coems from, if i understand it right.

these loans are then used as limits on what can be printed or spent.

i'm probably horribly, horribly wrong, by the way. don't take anything i'm saying here as hard truth.

but yes, they're effectively the final word.

...except for banks. you've heard of fractional reserve banking? a bank has 10,000 dollars init's holdings, but can loan out 100,000, say.  well, what happens when bob gets a loan from Bank A and deposits it at Bank B? bank B add's it to it's holdings of course. which it can loan against...

but that's getting quite off topic...

But wait , who oversees the Mint? And how do we know that they aren't the ones maliciously printing money? Like i said before if you have the ability to print money freely , I'm sure a majority of us would use this power maliciously. (I'm sure i would print out a couple trillion dollars and buy up all the land in an area and now i control that)

And if a majority of money is digital at this point , Whats to stop them from adding a bunch of extra zeroes to a fake bank account that they control and use that to buy up stuff in the economy? Wells Fargo has been caught making fake accounts , whats to stop the others from doing the same?

[alyssa85]

It seems to me that the Federal Reserve has the ability to print vast quantities of money into the economy simply by making it appear out of thin air. But this causes Inflation.

Is there a committee or organization that overlooks what the federal reserve does? Or are they higher than government and other entities?

Because lets be realistic , if you had a money printer , wouldn't you just go absolutely nuts with it and distribute back to the population at interest?

Yes. Congress. The Ways and Means Committe of the House of Representatives is responsible for overseeing the Fed and requires them to give public testimoney and answer questions regularly.

Regarding inflation: it's not as simple as simply printing money. Inflation is the the quantity of money multipled by the velocity of money. (Velocity of money is how fast the money circulates in the economy).

It's been noticable that since the Great Financial Crash, velocity has colllapsed. People are paying down debt which means money essentially disappears rather than circulate. It's only when people feel confident enough to go on spending sprees will inflation return.

[QEHedge]

It seems to me that the Federal Reserve has the ability to print vast quantities of money into the economy simply by making it appear out of thin air. But this causes Inflation.

Is there a committee or organization that overlooks what the federal reserve does? Or are they higher than government and other entities?

Because lets be realistic , if you had a money printer , wouldn't you just go absolutely nuts with it and distribute back to the population at interest?

Yes. Congress. The Ways and Means Committe of the House of Representatives is responsible for overseeing the Fed and requires them to give public testimoney and answer questions regularly.

Regarding inflation: it's not as simple as simply printing money. Inflation is the the quantity of money multipled by the velocity of money. (Velocity of money is how fast the money circulates in the economy).

It's been noticable that since the Great Financial Crash, velocity has colllapsed. People are paying down debt which means money essentially disappears rather than circulate. It's only when people feel confident enough to go on spending sprees will inflation return.

But i quote from Alan Greenspan "The Federal Reserve is an independent agency and that basically means uh , There is no agency of Government which can overrule actions that we take"

So how does this make sense?

[xen1oph]

The Federal Reserve is above the government. Unfortunately, we cannot control them now...

[exstasie]

Yes. Congress. The Ways and Means Committe of the House of Representatives is responsible for overseeing the Fed and requires them to give public testimoney and answer questions regularly.

But i quote from Alan Greenspan "The Federal Reserve is an independent agency and that basically means uh , There is no agency of Government which can overrule actions that we take"

So how does this make sense?

The government doesn't have control over the Fed's day-to-day actions. They can't be "overruled" in that way. However, the Fed's governing board is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, so over the long term, Congress and the Executive have oversight and control over the Fed.

[QEHedge]

Yes. Congress. The Ways and Means Committe of the House of Representatives is responsible for overseeing the Fed and requires them to give public testimoney and answer questions regularly.

Regarding inflation: it's not as simple as simply printing money. Inflation is the the quantity of money multipled by the velocity of money. (Velocity of money is how fast the money circulates in the economy).

It's been noticable that since the Great Financial Crash, velocity has colllapsed. People are paying down debt which means money essentially disappears rather than circulate. It's only when people feel confident enough to go on spending sprees will inflation return.

Yes. Congress. The Ways and Means Committe of the House of Representatives is responsible for overseeing the Fed and requires them to give public testimoney and answer questions regularly.

But i quote from Alan Greenspan "The Federal Reserve is an independent agency and that basically means uh , There is no agency of Government which can overrule actions that we take"

So how does this make sense?

The government doesn't have control over the Fed's day-to-day actions. They can't be "overruled" in that way. However, the Fed's governing board is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, so over the long term, Congress and the Executive have oversight and control over the Fed.

How do they have oversight? It doesn't look like they need to answer to anyone because Bernanke lost 500B and they had no idea where it went. How is that even possible that someone could just magically lose 500B and not have kept track of it.

If that were you or i , that would be a crime. Doesn't look like they have oversight or control realistically.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

Is there a committee or organization that overlooks what the federal reserve does? Or are they higher than government and other entities?

Officially the Fed isn't even part of the government if I understand it correctly, kind of like the post office.  

And also if I'm understanding things right, the president oversees what the Fed does, as does Congress.  Fed chairmen have been hauled before Congress before to explain what the hell it is that they're doing, although nobody seem to have a problem with all of this money printing and Quantitative Robbery committed against the fine, tax-paying residents of the US.

These jokers are just kicking the can down the road as far as they can possibly manage, and it's our grandkids who are going to be wondering who was in charge of things 30 ago in 2012-2019.  And yet inflation isn't a real problem yet.  I'm just waiting for it to start becoming one, and I'm waiting to see when the Social Security program finally goes bankrupt.  Can't be long now.

However, the Fed's governing board is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, so over the long term, Congress and the Executive have oversight and control over the Fed.

Ah, I'm going to assume you know more than I do because I'm an idiot when it comes to all things government-related.

[blckhawk]

Printing crazy would make hyperinflation, which is worse that normal inflation. Though they still has to make cash out of thin air, since inflation is intended to be made. One theory suggests that inflation, while reducing the purchasing power, makes people actually use money, since they know that if they just hoard it, it would become less valuable and therefore, could only purchase fewer products.

If deflationary is used (such as Bitcoin), then there would be a tendency that when the prices got so high, people would not actually use the currency, but instead just hoard it, making it useless.

[eaLiTy]

It seems to me that the Federal Reserve has the ability to print vast quantities of money into the economy simply by making it appear out of thin air. But this causes Inflation.

There should be a clarity in this, the truth is that the Federal reserves has no control over the printing of paper currency but the Treasury control and operates the presses that print the currency, the part Federal Reserve play is to credit and loan money and control the reserve ratio which means the Federal reserve control the money supply and not the creation of paper currency.
I know it is confusing, the Federal Reserve has the ability to create credits out of thin air and if that means creating money out of thin air then it is possible with the federal reserve.

Is there a committee or organization that overlooks what the federal reserve does? Or are they higher than government and other entities?

Bureau of Engraving and Printing in short BEP a government agency within the treasury department overlooks everything including the design security and the number of currency to be printed and they are responsible for all the government security documents but coins are not under BEP control as they are minted by United States Mint which is another department under treasury.

Because lets be realistic , if you had a money printer , wouldn't you just go absolutely nuts with it and distribute back to the population at interest?

Federal Open Market Committee assess the supply of money and economic situation and the amount of money created depends on the countries GDP and if the government do not oversee these then hyperinflation will take over like they happened in Zimbabwe and Venezuela.

PS: i tried to explain the best i can, hope some can understand. If there is a mistake i am open to learn.

[Hydrogen]

Is there a committee or organization that overlooks what the federal reserve does? Or are they higher than government and other entities?

Every so often, a US politician like Ron Paul who proposes an "audit the Fed" campaign. I think that summarizes how aware former congressman like Ron Paul are of the Fed's activities. The federal reserve is privately owned and an integral part of the banking cartel establishment, with zero oversight or accountability.

Andrew Jackson was one US President known for waging war against US central banks. If one can figure out which demographic owned past US central banks, they might deduce who owns the current one: the federal reserve.

While the President can appoint people to head the federal reserve. The appointees are always part of what might be labeled "the banker's guild". They come from a banking background and were previously groomed for the job, which greatly reduces any influence a US President or politician might have for making the appointment.

IMO anyway feel free to agree/disagree.

Because lets be realistic , if you had a money printer , wouldn't you just go absolutely nuts with it and distribute back to the population at interest?

If I had a money printer, ruling elites would unleash an army of hookers on me. Give me lavish gifts. Perhaps resort to blackmail or coercion to influence me into doing their bidding. While this might sound somewhat extreme, it could represent a standard practice. Anyone in that position could be under tremendous pressure to cater to special interests. Perhaps one neglected aspect to circumstances which goes unacknowledged.

[alyssa85]

But i quote from Alan Greenspan "The Federal Reserve is an independent agency and that basically means uh , There is no agency of Government which can overrule actions that we take"

So how does this make sense?

Nobody can overrule the actions the Fed takes. But they can force out the board members and replace them with people who can change the actions at the next Fed meeting...

The president appoints Fed board members (including the Chairman of the Fed) and Congress has to ratify the appointments.

So they can effect change if they badly want to just by changing the personnel....

[QEHedge]

Is there a committee or organization that overlooks what the federal reserve does? Or are they higher than government and other entities?

Every so often, a US politician like Ron Paul who proposes an "audit the Fed" campaign. I think that summarizes how aware former congressman like Ron Paul are of the Fed's activities. The federal reserve is privately owned and an integral part of the banking cartel establishment, with zero oversight or accountability.

Andrew Jackson was one US President known for waging war against US central banks. If one can figure out which demographic owned past US central banks, they might deduce who owns the current one: the federal reserve.

While the President can appoint people to head the federal reserve. The appointees are always part of what might be labeled "the banker's guild". They come from a banking background and were previously groomed for the job, which greatly reduces any influence a US President or politician might have for making the appointment.

IMO anyway feel free to agree/disagree.

Because lets be realistic , if you had a money printer , wouldn't you just go absolutely nuts with it and distribute back to the population at interest?

If I had a money printer, ruling elites would unleash an army of hookers on me. Give me lavish gifts. Perhaps resort to blackmail or coercion to influence me into doing their bidding. While this might sound somewhat extreme, it could represent a standard practice. Anyone in that position could be under tremendous pressure to cater to special interests. Perhaps one neglected aspect to circumstances which goes unacknowledged.

That makes sense to me. Put your friends in positions of power , so they can work together instead of against each other. I'm sure there is a lot of responsibility behind the roles of the Federal Reserve but i think that trust and corruption don't go hand in hand and those who have the ability to print money or create credit out of thin air and cause recessions + depressions are ultimately the ones who are in control of the world. There are others in this thread who think that there is oversight but i don't believe that anyone in that position of power has oversight because if they did , they could just print money and have that person / entity executed / blackmailed etc...

Or maybe they make their own entity that provides "oversight" but they control them too , so they answer to no one but the Federal Reserve itself. Thats what i would do if i had that position of power anyways.

It seems to me that the Federal Reserve has the ability to print vast quantities of money into the economy simply by making it appear out of thin air. But this causes Inflation.

There should be a clarity in this, the truth is that the Federal reserves has no control over the printing of paper currency but the Treasury control and operates the presses that print the currency, the part Federal Reserve play is to credit and loan money and control the reserve ratio which means the Federal reserve control the money supply and not the creation of paper currency.
I know it is confusing, the Federal Reserve has the ability to create credits out of thin air and if that means creating money out of thin air then it is possible with the federal reserve.

Is there a committee or organization that overlooks what the federal reserve does? Or are they higher than government and other entities?

Bureau of Engraving and Printing in short BEP a government agency within the treasury department overlooks everything including the design security and the number of currency to be printed and they are responsible for all the government security documents but coins are not under BEP control as they are minted by United States Mint which is another department under treasury.

Because lets be realistic , if you had a money printer , wouldn't you just go absolutely nuts with it and distribute back to the population at interest?

Federal Open Market Committee assess the supply of money and economic situation and the amount of money created depends on the countries GDP and if the government do not oversee these then hyperinflation will take over like they happened in Zimbabwe and Venezuela.

PS: i tried to explain the best i can, hope some can understand. If there is a mistake i am open to learn.

But what if the Bureau of Engraving and Printing or treasury only answers to the Federal Reserve and no one else? Because like i said above if i had a position of power like this , I would put my friends in those positions and i would do everything in my power to make sure that they follow what i say and not what anyone else (even in positions of power) says.

"Permit me to issue and control the money of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws!"

Mayer Amschel Rothschild

[Broly46]

QE just some foolishly selfish decision made by the banking empire, it’s not up for something good, federal reserve has been stealing gold, causing irresponsible inflation, lifting the gold dollar standard without notice, housing bubble, derivative market bubble and bailout banking at the cost of entire population.
Do you still have faith on one shameless and rampant liar who has done every financial crime imaginable and still can get away scot-free?

[abhiseshakana]

QE = Quantitive Easing
Quantitive Easing is a package of monetary policies taken to stimulate the economy when interest rates reach almost zero percent, this is done to avoid the risk of deflation.

How The Fed Controls Monetary Through Mechanisms

- Open market operations
If you want to increase the money supply, the central bank buys the securities it owns. Conversely, if you want to reduce, the central bank will sell government securities to the public. If too much money is circulated, it will cause the prices of goods and services to rise so that inflation is high. Meanwhile, when the money supply is too little, the economy becomes sluggish.

- Statutory Reserve Requirement
The statutory reserve is a deposit fund that must be maintained by a commercial bank in the form of a checking account balance placed at the central bank. SRR is used as a tool to tighten or loosen liquidity. If the central bank wants to tighten liquidity, the reserve requirement is raised. So that more commercial banks save in the central bank. Conversely, if you want to relax liquidity, the central bank reduces the reserve requirement.

- Controlling interest rates
Represents the interest rate charged to commercial banks for loans received from the central bank.

The mechanism is that the Central Bank buys bonds owned by the government. It aims to increase the money circulating in the market so that commercial banks can distribute credit for business loans.

The increase in the dollar circulating in the market will certainly cause a weakening of the value of the dollar against other currencies but has a positive impact on the real economy. the positive side of the weakening dollar is the increasingly competitive economy in the real sector such as increased export transactions, domestic consumption, and investment in the productive sector.

The application of QE at the beginning of the 2008 crisis proved gradually able to restore the economic condition of the United States. Until now the Fed has not yet done quantitive easing even though in September 2019 it was conducting market operations (purchase agreement).

Ref: https://www.stlouisfed.org/in-plain-english/how-monetary-policy-works

[exstasie]

The government doesn't have control over the Fed's day-to-day actions. They can't be "overruled" in that way. However, the Fed's governing board is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, so over the long term, Congress and the Executive have oversight and control over the Fed.

How do they have oversight?

By removing them from office at the end of their term. There is no statutory limit on the number of terms a Fed chair could serve otherwise.

It may also be possible for the President to remove the Fed chair or governing board member during their term "for cause," although this hasn't been done before: https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/trump-legally-fire-jerome-powell-federal-reserve-chairman

It doesn't look like they need to answer to anyone because Bernanke lost 500B and they had no idea where it went. How is that even possible that someone could just magically lose 500B and not have kept track of it.

What are you referring to exactly? This? https://www.rt.com/usa/federal-reserve-trillion-loss-565/

He came in right before the worst recession in our lifetimes. What else would you expect in a huge economic contraction like that?

[alani123]

What's been happening with the FED lately is that they have taken over the repo market. It's odd to see that they would have to rush to fill the need for overnight liquidity for banks. It's for their own rules that banks had to have this liquidity, and now the free market can't provide it at an affordable rate? It's not exactly printing of money of the FED issues some bonds or buybacks to provide liquidity, but this all hints to an unsustainable system that is only a few steps  behind a global crisis again. Such is fractional reserve banking.

[mindrust]

The only only way to fight these motherfuckers is creating an alternative economy/financial system to theirs.

Normally this was gold but some people are too thick to understand that it is impossible to transfer physical gold in a reasonable time frame.

Bitcoin is our chance.

No printing, no inflation (other than what the miners create), the total supply is fixed and can't be changed and most importantly, can't be stopped.

Everything a perfect financial sytem should be in one pack.

[Harriti]

It seems to me that the Federal Reserve has the ability to print vast quantities of money into the economy simply by making it appear out of thin air. But this causes Inflation.

Is there a committee or organization that overlooks what the federal reserve does? Or are they higher than government and other entities?

Because lets be realistic , if you had a money printer , wouldn't you just go absolutely nuts with it and distribute back to the population at interest?

The printing of money or not must be approved by a series of senior members of the Fed's financial system. To print money, it must meet the standard conditions to be allowed to print money and that will make the country develop in the most stable way. All need rules because they are always calculated on the currency index system of each country. but those things are so macro, only when we work there can we understand everything. And free printing will not happen unless the Fed wants to kill itself.