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The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

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Federal Reserve needs to be more accountable

By Sabriel Harris

The Federal Reserve: not federal, not a reserve and not a bank. Do you know what it is? It seems very few people do. Now I’m not claiming this is some government conspiracy they’re trying to hide. In fact, I am glad to live in this free country and enjoy all the rights and privileges that come with it8212;but I definitely believe that there are things the government is not telling us.

The Federal Reserve is the central banking system of the United States and was created by the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. It controls the money supply by setting interest rates at every level of lending. It prints or holds cash according to what it thinks is in the best interest of the economy. The Fed answers to no one, but all the banks answer to it. It has never been audited, giving it limitless power over the single most important component of our society.

Kathy Smith, former director of Utah Commission on Volunteers who now serves on the Layton City Council, said, “The Federal Reserve System is beyond any oversight or accountability, and that needs to change. Representative Ron Paul, R-Texas, has a bill in Congress that would provide for an annual audit of the Federal Reserve. That’s a good place to start. Our nation is founded on representative government and, as a local elected official, I account to every voter in my city. To whom does the Federal Reserve report? No one!”

The Fed injected $1 trillion into the country’s economy in March, pulling money from “foreign currency trades.” If it was that easy, why are we still in a recession? And if the Fed can just keep printing cash like it is, our economy should be filled to the brim with our worthless dollars. House Bill 1207, which Ron Paul introduced to Congress, could bring to light the dirty laundry of the Fed and allow the people8212;those who give the Fed its power8212;to be enlightened about this obscure branch of the banking world. The official objective of the bill, also known as the Federal Reserve Transparency Act, is “to abolish the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Reserve banks, to repeal the Federal Reserve Act, and for other purposes.”

We live in a republic, or at least I thought we did. When did we vote for a system that has almost nothing to do with our actual government to have this much control over our money? The media need to make public exactly what the Fed is and where our money is coming from and going to. We need to make educated decisions8212;this institution can be brought down if we are aware. We, as students and adults, are the future of this country. Be informed and be aware and we can get this bill passed.

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