Federal-Reserve-Bank

This book explains the SCAM! The federal tax code book says that income taxes are collected as a voluntary contribution, then why are we "forced" to pay, this book is the door way to freedom!!!

This book describes the insidious threats undertaken by a select group of moneyed powers to destroy our Constitutional rights given to Congress in the control of money, regulating its value, and the right of the country's money supply belonging to its citizens.

The author does an excellent analysis of the British intent to destroy America's fledgling financial dreams of a money system for the people and created by the people. Through its agents of Jay Cooke & Co., the Rothschilds and the traitorous Senator from Ohio John Sherman (brother of Gen. Wm. T. Sherman) the rise of the national banks and their sole intent to destroy the Constitution by controlling and regulating the supply and value of the country's money. Drawing on numerous 'hidden' sources -- memos, letters, etc. -- the book describes exceedingly well the worst in political and financial corruption encountered in the 19th Century.

This book explains the dialectics of money power eloquently and scholarly. Concentrating mainly on the 19th Century (it is a little weak on the Hamilton, Jefferson and Morris discussions first exposing the differences in financial power prior to 1792 and the discussions in determing what a dollar or 'unit' consists) nevertheless, it rightfully places Andrew Jackson as perhaps the greatest president in exposing the corruption of the (Second) Bank of the United States and the seditious acts of those associated with it (or instance its president Nicholas Biddle, et al.) and most importantly, providing the clarion warning call to all 19th, 20th and 21st Century sons of liberty that giving away the people's control of the money system is the primary constitutional threat to sovereignty this country faces.

The state banking era (1837 to 1862) however is not properly addressed (perhaps the author believed this was the era in which decentralized banking practices were in accord with the intent of those who framed the Constitution -- we will never know), and neither is there a full expose of those individual interests in forming the power basis of national banks with the exception of the secret meetings of John Sherman (in 1867) with British financiers. Obviously, at the time the book was written, the national banks had completely corrupted the financial system to the point where so much of the system's weaknesses were blatantly noticable by all (debters and creditors alike) but those very few who derived maximum benefit. The state banking era was but a temporary memory between the interlude between the collapse of the corrupt (second) Bank of the US and the rise of the corrupt national banking system (which was in guise a reincarnation at a tempt at a central banking system -- the National Banking Association in NY called the shots much like today's Fed. Res. system).

The 1862 to 1875 period is rightfully exposed as the most politically and financially corrupt period of the national banking era. Until 1873 gold and silver bullion was freely coined into money on account of the depositer at the mint, thereafter, on the account of the US Treasury. The mysterious circumstances surrounding the congressional passage of the Act of Feb. 12, 1873 is exposed and evidence is presented on why so many in Congress changed their voting records to promote passage of this act. Furthermore, the big mystery of why the silver dollar was deleted from the list of coins to be made on the final draft of the bill remains today. The effects of this would shape the debate between the silver and gold interests until 1900. Thereby, 1873 is rightfully exposed by the author as the last year the US could be a creditor nation, thereafter it was indebted to those interests who controlled politics and finances. With most of the later quarter of the 19th century the moneyed interests attempted to destroy the greenbacks (Resumption Act of 1875) and government financial instruments in hopes to promoting a debt based financial system where the money does not belong to the people but must be had through the banks at high rates of interest.

To a great extent the national banking system brought about a system that succeeded in creating a central banking power controlling the political and financial system in the country. While the forms change with time, legal prowess and the vagaries of the Supreme Court, the insidious greed of the heart finds new modes of concentrating money and power.

In summation, the book is an excellent scholarly written overview on the rise of the banking system of this country. Numismatic researchers of both coin and financial paper too will find it highly rewarding. It is highly recommended.

"The world is governed by far different personages than what is imagined by those not behind the scenes"--Benjamin Disraeli "Those unaware are unaware of being unaware"--Merrill Jenkins, Monetary Realist. For nearlyone-half century, the news industry strove to keep us fearful of a being enslaved by a country that we were feeding and financing and this was absurd! President James A. Garfield (1831-1881) stated:"Whoever controls the volume of money in any country is absolute master of all commerce and industry"( including the news industry) He was shot. It is apparent that the total effort of those in power is to control the volume of money by all means fair and foul so that they will remain our absolute masters. This message concerns the controlling of the volume of money. There were people who hated the U.S. Constitution as it was being written and there has always been such people since it was ratified over 200 years ago. Congress was granted the power to provide penalties for counterfeiting. Naturally, counterfeiters don't want either interference or penalties. Nevertheless, in the Mint Act of April 2, 1792, Congress provided a penalty of death for officers of the mint who might participate in debasing our gold and silver coinage. This harsh penalty was deemed necessary because those wise men knew that unrestrained counterfeiters could overthrow the republic. Where are we now? FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF RICHMOND, KEYNES ON INFLATION, PG.6 KEYNES IS QUOTED FROM HIS BOOK, ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF PEACE. " LENIN IS SAID TO HAVE DECLARED THAT THE BEST WAY TO DESTROY THE CAPITALIST SYSTEM WAS TO DEBAUCH THE CURRENCY. BY A CONTINUING PROCESS OF INFLATION, GOVERNMENTS CAN CONFISCATE SECRETLY AND UNOBSERVED, AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE WEALTH OF THEIR CITIZENS. BY THIS METHOD THEY NOT ONLY CONFISCATE, BUT THEY CONFISCATE ARBITRARILY. AND WHILE THE PROCESS IMPOVERISHES MANY, IT ACTUALLY ENRICHES SOME. LENIN WAS CERTAINLY RIGHT. THERE IS NO SUBTLER, NO SURER MEANS OF OVERTURNING THE EXISTING BASIS IF SOCIETY THAN TO DEBAUCH THE CURRENCY. THE PROCESS ENGAGES ALL THE HIDDEN FORCES OF ECONOMIC LAW ON THE SIDE OF DESTRUCTION, AND DOES IT IN A MANER IN WHICH NOT ONE MAN IN A MILLION IS ABLE TO DIAGNOSE." FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF RICHMOND, KEYNES ON INFLATION, PG.10 KEYNES IS QUOTED FROM HIS BOOK, TRACT "Keynes argues that inflation is a method of taxation, which the government uses to secure the command over real resources. Resources just as real as those obtained by ordinary taxation. What is raised by printing notes is just as much taken from the public as is a beer duty or an income tax. A government can live by this means when it can live by no other. It is a form of taxation which the public finds hardest to evade and even the weakest government can enforce when it can enforce nothing else."

Broz provides an easy to read text. His premises are clear, leading to true understanding. I've read much on this subject, but never such a complete work. It is as economical as can be expected; and I would argue more general than others have claimed. I highly suggest this book, and thank Dr. Broz for his contribution.

Broz's "The International Origins of the Federal Reserve System" is a excellent example of how single-case qualitative empirical research should be done. By providing a detailed formal theory framework, Broz is able to derive specific hypothesis about the development of the Federal Reserve in a manner that is both scientifically rigorous and historically detailed. While comparison with other cases would have been helpful (and neccessary if the model is to be generalized), this book is one of the best qualitative works in political science in general and political economy in particular in years.

You can't find a more accessible text for this topic. I have scoured the librarys of academia and find that this text is not only readable and enjoyable, but it is superior in its treatment of subject matter. A look at the index will tell any reader that Mr. Broz's volume is the compleat guide.

Don't miss your chance to read this welcoming introductory text.

As a rabid anti rat. choice and game theorist, I was initially skeptical of this book. But I think it introduces fair ideas in laymen's terms. Now I know my enemy just a little bit better, and he smells like peanut butter.

This book should be required reading for any middle class American.Martin Larson takes us throught the creation of the banking cartel called the Federal Reserve System. Larson shows how the Fed manipuates interest rates and artificially creates depressions and resessions. He shows howthe printing of worthless fiat(paper)money destroys the credit, and true value of a nation.Larson goes through the arguements for and against fiat money and shows how a currency based on metals( gold, silver)is the only true constitutional money. With quotes and a chapter on Thomas Jefferson we see how the Third president was a prophet when it came to debt, inflation and banks. A great buy.

Greenbacks is an intriguing story about the President of theUnited States, and a political science student who uncovers frightningrevelations regarding the Federal Reserve. This information has serious implications that effect the balance of power and national security in America. Although this is a work of fiction, the author allows us to suspend reality and go on this suspensful journey, to see if ultimately good will prevail over greed and evil. Although some parts were a bit unbelievable, they were necessary for the story to work. It was a real page turner!

T. C. Powers describes a plausible model of how the American capitalist economy works at the macro level. He then goes on to compare the predictions of the model to actual economic performance data over the last 100 years. The main independent variable in Powers' model is "leakage", which is money paid out (as wages and profits) by the composite producer for production of GNP that is not paid back as consumption of GNP. Powers shows that leakage is the main cause of three major economic woes: slow growth, unemployment and inflation. Powers' model shows _how_ leakage works and how the data confirm the predictions of the model. Powers describes two main sources of leakage: the tight money policies of the Federal Reserve Bank and extreme maldistribution of income. The book makes a convincing case for the importance of looking for ways to plug up the leaks in the economy in order to unleash the full potential of capitalist productivity.

For the realtively uninitiated. These days, anything related to the Austrian school of economics is worth al least looking at. Rothbard is a bit extreme, proposing that un-backed credit creation is equivalent to counterfeiting. In my opinion there is a difference, since money supply based solely on credit can evaporate into bad debt write-offs if a credit bubble bursts, while money supply cannot evaporate if based on the issuance of counterfeit currency. Nevertheless, this is interesting material in a concise book with no fluff. If you're reading a dozen books on the Fed and money, this might as well be one of them.

Ever since the creation of the Federal Reserve Board ("the Fed"), the American economy has been subject to a cycle of boom and bust. Most recently, we saw a bubble in technology stocks in general and telecommunication stocks in particular, fueled by the creation of credit. But no one wants to blame the culprit -- the Fed. Why has an institution that was created allegedly to bring stability to the economy caused such havoc? Equally importantly, why is an institution that has so much power so unaccountable?

Murray Rothbard (1926-1995) provides in this book an outstanding discussion of money, banking, the Fed, and U.S. monetary policy. As usual, Rothbard sees the "big picture." There was no need for a central bank, however the Banksters ' in combination with Big Business and Big Intellectuals -- pushed for the creation of the Fed. Rothbard's discussion of the battles between the Rockefellers and the House of Morgan is fascinating. (See his Wall Street, Banks and American Foreign Policy for a more elaborate discussion of this great "conspiracy" in U.S. history.)

The foundation for this work is Austrian economic theory. Through fractional reserve banking ' which is little more than legal counterfeiting ' banks are permitted to print new money, thus creating inflation. Yet the central insight of Austrian theory is that this creation of money doesn't simply increase prices, but distorts the cycle of production as it works its way through the economy. This creates the boom and bust cycles that have plagued our economy.

For a more detailed discussion of many of the issues raised in this book, the interested reader should consult Rothbard's The Mystery of Banking.

Murray Rothbard once again cuts through the popular dogma and conventional knowledge which government would prefer we all simply take on faith. In this case, the subject is money and the creation of it. Rothbard, an exceptional economist, showcases his ability to set aside the technical jargon and higher mathematics of the profession in favor of language accessible to everyone. In "The Case Against the Fed," Professor Rothbard examines the roots of money, as a commodity with subjective value which, because of wide-spread acceptance and other desireable qualities, becomes a medium of exchange for a people. Furthermore, he exposes the government's, via the Federal Reserve, monopolization of money. Rothbard shows how the Fed uses the power of the printing press to tax the people via inflation, to redistribute income, and to artificailly lower the interest rate leading to the infamous "business cycle" and the roller coaster of depressions and booms which our eceonomy is regualraly subjected to. Anyone who is concerned about the purchasing power of their income and about the unemployment which the business cycle regularly brings should read this book. Professor Rothbard portrays the federal government as what it is: the self-proclaimed, legitimate counterfeiter

There seem to be two points of view on this book. Some think it is conspiracy theory nonsense. The second group think it reveals a secret cabal of financiers who stretch back centuries and run the financial system, and have kept the common man in penury through their evil machinations.

Unsurprisingly, my view is that the truth is halfway between these two positions. In my opinion, it is critically important for any reader of this book to read and understand the "Austrian" economic school's position on central banking. There is not space to go into the relevant conclusions - just read Rothbard's "The case against the Fed", "What has the government done to our money?", and von Mises "The theory of money and credit", and you will have a good idea.

Almost all Griffin's points against the Fed are contained in the works listed above.

The rest of his argument is mixed. Institutions like the IMF and World Bank, supposedly created to help cure poverty and world financial instability, are almost certainly disastrous for poor people and the world economy (I say this as a pro-free trade free-marketeer btw). Wars create great opportunities for financially literate speculators, and for governments to benefit at the expense of the common man, from harmful inflation and debt issuance. This does not mean, as Griffin claims, that such crises were created deliberately for this reason.

Furthermore, Griffin makes some entirely speculative claims about the UN and world banking system, implying that it is all part of some grand Fabian scheme to take over the world. Now this may have been the secret fantasy of Sidney Webb, George Bernard Shaw and J.M. Keynes a long time ago, but I suspect he is pushing things a bit far. Here I think Mr Griffin has been unable to realise the change in the last 10 years towards inflation targeting and central bank independence. Central banking is still a force for destruction and destabilisation, but not the same corrupt political tool that it was in decades past.

However, enough of the bashing. Griffin presents a 200 year+ history of the arguments and experiments for and against central banking and sound money (meaning a money supply that is not artificially increased - or decreased - each year). At times his historical accounts enter the realm of genius - I have never read an account as enthralling and informative as Griffin's description of the war between Nicholas Bidden and Andrew Jackson for whether or not the nascent American Republic should have a central bank. Sections like this will give you a truly new appreciation for history, and for the intelligence and conviction of many of our ancestors. In fact, I would argue that in monetary terms at least, we in the US and UK have seriously regressed since the 19th century (the Germans and Swiss would agree - at least until the 90s when they abandoned their own monetary discipline which had ensured their prosperity for so long.)

There are many such eras that Griffin covers with a masterly touch. His explanation of the monetary game of poker played by Bank of England governor Montagu Norman and Fed Chairman Strong in the 20s will give you an entirely fresh perspective on the 1929 crash and subsequent depression (including the superb anecdote from an average Englishman who met Norman incognito on a transatlantic steamer - he was asked not to mention anything, and in return told "get out of stocks if you can - there is a great disaster coming" - this being early 1929).

My conclusion is that this book is brilliant but flawed. Griffin is an incredible researcher (the footnotes are possibly the most rigorous and comprehensive of any book I have read - he puts most full time academics to shame), and his ability to explain difficult concepts of esoteric high finance in layman's terms is awe-inspiring. But he simply cannot resist filling the entire work with his political views (he's a self-confessed John Bircher after all). Furthermore, I feel that he is viewing today's central banking/international finance system as if it were virtually the same as 20, 50, 100 years ago. All in all though, the average layman or even intelligent financial/Wall Street person will learn and incredible amount from this book. It is an essential purchase.

In answer to the review below: I did do independent research. Did you? This book, while slightly marred by the occasional conspiracy theory, is a great account of one of the most important real life conspiracies of our time. It is well researched with plenty of footnotes for anyone who wants to look more deeply. It tells the real story of how bankers have lured politicians with easy money and ended up in control of most of the world. Whether or not they can keep up our (or rather, their) sleight-of-hand monetary system forever, the important thing is the power these bankers wield that should not be theirs.

This book should be required reading. And by all means do your own research.

Topics covered: founding of the Federal Reserve, war mongering, bail-outs, boom-bust cycles, the J.P.Morgans and Rothschilds of the world, the history of central banking in the United States, and most fascinating: how the money system really works in this country.

Despite its lack of perfection, this book is by far the most relevant and interesting thing I have read about economics in a long time. It is written in terms that anyone can understand, which will immediately rule out the kind of reader who is impressed by a lot of technical jargon that supposedly demonstrates an author's mastery of the subject while only serving to confuse laymen (and experts too). Combined with some of the author's own somewhat odd ideas, that does tend to make the book look less serious. But read it and you will see that the information is there. You can learn a great deal from this book.

This has woken me up to what I did not even realize about what has happened, is happening and what the future holds for every man, woman and child of the United States. It is very sobering and has sparked me to find out more and prepare for the events that are unfolding everyday. Don't be caught asleep or off guard. Mr. Griffin has done a great service to every true citizen of the U.S. and I applaud Mr. Griffin for having the guts to write this book. Don't forget to visit his website www.realityzone.com

Mr. Greider's book is a serious and controversial attempt to unlock the mysteries of the Federal Reserve Board - an institution that remains an enigma to most Americans. After reading this book, you will see why Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan is described as the second most powerful man in America. Greider not only goes behind the scenes to explain Federal Reserve policy from 1979 to 1986, he challenges the reader in a debate about the direction of monetary policy and more importantly, the desirability of having a Federal Reserve Board in the first place. I applaud Mr. Greider for bringing up this question that trancends the current political debate. But I do not agree with his proposal to put the Fed's powers in Congressional hands. That would only bring us back to the 1970s where political pressure on the Fed produced an easy money policy and inflation. Reversing this trend led to the harsh recession of 1981-82, which Greider despairs over. Our best hope is to keep the Fed in the hands of sober, intelligent people who put the needs of citizens over the needs of politicians.

Although I read this book years ago I'm reviewing it today because I perceive it is very important that more of us understand money, our monetary system and the intersection between money and power. Recent financial meltdowns in Thailand, Russia and Argentina provide a roadmap of the risks we face and which could be coming home to roost.

William Greider's book is a good introduction to the system. It's well written, informative and easy, entertaining reading.

Early in the book he asks a question about why it is that during the period leading up to the end of the 19th Century "Money and Monetary Systems" were hot topics in American political life, but today they are really off the radar screen?

That's a good question. Do you know the answer? I'd bet the answer is you, like most Americans probably don't. This book will give you the understanding you owe it to yourself to get. After all, it's your money.

Definitely one of the best books I've ever read. I concur with another reviewer who said that it explains central banking better than any college professor ever has.

My only criticism (similar to Dale Franks') is that Greider's main grumble, i.e. that the Fed is mainly out to protect Money's interests, is a bit shallow.

It's no doubt true that bankers and plutocrats lobby vigorously for higher interest rates, and that the Fed Chairman depends, at least to a degree, upon their support... But, realistically, how could the world be different? What system could possibly be better than the current compromise? I doubt Greider would seriously maintain that things would be better if the Congress ran the Fed, which would almost directly lead to an unstable currency. It's true that Volcker's medicine was harsh, but are we to imagine that bondholders could have been convinced to accept lower long-term interest rates by moral suasion or government promises?

It's sad that the little guys suffer the most from high interest rates, but don't blame the Fed. Don't blame anyone!

Still, though, with a book this great, Greider earned the right to make a political statement in the midst of what really is a set of difficult technical issues.

This book was recommended as part of an MBA project I am doing in Tokyo. It is dry reading and full of political references that may not make sense unless you have read up on recent events in Tokyo's Nagatacho (I recommend The Logic of Japanese Politics by Curtis as a companion text), but, overall a very well written and thorough discussion of the financial problems facing Japan without reverting to finger-pointing or nation-bashing as many other books on this topic so often do.