A Reserved Fed

There’s been a lot of talk lately about the federal reserve  inflation, the economy, etc. But what is the federal reserve?

According to acorns.com it’s, “the central Bank of the United States. Founded by Congress in 1913, it uses a number of different levers to promote a healthy and stable national economy…:

• The Federal Reserve Board of Governors, which provides general guidance to the Federal Reserve System and oversees the 12 Federal Reserve Banks…each of which is responsible for overseeing a specific geographical region within the United States.
• The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which oversees the nation’s open market operations and makes important decisions about interest rates and the supply of money.”

The name is a bit misleading as it’s not reserving anything really, and it’s founding was thoroughly scrutinized in the book “Creature from Jekyll Island“. The official purpose of the Fed is to “provide the nation with a safer, more flexible, and more stable monetary and financial system.” Given the recent tumult with interest rates, one can only hope they have good intentions and are capable of steadying the economy.

By Gretchen Hendrick Gardella, MLIS

Gretchen Hendrick Gardella is a Librarian with administrative, research, and vast technical skills. Ms. Gardella brings over 16 years of experience working in academic and public libraries to the discussion.