Money, Banking, and The Federal Reserve System

Money, Banking, and The Federal Reserve System

2006, Economics  -   48 Comments
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Ratings: 5.30/10 from 94 users.

Money, Banking, and The Federal Reserve SystemThomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson understood The Monster. But to most Americans today, Federal Reserve is just a name on the dollar bill. They have no idea of what the central bank does to the economy, or to their own economic lives; of how and why it was founded and operates; or of the sound money and banking that could end the statism, inflation, and business cycles that the Fed generates.

Dedicated to Murray N. Rothbard, steeped in American history and Austrian economics, and featuring Ron Paul, Joseph Salerno, Hans Hoppe, and Lew Rockwell, this extraordinary new film is the clearest, most compelling explanation ever offered of the Fed, and why curbing it must be our first priority.

Alan Greenspan is not, we're told, happy about this 42-minute blockbuster. Watch it, and you'll understand why. This is economics and history as they are meant to be: fascinating, informative, and motivating. This movie could change America.

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slim pickens
slim pickens
8 years ago

many of you miss the bigger picture here. the monetary system was by default designed to create one thing and one thing only, debt. out of all the money in this country that sits on the books only 10% is actual physical money. the rest is make believe , made up because the fed only requires 10% in holdings at any given time. if everyone at the same time went to there perspective bank and closed it our economy would fold up. on top the fact that 90% of all money is in essence air they charge interest on loans which by default are lending virtual money yet requiring a physical money repayment. that is a racket. i'm over simplifying things but those of you who truly know how the fed works knows this to be a fact. our economy is dieing fast why do you think we are off in other places fighting loosing battles for decades? because sustained wars generate large amounts of capital. now were off the coast of china stroking them into doing something stupid. why? for money our economic system is at its breaking point we have more going out than coming in and it is and will implode very soon. like others i believe gold and silver will be what we go back to after the sh^t hits the fan. to those that think these docs are propaganda i give you this. we mock what we don't know we shun what we fear and know to be true but are not willing yet to accept fact as being fact. unfortunately it will be to late before enough open minded people force the powers to be to rid this country of the fed and the wold banks just like our for fathers did so long ago.

Tony44
Tony44
9 years ago

Good documentary. One caveat to the comments, not all "bankers" are reaping the rewards. Only the select top of the pyramid are. The rest get paid just like any other corporate troll.

Don
Don
11 years ago

Gold's intrinsic value is far less than what it trades for today. What makes gold such a great standard? It's all psychological, just like paper currency is psychological.

Leon Welch
Leon Welch
11 years ago

Money loaned printed out of thin air, loan paid back is equal to zero money. But the interest on the loan does not disappear and ends up in the big bankers pockets. Fed loves to print money, bankers love fractional reserve banking because it puts money in their pockets. Eventually they will own all of the money. Nixon took us off of the gold standard to pay for Vietnam, a useless conflict. Politicians love a monetary system backed by nothing. It give them the go to print money. Raise taxes or stop the hand outs and either one will send you job hunting if you are a politician. This system has not and will not work. All FIAT money goes up in smoke eventually. Show me one time in history where it has survived.

Wayne Tong
Wayne Tong
11 years ago

I love how everyone says Central Bank is the problem and that we should get rid of it, well you know what? We can't, you really want the private sector to control money supply and interest rates? Did no one learn from the Great Depression and Great Recession, the private sector companies are driven by self interest and Wall Street care about shareholders. They dont give a f--k about the economy. So yes the Federal Reserve is flawed, but it is the best of what we have.

As for you folks that say gold standard, well if we go back to the gold standard standard of living will increase so much as deflation kicks in. The poor get poorer, the Middle class gets poor, the rich, well theyll still be rich.

Winston Smith
Winston Smith
12 years ago

The FED is part of the problem..admittedly, a major part; but other factors (like globalization and the use of cheap foreign labor (Not to mention automation, which is often quite understated) are what destroyed the manufacturing base in the US. The Fractional Reserve method is criminal. Plain and simple. Banks create money by simply punching the numbers into their account balances based on the number of outstanding loans they have?
This is an insane, anti-capitalistic practice. This is how it is that now over 90% (or so) of all US money that 'exists' is not actually physical money in circulation are but numbers on computer screens.

Rocky Racoon
Rocky Racoon
12 years ago

I don' t think anyone yet has come close to outlining the macro-economic laws of capitalist development or uncovering the "genetic code" of capitalism; the capitalist law of value as did Karl Marx. For Von Mises capitalism was simply to complex to regulate...best leave it up to the bunny rabbit. Which is why he is adored by so many in the West.
Those are my recollection from school daze. The political upshot of these theorists are obvious. Anyone seen Shock Doctrine? Kind of puts the political back into Political Economy doesn't it?

T13
T13
12 years ago

Peter Schiff, Ron Paul, and Lew Rockwell who is speaking in part of this, subscribe to the theory of Austrian economics. From what I have seen they have been some of the only economist to accurately forecast economic events. I wish I'd heard of them long before 2008.

NellaPamukov
NellaPamukov
12 years ago

i didnt find it very useful, its all familiar to me.

harry nutzack
harry nutzack
12 years ago

a gold standard would reek havoc with global trade... as a commodity, the value of gold is subject to fluctuation, often great swings happen very quickly, historically... this places a single nation on a gold standard subject to trading manipulation controlling the "real world" value of that nations currency... the gold standard can work if it is adopted globally, or by a relatively isolationist country, but a single nation switching over to valuing their currency based on a traded precious metal is setting themselves up for a hard fall at the hands of the moneyed who feel "ripped off" by rejection of centralized fractional reserve systems, or even just a consortium of greedy folks looking to make a buck... for global trade based countries, a system of valuation of currency based on REAL national productivity (actual added value to raw materials, no "ponzi-family" simulated black ink) would be the most stable, but probably stands very little chance of ever happening

Joann
Joann
12 years ago

damn smh... i know that this ties in with why the US is always in war...

tonyathecutie
tonyathecutie
12 years ago

blame the rothchilds!!!!!!!!!

Matt Kukowski
Matt Kukowski
12 years ago

HR 1489 or DIE

Money is NOT the problem. WE are the problem. Corrupt people that control the creation of money. However, there is not enough GOLD in the world to cater to all that is needed. GOLD is a metal.. SO WHAT.

Rome fell, WW2 and 1 happened under gold. The Great Depression as well. GOLD is not the problem.

Again.

WE are the problem. The corrupt are the problem. GROW UP.

Temy Beal
Temy Beal
12 years ago

Gold standard is hogwash. Matters not in the slightest what physical form money takes, or even whether it has ANY physical manifestation whatever...it might be ONLY electroni bits of information. The point is who controls it, the scarcity of it, and to what ends.

Ghulam Raza
Ghulam Raza
12 years ago

great one

Mark Stouffer
Mark Stouffer
12 years ago

If people can't be trusted with freedom, how can they be trusted with power?

Jakup Pauli Joensen
Jakup Pauli Joensen
12 years ago

It is true that most of us are not willing to sacrifice much for a change if needed. But there is no doubt at all that the monetary system we have today does not serve the benefits of the people. But rather the banking elite and corporations. A gold standard in it self will not solve everything. But would probably be better than the system we have today. But there are other ways than a gold standard that will serve the people and give the people the power back. The simple formula that shows that the whole system does not work is ( principle=principle+interest ) which does not match up, as principle + interest is different from the principle. Said in other words money in existents is debt created by the bank and the bank wants the debt + interest back. But the bank doesn't created the interest money to pay him back. So how are we going to be able to pay our debts? Money in existents is about 97% debt and 3% real paper notes, but none of them are backed up by anything, it is all build up on a belief system. Because we belief we can buy goods and services from our money. Bottom line is we need a whole new system and think about what serves us best. It has to be a system run by the government serving the people. With the system today the banks will end up owning all the world as no one is able to pay the interests and will end up bankrupt sooner of later.
In other words we are all scr...d.

d4a2r6r6yl
d4a2r6r6yl
12 years ago

I am is full agreement with FTTB she/he thinking is clear and percieves the issue accurately. they nothing for me to asy but... bully!!!!

Pleiades
Pleiades
13 years ago

Monetary & Banking reform will be introduced once the US Federal Reserve System and all Central Banks of the world are abolished and replaced by a new global system. In the meantime they will continued to be used as expropriation & transfer of wealth instruments they were designed to be. The gold standard was going to be abandoned eventually, so why even consider going back to it. The real problem is greed and parasitism.

harmony
harmony
13 years ago

It's nice for them to have the time to make this documentary. I'm sure things will work out for the best, if that's what we want to happen.

P.S. I enjoyed reading the comments for this video.
"My country is the world, and my religion is to be good." -TP

Grant
Grant
13 years ago

It looks like a commercial for Cash 4 Gold. Why didn't this video point out that there are more options than just switching back to a gold standard? Such as the complete abolishment of money as we know it, or the "Trust standard", however, humankind isn't quite ready for that.

David N
David N
13 years ago

Tripe. I love how this thing addresses NONE of the issues of trying to get back on the Gold Standard. Don't get me wrong, I know our economic system is broken...but how much are we all willing to sacrifice to fix it? I can guarantee you that most of us won't sacrifice much.

SWM
SWM
13 years ago

Black Economy- You literally do not understand the difference between what is fact and what is not. (That IS a fact). A stream of observations and conclusions is not a "fact" even if you agree with them. (That is also a fact). Your inability to grasp a concept this fundamental suggests that you don't have the ability to understand even basic mechanisms of the economy. (That's not a fact, it's an observation).

Bytor69
Bytor69
13 years ago

I tried to contact this website through your comments page, but after I wrote everything out, I couldent find a submit button lol Wierd. I refreshed the page a couple times, yet no submit button. So, hopefully the guy that runs this great site will see my recomendation here for a doc that Im currently watching on Google. Heres what I tried to write in the comments page...peace.

I have watched many of your wonderful documentaries on various subjects. Thank you so much.
One documentary Im currently watching is called "Reality of America: A History of Money Changers & The Federal Reserve" from Google video. Although the audio and video arnt great, the information itself is very informative, and gives information that I havent seen in other docs, especially in the area of the Rothschilds. Although Im not particularly versed in the history of economics, I feel after watching this doc that Im much more aware of it its true origins, and why were in the mess we're in today.

Thanks again for all the great docs, and I hope you'll consider adding this to your ever expanding library.

- Scott in Cali

Alstar
Alstar
13 years ago

I think this great! all this does is allow people the choice to think about the unthinkable and make better decisions about their life choices. Let admit it... before the internet everthing we believed about life and what is going on in our world came from 4 central broadcasters CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox. etc... now we are forces think about other truths... embrace it and let go of the fear that has been instilled in the unknown truths that exist.
Who would believe that the US Bomb the black wall street!

HaTe_MaChInE
HaTe_MaChInE
13 years ago

@Chris - I'm pretty sure the point of bankruptcy is to NOT lose everything. At least the modern use.

If you file for bankruptcy and still lose everything you should blame your lawyer not the banks.

Chris
Chris
13 years ago

if a person goes bankrupt they loose everything if a bank goes bankrupt they get saved by the fed im sure the fed benefits regular people by saving banks that will tell you to f off if you mess up

Black Economy
Black Economy
13 years ago

Propaganda?

Everything stated in this video is a FACT. If you are so hopelessly ignorant of reality and wish to remain a slave to the financial system, it is your choice, but stay out of the way of those of us who seek the truth and realize that our current situation is only deteriorating.

lanvy
lanvy
13 years ago

a bit one-sided for my taste...you come to that conclusion very quickly given the cheesy hollywood music queues.

smoke some more camels
smoke some more camels
13 years ago

lmfao your kidding right? in what way does this seem like the Mises institute would even benefit from manipulating those that watch this? What about ron paul? his MO is always about auditing/abolishing the fed not just in this video, but i guess hes looking to benefit from this too right?

Red Camel
Red Camel
13 years ago

This is nothing but propaganda by the Mises Institute its all unsubstantiated bullsh^t....