Is the information in these videos about the federal reserve valid?

They provide information on the federal reserve. I'm wondering how true they are.



The Money Masters... : http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=鈥?/a>

Creature from Jekyll Island... : http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=鈥?/a>



Thanks for any information that you provide me, but please if you answer, put sources.Is the information in these videos about the federal reserve valid?
There is very little that is true in those videos. Many of the concepts about money, banking, and the Federal Reserve are simply wrong.



There isn't enough space here to completely explain everything so I will select one particular point from 'Creature'. G. Edward Griffin claims that the Federal Reserve is a cartel. That is not true. The Federal Reserve does represent both public and private interests but the structure significantly limits the private input into monetary policy decisions. The setting of interest rates is performed solely by the FOMC which is not private in any way.



Here is a brief and simplified explanation of its structure...The seven members of the Board of Governors are all appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate to serve 14 year terms. The seven members of the Board of Governors have seven of the 12 seats on the Federal Open Market committee (FOMC) which is the primary body for setting interest rates. One additional permanent seat on the FOMC is held by the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The other four seats rotate between the presidents of the other 11 Federal Reserve district banks. The Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors guides the FOMC meeting and generally has final say on monetary policy.



Since the presidents of the Federal Reserve district banks have input into FOMC decisions, I will explain how they are selected. Each Federal Reserve district bank represents the private banks within its district. The private (or member) banks that are members of the system are required by law to subscribe to shares of the Federal Reserve district bank. Nationally chartered banks and some state banks are required to become member banks. The amount of stock a member bank is required to subscribe to is set by law. A member bank may hold no more and no less than the required amount. Larger banks have to subscribe to more shares than smaller banks. However, while larger banks have more shares, it does not correspond to more input.



The reason each member bank has the same input is because each member bank has only ONE vote for six of the nine seats on the district bank's board of directors. The other three members of a Federal Reserve district bank's board of directors are selected exclusively by the Board of Governors. The president of the Federal Reserve district bank is hired by the district bank's board of directors and the Board of Governors has the final approval. While it appears that private banks have input into monetary policy decisions, in reality, the structure shows that they do not.



Economics, money and banking, and the Federal Reserve are complicated topics that just cannot be fully explained or understood from watching an Internet video or spending 10 minutes reading a website. To understand it all fully takes years of study. Therefore, when looking for information on a complicated topic, you should always ask an expert in the field. G. Edward Griffin has a bachelor's degree in communications. He does not have any formal education in economics beyond his "research" which has led him to several wrong conclusions. Similarly, William Still (The Money Masters) also does not have a degree in economics. Would you ask the cashier at your local grocery store how a nuclear reactor works or would you ask a nuclear engineer? Do you ask a lawyer how to take out an appendix or do you ask a doctor? Do you ask a communications major how the Federal Reserve is structured and operates, or do you ask an economist?



If you really want to learn more about the Federal Reserve, check out the following reliable sources:

http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/frser鈥?/a>

http://www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefe鈥?/a>

http://www.federalreserve.gov/pf/pf.htm

http://www.federalreserveeducation.org

http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/home.cfm

http://www.rfe.org/index.php



The law covering the Federal Reserve: 12 USC Chapter 3 http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/12/usc鈥?/a>Is the information in these videos about the federal reserve valid?
It is not, videos are usually simplistic and misinform people when they address complex subjects, and money is a very complicated. To understand how money market work takes years of study , but you could start by reading about how the FED works and what it does here. http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/frser鈥?/a>