Essay Review of William Greider's The Choice of Wall Street

In a speech by Mary Elizabeth Lease, “Wall Street Owns The Country”, she mentioned that this nation is a nation of inconsistencies. The main things she wanted to state was the nation’s economics and political woes because of the government was ruled based on the monetary value by wall street that cause people to suffer. Furthermore, she said that the welfare of the people was no longer considered by the government as a priority but money was. Most of the actions made by the government did not benefit people anymore. The government asked people to go to work and raise a big crop. So the people did as the government said, but the crops were still not enough because the people were “overpopulated”, according to the government. Therefore, people

In 1938, and in the teeth of the longest and fiercest depression that the United States had ever known, capital spending hit an all time high. That’s right! In 1938 the men who owned America began to pour millions of Dollars into new plant and equipment as if there was no tomorrow. We don’t think much about it today, because it has been a long time since the United States has experienced a real bone jolting economic slowdown. The fact is, however, that the very best time for the industrialist to invest in new technologies is in the middle of a depression. This is because it is at such times that labor, raw materials, and new equipment can be purchased at rock bottom prices. Henry Ford may have jumped the gun a bit. He shut down his River

The first editorial, “The Federal Reserve Politicians,” discussing the expanding power the federal reserve has. The federal reserve officials have become the most important economic decision makers in the government. The author believes that under a healthy government the Fed or any party should not have so much power without more accountability.

Without the Fed, closing of banks would be ordinary because they would not receive money from the System, allowing them to grant more loans and have more money in their reserves. Without the lending power of the Federal Reserve System, our economy would suffer from lack of investment and would not be the leading economic force it is today.

In the event that the American individuals really saw how the Federal Reserve framework functions and what it has done to us, they would be shouting for it to be nullified promptly. It is a framework that was composed by global brokers for the advantage of worldwide investors, and it is methodically devastating the American individuals. The Federal Reserve framework is the essential motivation behind why the cash has declined in worth by well more than 95 percent and the national obligation has become more than 5000 times bigger in the course of recent years. The Fed makes the "blasts" and the "busts", and they

In an instant, a single organization, with minimal government oversight, can influence entire markets and monetary supply of the country with the largest economy in the world. The United States founding fathers established a government system to distribute certain powers of the federal government to particular branches that have checks and balances in place to assure efficiency and openness among its divisions. One may assume that the organization that controls the monetary supply of an economic powerhouse of a country would have strong oversight and control over the policies they carry out. The Federal Reserve, also referred to as The Fed, has a purpose, as a central bank, to protect and control the fiscal system of the United States to create a safer lending and borrowing market for private citizens, businesses, and the federal government. Americans perceive the Fed as an extremely powerful organization. Some have asserted, including Hillary Clinton’s spokesman, Jesse Ferguson, that “The Federal Reserve is a vital institution for our economy and the well-being of our middle class” (qtd. in Shapiro 7). Unfortunately, Federal Reserve financial policies have become detrimental to the growth of the national economy and the dollar, therefore, congressional actions against the Federal Reserve Bank are a necessity to avoid continuation of instability in both US and world markets.

The Federal Reserve System is the most powerful institution in the United States economy. Functioning as the central bank of the United States, acting as a regulator, the lender of last resort, and setting the nation’s monetary policy via the Federal Open Market Committee, there is no segment of the American economy unaffected by the Federal Reserve [endnoteRef:1]. This power becomes even more substantial in times of “unusual and exigent circumstances,” as Section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act gives authority to the Board of Governors to act unilaterally in lending and market making operations during financial crisis[endnoteRef:2]. As illustrated by their decision making in the aftermath of the 2007-2008 Great Recession,

All day and all night, they battled the emergency with each instrument available to them to keep the United States and world economies above water. Working with two U.S. presidents, and under flame from a crabby Congress and an open angered by conduct on Wall Street, the Fed—nearby associates in the Treasury Department—effectively settled a wavering monetary framework. With inventiveness and definitiveness, they kept a financial fall of incomprehensible scale and went ahead to create the strange projects that would resuscitate the U.S. economy and turn into the model for different nations. Rich with detail of the basic leadership prepare in Washington and permanent representations of the real players, The Courage to Act relates and clarifies the most exceedingly bad budgetary emergency and monetary droop in America since the Great Depression, giving an insider 's record of the approach reaction (http://www.forbes.com/sites/richardsalsman/2012/03/06/five-financial-reforms-that-would-prevent-crises-and-promote-prosperity/#).

“Lehman Collapse Sends Shockwave around the World” Reads the British newspaper, The Times, as the world sinks further into the recession in September 2008. The housing collapse was orchestrated and perpetrated by a system created by investment banks to allow them to make money, by keep the American people in debt, even when the banks knew the loans would default. The investing banking system was left unchecked by the United States government because it did not have the regulations as did the depository banks. There was immoral investing in people’s retirement, pensions, and homes where it created at housing collapse, in which thousands of people over paid in their subprime loans and lost their homes in the process. The federal Reserve is a very selfish and heartless entity in America that has had powerful influence in American politics for decades. The Federal Reserve must be dissolved and succeeded by a federalized entity that has no obligation to any investors. It must contain checks and balances to create a fair playing field. It must not benefit one group of people, but the nation as a whole. Finally, the new banking structure must be solid to keep necessities at steady prices, and must not work on speculation. Prior to “the Fed”, two previous central banking systems were in place, but were limited on how long they influenced (both twenty years) their interest in government, and twice, both banking system were not allowed renewal because many political figures,

After the banking crisis of the 1930s, many people wondered why the Federal Reserve, also called the Fed, had not prevented crisis. After all, helping banks in times of a crisis was one of the primary reasons the Federal Reserve was created. The Federal Reserve was created because of events such as the panic of 1907. The panic of 1907 was very similar to the stock-market crash of 1929. During the summer of 1907, the economy started to go into downturn as many companies went bankrupt. These bankruptcies caused stock market prices to nosedive. These price drops then caused many Americans to withdraw their money from banks, causing many banks to begin failing. In hopes of keeping banks from failing, the U.S. Treasury began giving millions of

In the year 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, which proclaimed that the new United States of America would govern independently from Great Britain and it’s King. Prompted by unfavorable social protocols, economic policy, and biased tax principles, America began its journey of self-regulation. With America 's population growing in size, mobility, and economic activity, the assortment of banks and money soon grew hectic and unmanageable. Prior to 1913 America was plagued with financial unrest. These times were characterized by economic crises that caused the American people to panic, race to their banks, and withdraw their deposits. Lack of regulation resulted in widespread bank runs that produced a domino; taking the stability of the economy down one bank at a time. These situations proved detrimental because there was no lifeguard, so to speak, to lend a hand when uncertainty overshadowed reason. After enduring a severe crisis in 1907, Congress took initiative and created the Federal Reserve Act of 1913.

This briefing is designed to cover several key economic concepts which will help prepare you for your upcoming debate regarding the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve is the central banking institution of the United States of America. Commonly known as “the Fed”, the Federal Reserve plays an extremely important role in the economy of the USA, and by association, the world. Created in 1907 following a severe economic crisis, the Federal Reserve uses a variety of tools to promote growth, reduce instability, and prevent crises in the American economy. In general, the Federal Reserve accomplishes these goals by using their influence to maximize national employment, control inflation and interest rates, and increase national GDP. Before we discuss the Fed in any further depth, we will first review some of these basic economic concepts that are essential for understanding how it operates.

In his new journal, The Courage to Act, Bernanke sets out a comprehensive record of his activities amid his eight years as administrator, basically contending that, had it not been for the intercessions the Fed inevitably championed, America 's destiny would have been inestimably more terrible. His book is a method for securing his legacy even with exaggerated cases — from the right, that his intercessions, for example, quantitative facilitating, gambled touching off expansion and slamming the dollar; and, from the left, that the official reaction did much to Wall Street and little for normal Americans. Bernanke subtle elements the obstacles he confronted, from pessimistically obstructive congressmen to obstreperous controllers and factious loan fee birds of prey, and in addition hapless policymaking in Europe. Amid a great part of the frenzy, he composes: "The Fed alone, with its biting gum and baling wire, bore the weight of fighting the emergency."

The article by Justin Wolfers describes how the Federal Reserve System (Fed), also known as the central bank of the United States, can alter monetary policy to help the economy recover during downtimes and recessions. Although the Federal Reserve System is not technically a political institution, such as that of the Bank of Canada, after it was nationalized in 1938, with its overall responsibilities lying with a board of directors. In other words, the Fed does not stack the deck to assist either the Democrats or Republicans; their decisions can still be influenced by congress and presidential elections due to the fact that a lot of the principles in money and banking are political. For example, changes in fiscal policy can also help an economy recover, which is defined as policy that involves decisions about government spending and taxation. Additionally, if the Fed were to turn to unconventional measures leading up to an election, political outrage, especially from Congress, would be likely. Therefore, these policy-makers at the Federal Reserve System are often left inadequately prepared to respond to an economic downturn or recession.

There is a sense of complexity today that has led many to believe the individual investor has little chance of competing with professional brokers and investment firms. However, Malkiel states this is a major misconception as he explains in his book “A Random Walk Down Wall Street”. What does a random walk mean? The random walk means in terms of the stock market that, “short term changes in stock prices cannot be predicted”. So how does a rational investor determine which stocks to purchase to maximize returns? Chapter 1 begins by defining and determining the difference in investing and speculating. Investing defined by Malkiel is the method of “purchasing assets to gain profit in the form of reasonably