How much do you understand about the monetary system in america?

Where does money come from? how did it start? Who started it and why? How does the government get it? How do they decide how much money to make and put in the market?

can anyone answer some of these questions?

Ask marble. That guy knows a shit load about this topic. He has explained a lot of this to me before.

i actually know, just wanted to see who else does and what they have to say about it.

oggy420 wrote:

i actually know, just wanted to see who else does and what they have to say about it.

OH, OK

not that i don't still have questions, just trying to see who else cares about this stuff.

oggy420 wrote:

Where does money come from? how did it start? Who started it and why? How does the government get it? How do they decide how much money to make and put in the market?

can anyone answer some of these questions?

It comes from printing presses. If you mean its inception, forms of money or trade can be dated to long before Christ in trading rocks and shells. Actual precious metals for trade came about as long ago as 5,000 BC. Actual coins arrived in some form from 700-800 BC. The first paper money showed in China about 1200 years ago. No real sense on who started it, but it became necessary when bartering one good for another good left one side feeling cheated in some way. There was a need for items with an actual agreed value (money).

As far as our goverment and the US dollar, Wiki actually does a decent job with the questions you have... Just check the US dollar and it gives a solid history...

Sorry Oggy... Just saw that you were asking to see who knew rather than seeking actual knowledge on the subject. Most who took a basic economics class should remember some on the subject. I think you'll find that most could care less though.

I like money, I have very little. I keep it in a tin can by my bed, I wish to put more of it in my tin can, thats where you come in.

- Robbie Hart

actually i was trying to really get into the federal reserve. You know that the federal reserve is actually a privately owned bank, and they actually produced our current monetary system? This is where i was really trying to go with this, should have been more specific. What i have questions on is basically like, if our government gets their money loaned to them from a private company at interest, how are they supposed to ever get out of debt?

Monetary policy
Further information: Monetary policy of the United States

The term "monetary policy" refers to the actions undertaken by a central bank, such as the Federal Reserve, to influence the availability and cost of money and credit to help promote national economic goals. What happens to money and credit affects interest rates (the cost of credit) and the performance of the U.S. economy. The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 gave the Federal Reserve responsibility for setting monetary policy.

now if you only knew how shady the Federal Reserve was....

Well, since China owns the majority of our debt as I tongue-in-cheekingly eluded to in another thread, we may never be out of their debt. Our national debt is well over thirteen trillion dollars. Regardless of who holds the notes, if we don't start acting responsibly as a country (Government and citizens combined), that number will continue to grow as it has since being tracked in 1910.

As far as the reserve goes, there's so many areas that it touches it would take an hour to type the bullet points.

oggy420 wrote:

Monetary policy
Further information: Monetary policy of the United States

The term "monetary policy" refers to the actions undertaken by a central bank, such as the Federal Reserve, to influence the availability and cost of money and credit to help promote national economic goals. What happens to money and credit affects interest rates (the cost of credit) and the performance of the U.S. economy. The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 gave the Federal Reserve responsibility for setting monetary policy.

now if you only knew how shady the Federal Reserve was....

Please... If most people only knew how shady almost all government organizations are regardless of who's in power...

LikesToFightGuy wrote:

Well, since China owns the majority of our debt as I tongue-in-cheekingly eluded to in another thread, we may never be out of their debt. Our national debt is well over thirteen trillion dollars. Regardless of who holds the notes, if we don't start acting responsibly as a country (Government and citizens combined), that number will continue to grow as it has since being tracked in 1910.

As far as the reserve goes, there's so many areas that it touches it would take an hour to type the bullet points.

atleast we dont have to worry aout China killing us for 2 key reasons

1. they will never get paid
2. who will buy all their fucking concrete!?!?!?!

food for thought!!!!!!

i know. But it's a little baffeling that no one questions it when in the constitution it clearly says

“The Congress shall have the power to coin money and to regulate the value thereof”.

and yet the federal reserve act was written by a bunch of rich bank owners in a private meeting where no congressmen were present?

“Permit me to issue and control the money of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws.”

Mayer Amschel Rothschild

oggy420 wrote:

i know. But it's a little baffeling that no one questions it when in the constitution it clearly says

“The Congress shall have the power to coin money and to regulate the value thereof”.

and yet the federal reserve act was written by a bunch of rich bank owners in a private meeting where no congressmen were present?

Unfortunately, the Constitution means dick to most Democrats and only to Republicans when it benefits them the most...

Gotta bail Oggy, late for a meeting. Good luck finding anyone with insight on the topic.

“Seven men on Wall Street now control a great share of the fundamental industry and resources of the United States. Three of the seven men, J.P. Morgan, James J. Hill, George F. Baker, head of the First National Bank of New York belong to the so-called Morgan group; four of them, John D. and William Rockefeller, James Stillman, head of the National City Bank, and Jacob H. Schiff on the private banking firm of Kuhn, Loeb Company, to the so-called Standard Oil City Bank group…the central machine of capital extends its control over the United States…The process is not only economically logical; it is now practically automatic.”

"Consider the function of the Fed. Today’s dollar is “fiat money”, meaning it is not backed by anything of value (gold) as it used to be, but it is backed only by government decree, by the “full faith and credit” of the United States government. What are the economic effects of printing money carte blanche, ie; uninhibited by the need to have something of real value (and therefore something of limited supply…) behind the currency ? With gold backing, there is something quantifiable behind our money, something of precise value that keeps money creation and thus economic growth in check. Currently, getting more money is as easy as turning on the printing presses (incurring more debt…) printing dollars by pure fiat, ‘out of thin air’, as it were. Problem is, our government has to issue bonds to get those dollars. This arrangement is great for whoever is running The Fed… whoever is recieving the bonds… but not so great for the government that issues them. In making good on the bonds they issue, our government not only has to pay full face dollar value (on dollars that cost about 5 cents for the Fed bankers to print) but interest as well ! The US Government, (ie; you and I) gets strapped with the bill each time the “Fed ” turns on it’s printing presses. In this manner, our government is taken to the cleaners by our own central bank. To add insult to injury, every time new dollars are printed and the money supply increases, your income and savings are worth less. This has been referred to as a “stealth tax”.

In lockstep our national debt goes through the roof, increasing tens of thousands of dollars every second – billions of dollars every day. And is it a coincidence that we see a massive acceleration of national debt in the early 1970s, precisely when President Nixon announced that the government was abandoning the Bretton Woods Agreement (August 15, 1971), removing gold backing from the dollar? Check out any graph of our national debt. The correlation is pretty hard to miss."

-we live in a country where a decent percentage of people have no knowledge of any current economic or political issues

-we live in a country where a decent percentage of people have gained their only knowledge of any current economic or political issues from left wing hacks or right wing hacks they hear on the radio or see on tv

-is this country going to end up in an untenable situation within the next generation? Yes, that is very likely

-are there leaders on either side of the political aisle who would like to have grown up discussions about how to fix the important issues of today and tomorrow? No

-are there news organizations covering the current economic and political issues without a clear agenda? Yes, but very few

-The Federal Reserve will continue to act unchecked. Political parties will continue to act with no concern for the future of this nation. The national debt will continue to grow until it has reached a percentage of GDP that is high enough that our bond ratings are downgraded. No one will buy our debt. And it will spiral completely out of control from there.

-We have seen what happens when countries like Greece have reached such a level. If it occurs in the US, there will be no recourse. There will be no EU/IMF to bail us out.

oggy420 wrote:

Where does money come from? how did it start? Who started it and why? How does the government get it? How do they decide how much money to make and put in the market?

can anyone answer some of these questions?

Where does money come from? Lots of sources. Money is simply a contract reflecting an agreed upon value. Nobody really knows where money began, but the ancient Sumerians had it 5000 years ago.

Why did it begin? Impossible to know, but it probably served the same function it does today. It makes all goods and services substitutes for one another. In short it allows for multiple way trading. I have a goat and want a pencil, you have a wagon and want a goat, someone else has a pencil and wants a wagon, money allows for everyone to be satisfied.

How does gov't get money? It depends what you mean. How do they get the authority to print money? General social contract theory. How does the value of money printed by the government stay credible? Tax revenues being seen as reasonable and repeatable and expenditures not being out of line. It used to be gov't treasure (gold) backed up the money supply.

Gov'ts are constantly trying to optimize the money supply so that there is enough liquidity to grease the skids of commerce without overprinting which causes destructive inflation.

The best short economics primer I know of is this. http://www.amazon.com/Economics-One-Lesson-Shortest-Understand/dp/0517548232/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1279756995&sr=1-1

marbleheadmaui wrote:

oggy420 wrote:

Where does money come from? how did it start? Who started it and why? How does the government get it? How do they decide how much money to make and put in the market?

can anyone answer some of these questions?

Where does money come from? Lots of sources. Money is simply a contract reflecting an agreed upon value. Nobody really knows where money began, but the ancient Sumerians had it 5000 years ago.

Why did it begin? Impossible to know, but it probably served the same function it does today. It makes all goods and services substitutes for one another. In short it allows for multiple way trading. I have a goat and want a pencil, you have a wagon and want a goat, someone else has a pencil and wants a wagon, money allows for everyone to be satisfied.

How does gov't get money? It depends what you mean. How do they get the authority to print money? General social contract theory. How does the value of money printed by the government stay credible? Tax revenues being seen as reasonable and repeatable and expenditures not being out of line. It used to be gov't treasure (gold) backed up the money supply.

Gov'ts are constantly trying to optimize the money supply so that there is enough liquidity to grease the skids of commerce without overprinting which causes destructive inflation.

The best short economics primer I know of is this. http://www.amazon.com/Economics-One-Lesson-Shortest-Understand/dp/0517548232/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1279756995&sr=1-1

man your good will you please write a thousand page book on all the stuff you know taht i should know

Birdofthad wrote:

marbleheadmaui wrote:

oggy420 wrote:

Where does money come from? how did it start? Who started it and why? How does the government get it? How do they decide how much money to make and put in the market?

can anyone answer some of these questions?

Where does money come from? Lots of sources. Money is simply a contract reflecting an agreed upon value. Nobody really knows where money began, but the ancient Sumerians had it 5000 years ago.

Why did it begin? Impossible to know, but it probably served the same function it does today. It makes all goods and services substitutes for one another. In short it allows for multiple way trading. I have a goat and want a pencil, you have a wagon and want a goat, someone else has a pencil and wants a wagon, money allows for everyone to be satisfied.

How does gov't get money? It depends what you mean. How do they get the authority to print money? General social contract theory. How does the value of money printed by the government stay credible? Tax revenues being seen as reasonable and repeatable and expenditures not being out of line. It used to be gov't treasure (gold) backed up the money supply.

Gov'ts are constantly trying to optimize the money supply so that there is enough liquidity to grease the skids of commerce without overprinting which causes destructive inflation.

The best short economics primer I know of is this. http://www.amazon.com/Economics-One-Lesson-Shortest-Understand/dp/0517548232/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1279756995&sr=1-1

man your good will you please write a thousand page book on all the stuff you know taht i should know

You will have spent three very productive years if you read Will and Ariel Durant's eleven volume masterpiece "The History of Civilization." I've never counted but each volume is maybe 1000 pages. Brilliant, enegagingly written and told as a story. Incredible.

thanks for the tip gonna check the library for them tomorrow

LikesToFightGuy wrote:

oggy420 wrote:

Where does money come from? how did it start? Who started it and why? How does the government get it? How do they decide how much money to make and put in the market?

can anyone answer some of these questions?

It comes from printing presses. If you mean its inception, forms of money or trade can be dated to long before Christ in trading rocks and shells. Actual precious metals for trade came about as long ago as 5,000 BC. Actual coins arrived in some form from 700-800 BC. The first paper money showed in China about 1200 years ago. No real sense on who started it, but it became necessary when bartering one good for another good left one side feeling cheated in some way. There was a need for items with an actual agreed value (money).

As far as our goverment and the US dollar, Wiki actually does a decent job with the questions you have... Just check the US dollar and it gives a solid history...

I started reading this thread ten minutes ago and saw how LTFG answered Oggy and almost died. Serious, I took a drink as I read this and the beer was going down and I lmao to where I choked and burped and then choked again. It was horrible! Still funny as hell.

The Creature From Jekyll Island by Edward Griffin id the best book ever written on the subject.