“Bad as "independence" is, the main fault of the Federal Reserve System - an admirable system if conducted in the public interest - is that too much power and control rests in the hands of people whose private interests are directly affected by the Federal Reserves' actions.” PeopleIfsWisdomHandsActionPoliticsInterestEconomyToo MuchIndependenceFaultsLiberalismAffectedReservesAdmirableFederal ReservePublic InterestPower And ControlToo Much Power Author:Wright Patman
“The Open Market Committee, as presently established, is plainly not in the public interest. This committee must be operated by purely public servants, representatives of the people as a whole and not any single interest group. The Open Market Committee should be abolished, and its powers transferred to the Federal Reserve Board - the present public members of the committee, with reasonably short terms of office.” PeopleShouldWholeWisdomPoliticsTermInterestEconomyGroupsMembersOfficeServantBoardsLiberalismRepresentativesReservesCommitteesShort TermFederal ReservePublic InterestPublic ServantsInterest Groups Author:Wright Patman
“It may seem strange, but Congress has never developed a set of goals for guiding Federal Reserve policy. In founding the System, Congress spoke about the country's need for "an elastic currency." Since then, Congress has passed the Full Employment Act, declaring its general intention to promote "maximum employment, production, and purchasing power." But it has never directly counseled the Federal Reserve.” NeedsMayCountryWisdomSeemsPoliticsGoalEconomyPolicyStrangeIntentionCongressProductionsEmploymentLiberalismSpokesCurrencyReservesFoundingMaximumFederal ReserveDeclaringPurchasingPurchasing Power Author:Wright Patman
“There have been times when the Federal Reserve has restricted the money supply and raised interest rates to gain an end, which had much better been left to another Government agency or the Congress to attain. The country could have had lower interest rates without sacrificing anything else.” Has BeensEndsCountryGovernmentPoliticsLeftInterestEconomySacrificeGainsRaisedRateCongressAgencyLiberalismReservesFederal ReserveInterest RateGovernment Agencies Author:Wright Patman
“In a democracy the responsibility for the Government's economic policies, which so affect the economy, normally rests with the elected representative of the people: in our case, with the President and the Congress. If these two follow economic policies inimical to the general welfare, they are accountable to the people for their actions on election day. With Federal Reserve independence, however, a body of men exist who control one of the most powerful levers moving the economy and who are responsible to no one.” PeopleIfsMenTwoBodyGovernmentActionMovingPoliticsPresidentPowerfulResponsibilityCasesEconomyDemocracyEconomicPolicyResponsibleElectionIndependenceCongressWelfareLiberalismMost PowerfulRepresentativesReservesFederal ReserveElection DayEconomic PolicyLeversGeneral Welfare Author:Wright Patman
“If the Federal Reserve pursues a policy which Congress or the President believes not to be in the public interest, there is nothing Congress can do to reverse the policy. Nor is there anything the people can do. Such bastions of unaccountable power are undemocratic. The Federal Reserve System must be reformed, so that it is answerable to the elected representatives of the people.” PeopleIfsBelievePoliticsPresidentInterestCan DoEconomyPolicyCongressPursueLiberalismRepresentativesReservesReverseFederal ReservePublic Interest Author:Wright Patman
“The Federal Reserve is the overlord of the money supply. If these two are not steering in the same direction, they can either neutralize each other or have the economy lurching in all directions. This is not a rational system for setting economic policy. It has given us trouble in the past, as the text will establish, and will inevitably in the future.” IfsTwoPastPoliticsGivenEconomyTroubleEconomicPolicySettingRationalSettingsLiberalismReservesFederal ReserveEconomic PolicySteering Author:Wright Patman
“The banker, therefore, is not so much primarily a middleman in the commodity "purchasing power" as a producer of this commodity. However, since all reserve funds and savings today usually flow to him, and the total demand for free purchasing power, whether existing or to be created, concentrates on him, he has either replaced private capitalists or become their agent; he has himself become the capitalist par excellence.” TodayPoliticsEconomyDemandFlowExcellenceProducersSavingAgentsLiberalismFundCapitalistReservesReplacedCommoditySavingsBankersPurchasingPurchasing PowerMiddlemen Book:The Theory of Economic Development: An Inquiry into Profits, Capital, Credit, Interest, and the Business Cycle Source: The Theory of Economic Development: An Inquiry into Profits, Capital, Credit, Interest, and the Business Cycle