Strictly speaking, it's not independent of "the government" so they do feel like part of the government. Certainly they feel like "part of the team" when it comes to governance.
However, the Fed often dramatically disagrees with Congress and/or the President when it comes to the best ways of fulfilling their shared values. Witness the consistent complaints from Congress over Fed policies like QE.
> The whole independent claim is just smoke and mirrors.
It's a lot more than that and has a legal basis. If the Fed weren't legally independent, I'm quite sure that Congress would have forced it to adopt different policies than it has.
However, the Fed often dramatically disagrees with Congress and/or the President when it comes to the best ways of fulfilling their shared values. Witness the consistent complaints from Congress over Fed policies like QE.
> The whole independent claim is just smoke and mirrors.
It's a lot more than that and has a legal basis. If the Fed weren't legally independent, I'm quite sure that Congress would have forced it to adopt different policies than it has.