That is rather disingenuous. While the Fed can make decisions outside the purview of the government, its power is derived from Congress, and its governors are appointed by the President and confirmed by Congress. It's certainly not an entirely private organization.
Please excuse my ignorance. I thought I knew something, and I was apparently mistaken. Several aspects taken from the wikipedia entry[1] stuck out for me:
The Federal Reserve System's structure is composed of the presidentially appointed Board of Governors (or Federal Reserve Board), the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks located in major cities throughout the nation, numerous privately owned U.S. member banks and various advisory councils.[
The Federal Reserve System has both private and public components, and was designed to serve the interests of both the general public and private bankers.
It is also unusual in that an entity outside of the central bank, namely the United States Department of the Treasury, creates the currency used.
However, its authority is derived from the U.S. Congress and is subject to congressional oversight. Additionally, the members of the Board of Governors, including its chairman and vice-chairman, are chosen by the President and confirmed by Congress. The government also exercises some control over the Federal Reserve by appointing and setting the salaries of the system's highest-level employees. Thus the Federal Reserve has both private and public aspects.
Various statutory changes, including the Federal Reserve Transparency Act, have been proposed to broaden the scope of the audits. Bloomberg L.P. News brought a lawsuit against the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to force the Board to reveal the identities of firms for which it has provided guarantees.[140] Bloomberg, L.P. won at the trial court level,[141] and as of early September 2010 the case is on appeal at the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Where does the President get the list of potential members to appoint to the Board?
How can the Fed make a loan to the unqualified wives of Morgan Stanley executives with zero-risk to them without repercussion if they are so well controlled?
