| | The '''Federal Reserve''' (also known as '''The Fed''') is a central banking system that controls the monetary system of the [[United States]]. Although it acts with the authority of the [[government]], the Federal Reserve is not an official government agency. It was established by the Federal Reserve Act, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by [[President]] [[Woodrow Wilson]] in 1913. Although the [[Constitution]] says that only Congress has the authority to "coin money", the Federal Reserve issues currency that is not based on the original [[gold standard]].<ref>http://www.federalreserve.gov/</ref> The Federal Reserve is headed by a Board of Governors and a Chairman. The current Chairman is [[Ben Bernanke]]; his predecessor was [[Alan Greenspan]]. | | The '''Federal Reserve''' (also known as '''The Fed''') is a central banking system that controls the monetary system of the [[United States]]. Although it acts with the authority of the [[government]], the Federal Reserve is not an official government agency. It was established by the Federal Reserve Act, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by [[President]] [[Woodrow Wilson]] in 1913. Although the [[Constitution]] says that only Congress has the authority to "coin money", the Federal Reserve issues currency that is not based on the original [[gold standard]].<ref>http://www.federalreserve.gov/</ref> The Federal Reserve is headed by a Board of Governors and a Chairman. The current Chairman is [[Ben Bernanke]]; his predecessor was [[Alan Greenspan]]. |
| − | The main job of the Federal Reserve is to control [[inflation]] by regulating the [[free market]].<ref>http://www.peterjaworski.com/Friedman</ref> One of its main functions is to set the amount of money that banks must keep in reserve and to set the interest rates for money it lends to banks. | + | The main job of the Federal Reserve is to control [[inflation]] by regulating the [[free market]].<ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20070818201731/http://www.peterjaworski.com/Friedman</ref> One of its main functions is to set the amount of money that banks must keep in reserve and to set the interest rates for money it lends to banks. |
| | Federal Reserve banks are located in [[Boston]], [[New York]], [[Philadelphia]], [[Cleveland]], [[Richmond]], [[Atlanta]], [[Chicago]], [[Kansas City]], [[St. Louis]], [[Minneapolis]], [[Dallas]], and [[San Francisco]]. | | Federal Reserve banks are located in [[Boston]], [[New York]], [[Philadelphia]], [[Cleveland]], [[Richmond]], [[Atlanta]], [[Chicago]], [[Kansas City]], [[St. Louis]], [[Minneapolis]], [[Dallas]], and [[San Francisco]]. |