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Money, the Federal Reserve System, and Banking Essay

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Money, the Federal Reserve System, and Banking

You have used money to measure the price, the size of business, total output in the economy, and income. Coins and paper money are called currency. People use currency daily. When you go to a movie, you probably buy a ticket with currency. Coins and paper money work well for small purchases and when payment is made directly from one person to another. But, for large purchases or when payments travels to mail, currency is not practical. A check is a written order to pay money from amounts deposited. Therefore, deposits in checking accounts, credit union share draft accounts, and other similar accounts are considered money. Remember that the most important function of money is as a …show more content…

The higher the level of income, the greater the demand for money and buying power, The asset demand for money is the demand for money in order to hold wealth in the form of money. Some people will always hold some part of their wealth in the form of money. If we use money to buy an asset that pays interest, such as a government or corporate bond, we earn more money in the form of interest payments. The Federal Reserve System is the central banking system in the United States. The United States was slow to adopt a central banking system. Not until 1913 did Congress, under pressure from President Wilson, pass the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. Each Federal Reserve Bank operates as a private business with its own president and board of directors. The board of directors has nine members, six of whom are elected by member banks. Member banks are those that belong to the Federal Reserve System. The other directors are appointed by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Ten of the Federal Reserve Banks have branches that are closely controlled by the district banks. A Board of Governors supervises the Federal Reserve System. The Seven members of the Board of Governors are appointed by the president with the approval of Congress. The Federal Open Market Committee acts on one important part of monetary policy: the buying and selling of U.S. government securities by the

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