Most people think the President is by far the most important government official in American politics… well okay, that is true, but the President’s authority pales in comparison to that of other collective bodies of government. If you are in the military or work for the government, he could impact your day to day, but for the most part not really. These other “collective bodies” have a whole hell of a lot more influence than our Pres. One of the most consequential is The Federal Reserve.
Do you have a job? A loan of any kind? A savings account or retirement fund? Cash or a credit card in your wallet? These things are denominated in US dollars. You might think those familiar green rectangles with dead white guys, dried stripper sweat and cocaine residue as dollars; but they are in fact Federal Reserve Notes.
So what the hell is the Federal Reserve? It goes by “The Fed”, and it is neither publicly or privately owned. Its essentially a banking cartel that controls the value of those Federal Reserve Notes (the US dollar) and through it – the US economy. Wait, What!!! How??? They determine how much money and credit the American people have access to, so depending on how they are feeling about the economy; one day you could be approved for a loan to buy that Wu-Tang album you had your eyes on, and the next day, they could tell you to eat shit. Not only do they control whether you can get a loan, they also control the value of the dollar and in turn everything you buy with it. Essentially, the value of everything in your life is pretty much controlled by a small group of unelected economists who answer to almost no one in our elected offices, including the President.
Some of their greatest hits include: the first Great Recession, 1970’s stagflation, the second Great Recession, the housing bubble and many more! When they fuck up- it fucks everybody up.
Is there an alternative? No, nothing has been tried in our modern multi-trillion dollar globally integrated economy that wouldn’t fuck your life up just as bad or worse.
What the hell am I getting at here? The President doesn’t really have jack shit to do with the economy. The President can fuck it up worse by starting World War III or signing some crazy executive orders– but that’s about it.
Don’t worry though, The Fed isn’t the only body of government that can fuck up your life more than the President, stay tuned for future episodes of THE PRESIDENT DOESN’T MATTER where we will talk about more shit box government institutions who can and likely will ruin your day.
-Boston George