Why Should I Care About the Federal Reserve? (National Overview)

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That means among the 108 board members across all 12 Regional Banks:

The Class B and C spots that are supposed to represent the public instead go to corporations, such as:

• 72 board members should represent the public.
• 36 board members should represent banks.

But in Reality ...

Black Lives Matter ...

Black Livelihoods Matter

The way Black Americans are treated in the economy creates a third-world country inside the United States.

Members of the Fed are saying that unemployment is where it should be. But they don't see our communities. Black unemployment is historically DOUBLE white unemployment.

Economic justice has always been a part of the fight for racial justice.

If we want economic justice, we need to go to where the power is in the economy.

These poverty rates result in death also: black life expectancy is 4 years lower than white life expectancy. Lower than countries like Bosnia, Cuba, and Malaysia.

The Fed can't ignore black communities when it makes the biggest decisions on the economy.

The 9 Members of each Regional Bank Board are appointed in three classes:

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The terms of all 12 Regional Presidents end on February 29, 2016

The President of the Minneapolis Fed is

Narayana Kocherlakota.

The Federal Reserve

Board of Governors

The Federal Reserve sets interest rates.

Will they be re-appointed? Replaced? Who will replace them?

Kocherlakota has been an ally so far: he has said that there is a real unemployment and wage crisis in America. But he is resigning at the end of the year. Who will replace him?

Imagine the impact on everyone when the downward spiral slows the whole economy down.

The answer is up to regional boards of directors, and it's also up to us.

"The Fed, not the Treasury or the White House or Congress, is now the primary economic policymaker in the United States, and therefore the world."

Interest rates

New York

How does the Fed have such a huge impact on the economy?

Why would anyone want to slow the economy down?

July 21, 2014

Our opponents try to scare people by saying that inflation will raise the cost of everything, but there's more to the story.

In Denmark, a Big Mac costs

$5.18.

Here, a Big Mac costs

$4.80.

The minimum wage is

$7.25 per hour

So corporate interests have disproportionate influence over the system to push their priorities.

McDonald's workers make

$21 per hour

And what does "FULL EMPLOYMENT" mean?

But what does inflation really mean?

Atlanta

That's an example of how inflation really works: things may cost a little more, but it's okay if we get paid more

The Federal Reserve decides the rate of unemployment that the economy should handle.

Richmond

The Federal Reserve is the Central Bank of the United States

Kocherlakota's resignation is a big opportunity here in MPLS

vs.

And inflation isn't even rising! The Fed wants to stop the economy and raise interest rates because they're afraid inflation MIGHT appear!

The Fed manages our system of money and regulates the banks.

How?

If we engage with Kocherlakota, we can change the way the economy works!

So who are the people who decide if the economy speeds up and expands or slows down and shrinks? Who decides if we have good jobs and good wages or continue to struggle with unemployment?

They are deciding right now if the economy has recovered or not -- whether we should live with unemployment as it is, or if it should change.

Start with individuals ...

The REAL reason people try to scare people about inflation is because lower interest rates means higher wages.

Better wages for us comes out of their corporate profits.

That's part of the reason why, when we demand jobs, they cry inflation.

In Minneapolis racial disparities are even worse. In Minneapolis, the unemployment rate is ....

The Minneapolis Fed Board of Directors appoint a new Fed President by Feb. 2016

And who are they?

Wealthy interests also exaggerate fear of inflation because it decreases the value of their accumulated wealth.

In other words, $100 million may buy a little less than it used to.

2.8 % for whites

10.9% for blacks

Most of us have debt.

The 19 powerful members of the FOMC meet every 6 weeks to decide whether to speed up or slow down the economy.

But moderate inflation is okay if it's driven by rising wages and more jobs.

But conservative economists and corporate interests have convinced some members of the Fed that inflation is worse than unemployment.

Thomas Armstrong, First Nat. Bank of Park Falls (WI)

Catherine T. Kelly, Minn. Bank and Trust (Edina MN)

Randy Newman, Alerus Financial (ND)

Christine Hamilton, Christiansen Land and Cattle (SD)

Kathleen Neset, Neset Consulting Services (ND)

Lawrence R. Simkins, Washington Companies (MT)

MayKao Y. Hang (Deputy Chair), Amherst Wilder Foundation (St. Paul, MN)

Randall J. Hogan (Chair), Pentair (Minneapolis, MN)

Kendall J. Powell, General Mills (Minneapolis, MN)

Fewer jobs mean less money for our families, and less

Power

The Fed is considering raising interest rates.

The Fed's policies are underneath ALL our struggles for economic justice

We're making more money for our bosses by being more productive, but since we have less power, they keep our fair share for themselves.

"It is important to acknowledge the improvements in the real economy that have occurred. I don’t think we can any longer rationalize a zero interest rate policy."

James Bullard

St. Louis Federal Reserve President

January 2015

Federal Reserve Chair

“I’m not expecting inflation to be 2% when we raise interest rates. I don’t need to be at the goal when we raise the rates.”

For decades, the Fed has been dominated by financial and corporate interests who care more about inflation than jobs.

John Williams

Because of Fed policies, we keep working harder and harder, but we're not making any more money.

San Francisco Fed President

January 2014

But the new Federal Reserve Chair, Janet Yellen, is different. She's a progressive who cares about JOBS.

She has more power to change policy than anyone at the Fed, so her tenure presents a huge opportunity to create an economy that's good for workers.

Janet Yellen

So why do we care about the Federal Reserve?

But Yellen will need to convince the other 18 members of the FOMC to support a strong economy with full employment and rising wages.

But all those struggles are in the larger economy, which is like the tree the nest rests in.

Housing

Our work everyday on our campaigns is like working hard to build a nest where we can grow toward our goals for economic and racial justice.

And the Fed can wreck the whole economy.

Because the Fed decides if the economy stalls or speeds up.

These few decisionmakers have enormous power.

And if the Fed chooses policies that are wrong for us ...

If we can influence them, we can change the economy.

One of the key decisionmakers in the Fed is right here in Minneapolis:

Narayana Kocherlakota.

Then everything we've worked for to build a better life for our families could be destroyed.

If we organize in Minneapolis, we can make a HUGE impact on the way the Fed and the economy works.

The Fed decides if we live with high unemployment, or reach full employment

The Fed creates the playing field for high wages or low wages

That's why we need the Fed to create a transparent and democratic process for choosing regional bank presidents.

If we organize in Fed regions across the country ...