How could things have gotten so out of hand? Was someone — everyone — asleep at the wheel? What were we thinking? Of course, innumerable factors led to the state of our economy today. Let’s take a quick look at a few and explore where it all might lead us.
The Federal Reserve’s secrecy.
The Federal Reserve has an integral role in managing the money supply by printing paper money, setting interest rates and helping monitor the banking system. It’s important to note the Federal Reserve is privately owned. Its owners’ names aren’t revealed to anyone — not even the president. This is a scary situation, to say the least. We have absolutely no idea whose hands hold the purse strings of our economy.
A lack of CEO accountability.
Up to and including the Great Depression, if a company went bankrupt, so did the president and CEO. After the Depression, that changed. The CEO can now bankrupt a company and walk away rich. We see this all the time. It has created a very ugly scenario for investors and employee retirement funds. The impact this can have on the health of the economy cannot be overstated. It can contribute…