> What does the Fed "itself" have as its purpose and goal ? To maximize
>income for the rich ? When it attempts to influence the economy , what is
>its goal ?
Its statutory responsibility is <http://federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/fract/sect02a.htm>:
>The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal
>Open Market Committee shall maintain long run growth of the monetary
>and credit aggregates commensurate with the economy's long run
>potential to increase production, so as to promote effectively the
>goals of maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term
>interest rates.
By contrast, the European Central Bank's only mandate is price stability. And the difference shows in the practice of the two institutions.
In practice, the Fed won't allow the labor market to get so tight that labor gains the upper hand in bargaining with capital. That means provoking recessions to restore enough slack to keep capital on top. But they wouldn't tolerate, as the ECB does, 8-10% unemployment rates either. No one could seriously accuse Greenspan of running an austere ship over the last 17 years. So, if I had to boil it down to a phrase, I'd say that their mission is to maintain the status quo of the American class structure.
Doug