Alan Greenspan releases his memoir today, “The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World” and people seem surprised by some of Mr. Greenspan’s thoughts. The Wall Street Journal reports on the reaction to his book. One major point in his book that many media outlets picked out is that Greenspan felt that congressional Republicans and the President Bush didn’t heed advice and that the party abandoned its principles.This blog post isn’t meant to be political in nature. The reason this is included is because the actions of the Federal Reserve has an impact on everyone’s personal finance. Wikipedia has general outline of the hierarchy and history of the Reserve. The FAQ of the Fed’s site is very useful. Granted, it’s directed at children, but if you just want a quick explanation of its functions, this is a good resource. Probably the best source of information is howstuffworks.com. The site contains a comprehensive explanation of the system and includes several questions and topics like:

• Why do we need the Fed?
• Fed Toolbox: Discount Rates, Open Market, and Reserve Requirements
• Checks and Balances
• How does the Fed support itself?
• Monetary Policy

The book seems like an interesting read, as it includes his perspective on different Presidents and their economic policies.

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