June 3, 2025 • 24 mins
Money isn't just the dollar in your wallet—it's a system of control with the Federal Reserve at its center. This episode pulls back the curtain on one of America's most powerful yet least understood institutions.
The Federal Reserve presents itself as a government agency working for economic stability, but beneath this facade lies a quasi-private institution born from the interests of banking elites. Created in 1913 following a secret meeting at Jekyll Island between Senator Nelson Aldrich and executives from the nation's most powerful banks, the Fed was designed to appear public while ensuring private control over monetary policy. Regional Federal Reserve banks are actually owned by member banks that receive guaranteed dividends and elect directors—embedding banking interests directly into national economic decisions.
While claiming to promote maximum employment and price stability, the Fed's policies consistently favor financial institutions and asset holders. Low interest rates fuel asset price inflation benefiting the wealthy, while average citizens struggle with stagnant wages and rising costs for necessities. During crises like 2008 and COVID-19, the Fed moved swiftly to bail out Wall Street while Main Street suffered. Perhaps most damning was its catastrophic failure during the Great Depression, when it tightened credit and allowed the money supply to contract by nearly one-third as unemployment soared to 25%.
Beyond critiquing the current system, we explore alternatives—from mutual credit systems and public banking to local currencies and resource-backed money. These models point toward an economics that honors reciprocity over exploitation, that sees currency not just as money but as a current of life energy flowing through communities. The future doesn't need another central bank; it needs central belonging—a new architecture that mirrors the intelligence of natural systems and distributes rather than concentrates power.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hello everyone and welcome back to the Evolved
Podcast, a space for unfilteredtruth, deep reflection and
heightened awareness.
Here, knowledge isn't justinformation.
It's a tool for transformation.
Each episode is designed tochallenge illusions, reveal
patterns and empower Not toentertain but to awaken.
(00:26):
Today, we turn our gaze to oneof the most powerful yet
misunderstood forces shaping ourworld Money.
Not the dollar in your wallet,but the system behind the system
, the architecture of creditcontrol and central banks.
At the heart of it all sits theFederal Reserve.
Cloaked in the illusion ofpublic service, yet born from
(00:48):
private interests, it claims tostabilize markets, control
inflation and protect theeconomy, but who does it really
serve and at what cost?
We live in a world where thosewho own the assets benefit most
from policies made in backrooms,while the average citizen bears
the weight of inflation, debtand diminishing purchasing power
(01:09):
.
A system that should safeguardthe public good has instead been
weaponized to entrenchinequality, to reward
speculation over creation and tomake financial survival feel
like a privilege rather than aright.
This isn't just an economicissue.
It's a spiritual one.
When value itself is defined byprofit, when worth is indexed
(01:31):
by what you produce rather thanwho you are, the sacred is
stripped from our lives.
We forget that economy comesfrom the Greek oikonomia,
meaning household management.
It was never meant to be abattlefield of winners and
losers, meaning householdmanagement.
It was never meant to be abattlefield of winners and
losers, but a living system thatreflects care, reciprocity and
(01:53):
balance.
So what happens when we stopasking how to survive inside the
system and begin asking how totransform it?
In this episode, we'll explorethe inherent conflict of
interest embedded in the FederalReserve System structure, how
monetary policy quietly shapeseverything from opportunity to
inequality, and why reclaimingour economic imagination is
essential to building a worldwhere everyone's dignity is
(02:14):
non-negotiable, because tocreate a future rooted in truth,
beauty and justice, we muststop treating systems as sacred
and start treating life that wayinstead.
Let's begin.
The formation of the US FederalReserve in 1913 was a result of
intense negotiations among elitebankers, politicians and
(02:35):
business leaders who wereseeking to stabilize the US
financial system, but it wasalso shaped by their own
financial interests.
Despite the public perceptionthat the Fed is a government
agency, it is in fact, aquasi-private institution with
limited democratic oversight anddeep ties to the private
banking sector that created it.
In the late 19th and early 20thcenturies, the US suffered from
(02:57):
repeated financial panics,notably in 1873, 1893, and 1907,
during which banks collapsed,credit evaporated and the public
lost trust in the system.
The panic of 1907 wasespecially pivotal.
It showed that privatefinanciers like JP Morgan could
essentially bail out the USeconomy single-handedly,
(03:19):
highlighting both the fragilityof the system and the
overwhelming influence ofwealthy bankers.
In response, a secretive 1910meeting took place at Jekyll
Island, georgia.
This meeting involved SenatorNelson Aldrich, executives from
JPMorgan Co, kuhn, loban Co andthe National City Bank of New
York.
These men drafted a plan for acentral bank that would serve
(03:42):
the needs of the banking elite.
Under the guise of stabilizingthe economy, their goal was to
create a lender of last resortfor banks, protect bank assets
in crises and centralize controlof money and credit in the
hands of a few.
Congress passed the FederalReserve Act in December 1913.
President Woodrow Wilson signedit into law.
(04:04):
It created a central bankingsystem with 12 regional Federal
Reserve banks overseen by aboard of governors in Washington
DC.
But here's the key the regionalbanks are not government-owned.
They are owned by privatemember banks in their districts.
These banks hold stock in theFederal Reserve banks, receive
guaranteed dividends and electsix of the nine directors at
(04:26):
each regional bank, while theBoard of Governors is appointed
by the President and confirmedby the Senate.
The actual monetary operationsof the Fed, like setting
interest rates or conductingasset purchases, are carried out
by the Federal Open MarketCommittee, or FOMC, which
includes seven public boardmembers and five private
rotating regional bankpresidents.
(04:46):
This creates a hybrid structurewhere private banking interests
are directly embedded innational monetary policy.
There's no direct audit of theFed's monetary actions and
Congress has no control over itsdecisions regarding interest
rate changes, asset buyingprograms or quantitative easing
or currency expansion.
The Fed is said to be quoteindependent to avoid political
(05:08):
pressure, but in practice itanswers to no electorate, is
insulated from congressionalbudgeting and serves a system
where the interests of WallStreet, not Main Street, often
dominate.
Its decisions can inflate assetprices, dictate credit flows
and shift economic tides withlittle to no input from the
public.
It ostensibly serves theoriginal architects.
(05:29):
Morgan, rockefeller, warburgand their peers designed the Fed
to protect the banking classduring crisis.
That legacy persists to thisday.
During 2008 and COVID-19, theFed bailed out large financial
firms and supported markets farmore swiftly than it aided
ordinary citizens.
It continues to funnelliquidity into asset markets,
(05:50):
disproportionately benefitingthose with stocks, real estate
and capital.
While it operates with the auraof government legitimacy, the
Federal Reserve is essentially aprivate banking cartel with
government power.
Its formation was driven not bypublic mandate, but by elite
financial interests.
It remains unaccountable tovoters, it's shielded from
transparency and it's in controlof the levers of money and
(06:13):
credit in the world's largesteconomy.
In this light, the Fed doesn'tjust manage the economy, it
defines who benefits from it.
The purpose of the US FederalReserve, commonly known as the
Fed, is to ensure a stable,secure and well-functioning
monetary financial system in theUnited States.
It conducts monetary policy Inthis capacity.
The Fed's primary role is topromote maximum employment,
(06:36):
stable prices or low predictableinflation and moderate
long-term interest rates.
These are collectively known asthe Fed's dual mandate, set by
Congress.
It also supervises andregulates banks.
It ensures the safety andsoundness of the banking system
and is supposed to be protectingconsumers.
It also monitors and addressessystemic risks that could lead
(06:58):
to financial crisis.
It acts as a lender of lastresort during times of liquidity
shortages, like the 2008financial crisis and the
COVID-19 market disruptions.
It also provides financialservices.
It serves as the bank for banksand for the US government.
It handles payments,distributes currency, clears
checks and facilitateselectronic transfers.
(07:20):
The Fed is the only institutionauthorized to issue Federal
Reserve notes, which is thephysical cash used in the United
States.
Here's how they do it they uselow inflation, which equates to
asset price growth.
For the wealthy.
The Fed often keeps interestrates low to stimulate borrowing
and economic activity,particularly during recessions.
(07:41):
This cheap money flowsdisproportionately into assets
such as stocks, bonds and realestate, which are mostly held by
the wealthy in largeinstitutions.
What's the result?
Well, you get asset inflation,not consumer price inflation,
and this becomes the realeconomic driver and the wealthy
benefit the most.
Stabilizing CPI inflation helpsjustify easy monetary policy
that inflates asset values andwidens the wealth gap.
(08:05):
The average citizens are hurtby delayed wage growth.
The Fed's focus on inflationcan make it reluctant to allow
wages to rise too fast, fearingwhat they call a wage price
spiral.
But wages typically lag behindboth inflation and productivity
growth, especially in lowerincome sectors.
This causes real wage tostagnate or decline even as the
(08:26):
cost of living rises.
This is a conflict.
The Fed may act to suppressinflation just as working class
Americans begin to see modestwage gains.
The Fed's bank-centered designprotects lenders, not borrowers.
The Federal Reserve System wasoriginally created by and for a
consortium of private banks 12regional banks, largely governed
(08:48):
by commercial bankrepresentatives.
Policies like low interestrates help banks and large
borrowers like corporations andhedge funds far more than
consumers.
Meanwhile, savings accounts,pensions and fixed incomes earn
negligible returns under theseexact same policies.
As a result, the Fed's mandatepreserves financial system
(09:09):
liquidity and lender profitswhile eroding small savers'
value.
In truth, inflation targetingby the Fed can mask structural
inequality.
The 2% inflation target isapplied generically, ignoring
how inflation affects differentclasses unequally.
Inflation target is appliedgenerically, ignoring how
inflation affects differentclasses unequally.
For the average citizen,inflation in housing, healthcare
(09:31):
, education and food far exceeds2% over time.
For asset holders, moderateinflation is tolerable or even
beneficial, because it lowersthe real cost of debt and boosts
capital gains.
As a result, the Fed'sinflation lens focuses on
abstract averages, not the livedreality of economic inequality.
Its debt-fueled growth favorsfinancial institutions.
A system where low inflationand interest rates are
(09:52):
maintained over long periodsencourages high levels of
borrowing by governments,corporations and households.
This expands the financialsector's role in the economy
while making average people moredebt-dependent.
Through credit cards, studentloans and mortgages, banks
profit massively from the systemthrough interest fees and asset
leverage.
(10:12):
As a result, what stabilizesthe economy for central banks
strengthens the grip of debt forthe general public.
The Federal Reserve's mandateappears neutral Price stability,
full employment but in practiceit privileges capital over
labor, assets over wages andfinancial institutions over
everyday economic sovereignty.
Wages and financialinstitutions over everyday
(10:34):
economic sovereignty.
The inherent conflict ofinterest in the existence and
structure of the Federal Reservestems from the hybrid
public-private nature of theinstitution and its dual role as
both regulator and participantin the financial system.
Here are the core elements ofthis conflict there is a public
mission, yet private ownership.
The Federal Reserve has apublic mandate, ie stable prices
, full employment, etc.
But its regional banks areowned by private member banks.
(10:54):
These private banks earndividends from their ownership,
which raises questions aboutwhether the Fed can truly be
independent of the institutionsit oversees.
The same banks the Fedregulates are part-owners of the
institution, creating theappearance or risk of regulatory
capture, ie the regulator beingunduly influenced by those it's
(11:14):
supposed to supervise.
The Fed is meant to serve thebroader economy, but its actions
, such as quantitative easing orbailouts, often
disproportionately benefit largefinancial institutions and
asset holders.
Critics argue the Fed's toolstend to inflate asset prices,
exacerbating wealth inequality.
A central bank that is supposedto serve the public interest may
(11:35):
, in practice, serve thefinancial elite, intentionally
or unintentionally, thusundermining trust in its
neutrality.
The Fed is independent fromelected officials to avoid
political interference inmonetary policy.
However, this independencemeans that an unelected body
wields immense power overinterest rates, money supply and
economic conditions, withlittle democratic oversight.
(11:59):
Who holds the Fed accountableif its decisions harm workers,
inflate bubbles or mismanageinflation?
Their dual mandate, which isprice stability and maximum
employment, often requiresmassive trade-offs.
In fighting inflation, forexample, the Fed may raise
interest rates, which canincrease unemployment and hurt
(12:20):
borrowers, especially invulnerable communities.
The Federal Reserve is meant toact in the public interest, yet
it is structurally tied to theprivate banking system and
wields immense unelected power.
This raises concerns of bias,lack of transparency and
misaligned incentives,especially when its policies
seem to disproportionatelybenefit financial institutions
(12:41):
over ordinary citizens.
When assessing the FederalReserve's efficacy or its
ability to perform its mandates,we need look no further than
the Great Depression.
The Federal Reserve'smismanagement of the Great
Depression stands as one of themost glaring illustrations of
how the system is inherentlyflawed and fails to serve its
intended purpose, that is, topromote financial stability,
(13:02):
full employment and pricestability.
Between 1929 and 1933, the USeconomy experienced a
catastrophic collapse.
Gdp dropped by nearly 30%,unemployment soared to 25%.
Thousands of banks failed.
Deflation deepened the crisis.
Yet the very institutioncreated to prevent such a
collapse, the Federal Reserve,stood by or worsened the
(13:23):
situation.
At a time when banks werecollapsing en masse and
depositors were panicking, theFed refused to inject liquidity
into the system.
According to economist MiltonFriedman, this decision alone
turned a sharp recession into afull-blown depression.
Milton Friedman stated, and Iquote the Fed's inaction was not
passive negligence.
(13:43):
It was an active choice to letthe money supply contract.
From 1929 to 1933, the US moneysupply fell by nearly one-third
.
Instead of increasing reservesor lowering interest rates, the
Fed tightened credit, fearinginflation.
But inflation was nowhere insight.
The real threat was deflation,which worsened debt burdens, cut
wages and collapsed prices.
(14:06):
The Fed was more concerned withmaintaining gold convertibility
than rescuing the domesticeconomy.
It prioritized foreigncreditors and international
trust over job creation,stability or growth at home.
The commitment to an abstractmonetary rule outweighed concern
for real human suffering.
You see, the decentralizedstructure of the Federal Reserve
(14:27):
System, split into 12 regionalbanks led to confusion, inaction
and competing interests.
The New York Fed wanted to actaggressively, but other regional
banks to confusion and actionand competing interests.
The New York Fed wanted to actaggressively, but other regional
banks resisted.
There was no unified leadershipto steer the economy out of
crisis.
So what does this reveal aboutthe Federal Reserve?
Well, it reveals a system moreloyal to capital than to people,
more reactive to elite panicthan to public need, and more
(14:49):
focused on technical orthodoxythan adaptive wisdom.
Rather than fulfilling itsmandate to ensure stability, the
Federal Reserve deepened thecollapse by choosing austerity
over expansion, inaction overintervention and ideology over
intuition.
The Great Depression is not justa failure of policy.
It is a symptom of systemicmisalignment A system that
(15:10):
treats the economy as numbersnot lives, a system that listens
to markets not communities, asystem rooted in control not
care.
It shows us what happens whenwe give godlike power to
institutions with no spiritual,ecological or democratic
accountability.
The Great Depression shouldhave been a turning point, a
(15:30):
moment to ask what is money for?
Who is the economy meant toserve?
Instead, the Fed was latergiven even more power without
the necessary restructuring ofits purpose, transparency or
values.
The Federal Reserve's handlingof the Great Depression is a
case study in how a system builton abstraction and hierarchy
can fail utterly in the face ofhuman need.
(15:52):
It is not just a flaw instrategy.
It's a failure of the soul ofour country.
If we are to reimagineeconomics, we must begin by
replacing technocraticindifference with conscious
design systems that align withlife, not simply capital.
This conflict is structural,not conspiratorial.
(16:13):
Yet the outcomes are the same asystem that reinforces
inequality under the banner ofeconomic stability.
To realign it would requireredefining stability not just as
low inflation, but as equitableparticipation in prosperity.
Here are several alternatives tothe traditional central banking
system that are either alreadyin use or being proposed to
(16:34):
address the shortcomings ofcentralized, debt-based monetary
systems.
There's a mutual credit system,like Sardex in Italy, where
local businesses trade with oneanother using a credit system
that doesn't rely on nationalcurrency.
Balances are created by trustand offset over time.
No interest, no banks.
This encourages circular,community-based economies.
(16:56):
There's public banking systemslike the Bank of North Dakota.
It's a state-owned bank thatserves the public interest
rather than private shareholders.
Profits are reinvested into thestate for education,
infrastructure and smallbusinesses.
This structure supports localbanks instead of competing with
them.
There are complementary andlocal currency structures, like
(17:17):
the Bristol Pound in the UK orIthaca Hours.
These currencies circulate onlywithin a local community, keep
wealth local, often depreciateif not spent, encouraging
circulation rather than hoarding.
There's also sovereign digitalcurrencies, like in China,
nigeria or the Bahamas.
These are centralized in naturebut represent a shift from
(17:38):
private bank-created money tostate-issued digital cash.
These systems may increasetransparency and reduce bank
overreach, but still depend onstate control, not
decentralization.
There's also resourced backedand ecological currencies
Currencies backed by carbonsequestration, renewable energy
(17:59):
or ecosystem restoration.
They're proposed as a new wayto anchor money in planetary
boundaries and natural value.
There's also the Islamicbanking system, which is a
non-interest-based financialmodel.
These systems ban interest andemphasize ethical investment.
They promote shared risk andreal asset-backed finance.
(18:20):
They are already in practicewidely in parts of the Middle
East, southeast Asia and Africa.
Each alternative reflects adifferent worldview, one that
prioritizes community equity,resilience or ecological harmony
over control and profit.
The Federal Reserve System wasbuilt not with an ear to the
sacred, but with an eye towardscontrol.
(18:40):
Control At its core.
The Fed is designed to regulatemarkets, manage inflation and
stabilize the financial systemthrough levers of interest rates
, money supply and creditissuance.
But nowhere in its architecturedoes it say what serves life,
what honors the soul, whatsustains harmony with nature or
equity among all beings.
It is a system of mathematicalabstraction, disconnected from
(19:04):
the pulse of the earth and thebreath of the human spirit.
Its measures of success are GDPgrowth, consumer confidence,
inflation targets.
These are fundamentallyextractive.
They reward acceleration,consumption and competition, not
regeneration, sufficiency orreverence.
Reverence.
(19:27):
This system commodifies time.
The Fed's policies rely oninterest and artificial pressure
placed on time itself.
But the sacred moves cyclically, not linearly.
Growth for growth's sake is aviolation of a natural order
which includes rest, decay andrenewal.
This system values only whatcan be measured.
Love has no metric, belonginghas no price tag.
The Fed's levers cannot touchthe soul of a village where the
(19:48):
grief of a forest felled for GDP.
It governs a reality that omitsthe most essential truths.
The system also privileges thefew over the many.
Its very origin, crafted insecrecy by bankers at Jekyll
Island in 1910, enshrined asystem where those with capital
shape the conditions foreveryone else.
(20:10):
This is not stewardship.
This is hierarchy disguised asstability.
If we were to align economiclife with the rhythms of the
cosmos, we would not centercontrol, we would center
relationship.
We would have local anddecentralized exchange systems,
mutual credit networks,community currencies and time
(20:30):
banks.
All mirror the reciprocityfound in ecosystems that
prioritize trust, service andsufficiency over speculation and
hoarding.
We would look at regenerativefinance capital deployed in
service of healing of land,bodies and communities.
Profit is not abandoned butsubordinated to purpose.
The goal is not to extract butto circulate vitality.
(20:53):
We would focus on sacred timingand natural limits.
A sacred economic system wouldfollow the seasons.
There would be time for rest,time for slowness, time for
listening.
Artificial scarcity andperpetual urgency would be
replaced by trust and naturalabundance.
We would look for currencybacked by meaning, instead of
debt-based money issued throughprivate banks.
(21:14):
We could imagine currenciesbacked by service, by time, by
care.
Imagine a currency that growsin value, not when hoarded but
when shared.
You see, the universe doesn'tinflate endlessly.
Stars collapse into black holes, galaxies birth new systems.
Nature teaches us thateverything must be in balance.
The Fed knows only expansion orcontraction, but the sacred
(21:37):
teaches us rhythm, not reaction.
The future of economy is notmore control, it's deeper
coherence.
It is remembering that value isnot determined by markets but
by what sustains life.
To build this future, we don'tjust need better policies.
We need a reorientation of thesoul, an economy that listens to
(21:58):
the earth, that reflects thefractal harmony of creation,
that restores the sacred to thecenter of exchange.
We don't need to destroy theold system to begin, we only
need to stop bowing to it andstart designing economies that
sound like love.
As we come to the end of thisepisode, one thing becomes clear
we cannot heal a systemdesigned to keep us asleep
(22:20):
without first remembering who weare.
The Federal Reserve, like manyinstitutions, operates from a
paradigm of control, scarcityand separation, where value is
extracted, not cultivated, wherewealth is concentrated not
shared, where the rhythms oflife are bent to serve the
mechanisms of profit.
But sacred economics beginswith a different premise, one
(22:40):
that honors reciprocity overexploitation, that sees currency
not just as money but as acurrent, as a flow of life,
energy, trust and care.
If the Federal Reserve listensonly to markets and not to
people, let alone to the earth,then it is not a system aligned
with life.
And if the systems that governus cannot reflect the sacred,
(23:01):
then it is up to us to beginimagining, remembering and
building the ones that do, notthrough revolt but through
resonance, not through dominancebut through coherence.
The future doesn't need anothercentral bank, it needs central
belonging, a new rhythm thathonors every being, a new
architecture that mirrors theintelligence of the cosmos.
So let this episode be aninvitation not just to question
(23:24):
the system, but to come backinto right relationship with
value, with community and withthe sacred flow of life itself,
because in the end, therevolution won't be centralized.
It will be rooted, rememberedand lived.
As you continue listening to theEvolved Podcast, I'm going to
unveil the true nature of theworld that exists right under
(23:44):
your nose.
I'm going to analyze with you,out in the open, the systems at
play here and the ways we cangrow together and evolve.
My aim To provide you with realways to touch higher levels of
awareness through truth andknowledge.
Episodes are updated weekly.
If you want to change yourworld for the better and support
this evolution of consciousness, please show me by following,
sharing this podcast with thoseyou love and leaving a review.
(24:06):
If you enjoyed our time today,please donate on BuyMeACoffee,
linked in the show notes below.
Until next week, let's level upand master your universe.
You.
Hello everyone and welcome back to the Evolved
Podcast, a space for unfilteredtruth, deep reflection and
heightened awareness.
Here, knowledge isn't justinformation.
It's a tool for transformation.
Each episode is designed tochallenge illusions, reveal
patterns and empower Not toentertain but to awaken.
(00:26):
Today, we turn our gaze to oneof the most powerful yet
misunderstood forces shaping ourworld Money.
Not the dollar in your wallet,but the system behind the system
, the architecture of creditcontrol and central banks.
At the heart of it all sits theFederal Reserve.
Cloaked in the illusion ofpublic service, yet born from
(00:48):
private interests, it claims tostabilize markets, control
inflation and protect theeconomy, but who does it really
serve and at what cost?
We live in a world where thosewho own the assets benefit most
from policies made in backrooms,while the average citizen bears
the weight of inflation, debtand diminishing purchasing power
(01:09):
.
A system that should safeguardthe public good has instead been
weaponized to entrenchinequality, to reward
speculation over creation and tomake financial survival feel
like a privilege rather than aright.
This isn't just an economicissue.
It's a spiritual one.
When value itself is defined byprofit, when worth is indexed
(01:31):
by what you produce rather thanwho you are, the sacred is
stripped from our lives.
We forget that economy comesfrom the Greek oikonomia,
meaning household management.
It was never meant to be abattlefield of winners and
losers, meaning householdmanagement.
It was never meant to be abattlefield of winners and
losers, but a living system thatreflects care, reciprocity and
(01:53):
balance.
So what happens when we stopasking how to survive inside the
system and begin asking how totransform it?
In this episode, we'll explorethe inherent conflict of
interest embedded in the FederalReserve System structure, how
monetary policy quietly shapeseverything from opportunity to
inequality, and why reclaimingour economic imagination is
essential to building a worldwhere everyone's dignity is
(02:14):
non-negotiable, because tocreate a future rooted in truth,
beauty and justice, we muststop treating systems as sacred
and start treating life that wayinstead.
Let's begin.
The formation of the US FederalReserve in 1913 was a result of
intense negotiations among elitebankers, politicians and
(02:35):
business leaders who wereseeking to stabilize the US
financial system, but it wasalso shaped by their own
financial interests.
Despite the public perceptionthat the Fed is a government
agency, it is in fact, aquasi-private institution with
limited democratic oversight anddeep ties to the private
banking sector that created it.
In the late 19th and early 20thcenturies, the US suffered from
(02:57):
repeated financial panics,notably in 1873, 1893, and 1907,
during which banks collapsed,credit evaporated and the public
lost trust in the system.
The panic of 1907 wasespecially pivotal.
It showed that privatefinanciers like JP Morgan could
essentially bail out the USeconomy single-handedly,
(03:19):
highlighting both the fragilityof the system and the
overwhelming influence ofwealthy bankers.
In response, a secretive 1910meeting took place at Jekyll
Island, georgia.
This meeting involved SenatorNelson Aldrich, executives from
JPMorgan Co, kuhn, loban Co andthe National City Bank of New
York.
These men drafted a plan for acentral bank that would serve
(03:42):
the needs of the banking elite.
Under the guise of stabilizingthe economy, their goal was to
create a lender of last resortfor banks, protect bank assets
in crises and centralize controlof money and credit in the
hands of a few.
Congress passed the FederalReserve Act in December 1913.
President Woodrow Wilson signedit into law.
(04:04):
It created a central bankingsystem with 12 regional Federal
Reserve banks overseen by aboard of governors in Washington
DC.
But here's the key the regionalbanks are not government-owned.
They are owned by privatemember banks in their districts.
These banks hold stock in theFederal Reserve banks, receive
guaranteed dividends and electsix of the nine directors at
(04:26):
each regional bank, while theBoard of Governors is appointed
by the President and confirmedby the Senate.
The actual monetary operationsof the Fed, like setting
interest rates or conductingasset purchases, are carried out
by the Federal Open MarketCommittee, or FOMC, which
includes seven public boardmembers and five private
rotating regional bankpresidents.
(04:46):
This creates a hybrid structurewhere private banking interests
are directly embedded innational monetary policy.
There's no direct audit of theFed's monetary actions and
Congress has no control over itsdecisions regarding interest
rate changes, asset buyingprograms or quantitative easing
or currency expansion.
The Fed is said to be quoteindependent to avoid political
(05:08):
pressure, but in practice itanswers to no electorate, is
insulated from congressionalbudgeting and serves a system
where the interests of WallStreet, not Main Street, often
dominate.
Its decisions can inflate assetprices, dictate credit flows
and shift economic tides withlittle to no input from the
public.
It ostensibly serves theoriginal architects.
(05:29):
Morgan, rockefeller, warburgand their peers designed the Fed
to protect the banking classduring crisis.
That legacy persists to thisday.
During 2008 and COVID-19, theFed bailed out large financial
firms and supported markets farmore swiftly than it aided
ordinary citizens.
It continues to funnelliquidity into asset markets,
(05:50):
disproportionately benefitingthose with stocks, real estate
and capital.
While it operates with the auraof government legitimacy, the
Federal Reserve is essentially aprivate banking cartel with
government power.
Its formation was driven not bypublic mandate, but by elite
financial interests.
It remains unaccountable tovoters, it's shielded from
transparency and it's in controlof the levers of money and
(06:13):
credit in the world's largesteconomy.
In this light, the Fed doesn'tjust manage the economy, it
defines who benefits from it.
The purpose of the US FederalReserve, commonly known as the
Fed, is to ensure a stable,secure and well-functioning
monetary financial system in theUnited States.
It conducts monetary policy Inthis capacity.
The Fed's primary role is topromote maximum employment,
(06:36):
stable prices or low predictableinflation and moderate
long-term interest rates.
These are collectively known asthe Fed's dual mandate, set by
Congress.
It also supervises andregulates banks.
It ensures the safety andsoundness of the banking system
and is supposed to be protectingconsumers.
It also monitors and addressessystemic risks that could lead
(06:58):
to financial crisis.
It acts as a lender of lastresort during times of liquidity
shortages, like the 2008financial crisis and the
COVID-19 market disruptions.
It also provides financialservices.
It serves as the bank for banksand for the US government.
It handles payments,distributes currency, clears
checks and facilitateselectronic transfers.
(07:20):
The Fed is the only institutionauthorized to issue Federal
Reserve notes, which is thephysical cash used in the United
States.
Here's how they do it they uselow inflation, which equates to
asset price growth.
For the wealthy.
The Fed often keeps interestrates low to stimulate borrowing
and economic activity,particularly during recessions.
(07:41):
This cheap money flowsdisproportionately into assets
such as stocks, bonds and realestate, which are mostly held by
the wealthy in largeinstitutions.
What's the result?
Well, you get asset inflation,not consumer price inflation,
and this becomes the realeconomic driver and the wealthy
benefit the most.
Stabilizing CPI inflation helpsjustify easy monetary policy
that inflates asset values andwidens the wealth gap.
(08:05):
The average citizens are hurtby delayed wage growth.
The Fed's focus on inflationcan make it reluctant to allow
wages to rise too fast, fearingwhat they call a wage price
spiral.
But wages typically lag behindboth inflation and productivity
growth, especially in lowerincome sectors.
This causes real wage tostagnate or decline even as the
(08:26):
cost of living rises.
This is a conflict.
The Fed may act to suppressinflation just as working class
Americans begin to see modestwage gains.
The Fed's bank-centered designprotects lenders, not borrowers.
The Federal Reserve System wasoriginally created by and for a
consortium of private banks 12regional banks, largely governed
(08:48):
by commercial bankrepresentatives.
Policies like low interestrates help banks and large
borrowers like corporations andhedge funds far more than
consumers.
Meanwhile, savings accounts,pensions and fixed incomes earn
negligible returns under theseexact same policies.
As a result, the Fed's mandatepreserves financial system
(09:09):
liquidity and lender profitswhile eroding small savers'
value.
In truth, inflation targetingby the Fed can mask structural
inequality.
The 2% inflation target isapplied generically, ignoring
how inflation affects differentclasses unequally.
Inflation target is appliedgenerically, ignoring how
inflation affects differentclasses unequally.
For the average citizen,inflation in housing, healthcare
(09:31):
, education and food far exceeds2% over time.
For asset holders, moderateinflation is tolerable or even
beneficial, because it lowersthe real cost of debt and boosts
capital gains.
As a result, the Fed'sinflation lens focuses on
abstract averages, not the livedreality of economic inequality.
Its debt-fueled growth favorsfinancial institutions.
A system where low inflationand interest rates are
(09:52):
maintained over long periodsencourages high levels of
borrowing by governments,corporations and households.
This expands the financialsector's role in the economy
while making average people moredebt-dependent.
Through credit cards, studentloans and mortgages, banks
profit massively from the systemthrough interest fees and asset
leverage.
(10:12):
As a result, what stabilizesthe economy for central banks
strengthens the grip of debt forthe general public.
The Federal Reserve's mandateappears neutral Price stability,
full employment but in practiceit privileges capital over
labor, assets over wages andfinancial institutions over
everyday economic sovereignty.
Wages and financialinstitutions over everyday
(10:34):
economic sovereignty.
The inherent conflict ofinterest in the existence and
structure of the Federal Reservestems from the hybrid
public-private nature of theinstitution and its dual role as
both regulator and participantin the financial system.
Here are the core elements ofthis conflict there is a public
mission, yet private ownership.
The Federal Reserve has apublic mandate, ie stable prices
, full employment, etc.
But its regional banks areowned by private member banks.
(10:54):
These private banks earndividends from their ownership,
which raises questions aboutwhether the Fed can truly be
independent of the institutionsit oversees.
The same banks the Fedregulates are part-owners of the
institution, creating theappearance or risk of regulatory
capture, ie the regulator beingunduly influenced by those it's
(11:14):
supposed to supervise.
The Fed is meant to serve thebroader economy, but its actions
, such as quantitative easing orbailouts, often
disproportionately benefit largefinancial institutions and
asset holders.
Critics argue the Fed's toolstend to inflate asset prices,
exacerbating wealth inequality.
A central bank that is supposedto serve the public interest may
(11:35):
, in practice, serve thefinancial elite, intentionally
or unintentionally, thusundermining trust in its
neutrality.
The Fed is independent fromelected officials to avoid
political interference inmonetary policy.
However, this independencemeans that an unelected body
wields immense power overinterest rates, money supply and
economic conditions, withlittle democratic oversight.
(11:59):
Who holds the Fed accountableif its decisions harm workers,
inflate bubbles or mismanageinflation?
Their dual mandate, which isprice stability and maximum
employment, often requiresmassive trade-offs.
In fighting inflation, forexample, the Fed may raise
interest rates, which canincrease unemployment and hurt
(12:20):
borrowers, especially invulnerable communities.
The Federal Reserve is meant toact in the public interest, yet
it is structurally tied to theprivate banking system and
wields immense unelected power.
This raises concerns of bias,lack of transparency and
misaligned incentives,especially when its policies
seem to disproportionatelybenefit financial institutions
(12:41):
over ordinary citizens.
When assessing the FederalReserve's efficacy or its
ability to perform its mandates,we need look no further than
the Great Depression.
The Federal Reserve'smismanagement of the Great
Depression stands as one of themost glaring illustrations of
how the system is inherentlyflawed and fails to serve its
intended purpose, that is, topromote financial stability,
(13:02):
full employment and pricestability.
Between 1929 and 1933, the USeconomy experienced a
catastrophic collapse.
Gdp dropped by nearly 30%,unemployment soared to 25%.
Thousands of banks failed.
Deflation deepened the crisis.
Yet the very institutioncreated to prevent such a
collapse, the Federal Reserve,stood by or worsened the
(13:23):
situation.
At a time when banks werecollapsing en masse and
depositors were panicking, theFed refused to inject liquidity
into the system.
According to economist MiltonFriedman, this decision alone
turned a sharp recession into afull-blown depression.
Milton Friedman stated, and Iquote the Fed's inaction was not
passive negligence.
(13:43):
It was an active choice to letthe money supply contract.
From 1929 to 1933, the US moneysupply fell by nearly one-third
.
Instead of increasing reservesor lowering interest rates, the
Fed tightened credit, fearinginflation.
But inflation was nowhere insight.
The real threat was deflation,which worsened debt burdens, cut
wages and collapsed prices.
(14:06):
The Fed was more concerned withmaintaining gold convertibility
than rescuing the domesticeconomy.
It prioritized foreigncreditors and international
trust over job creation,stability or growth at home.
The commitment to an abstractmonetary rule outweighed concern
for real human suffering.
You see, the decentralizedstructure of the Federal Reserve
(14:27):
System, split into 12 regionalbanks led to confusion, inaction
and competing interests.
The New York Fed wanted to actaggressively, but other regional
banks to confusion and actionand competing interests.
The New York Fed wanted to actaggressively, but other regional
banks resisted.
There was no unified leadershipto steer the economy out of
crisis.
So what does this reveal aboutthe Federal Reserve?
Well, it reveals a system moreloyal to capital than to people,
more reactive to elite panicthan to public need, and more
(14:49):
focused on technical orthodoxythan adaptive wisdom.
Rather than fulfilling itsmandate to ensure stability, the
Federal Reserve deepened thecollapse by choosing austerity
over expansion, inaction overintervention and ideology over
intuition.
The Great Depression is not justa failure of policy.
It is a symptom of systemicmisalignment A system that
(15:10):
treats the economy as numbersnot lives, a system that listens
to markets not communities, asystem rooted in control not
care.
It shows us what happens whenwe give godlike power to
institutions with no spiritual,ecological or democratic
accountability.
The Great Depression shouldhave been a turning point, a
(15:30):
moment to ask what is money for?
Who is the economy meant toserve?
Instead, the Fed was latergiven even more power without
the necessary restructuring ofits purpose, transparency or
values.
The Federal Reserve's handlingof the Great Depression is a
case study in how a system builton abstraction and hierarchy
can fail utterly in the face ofhuman need.
(15:52):
It is not just a flaw instrategy.
It's a failure of the soul ofour country.
If we are to reimagineeconomics, we must begin by
replacing technocraticindifference with conscious
design systems that align withlife, not simply capital.
This conflict is structural,not conspiratorial.
(16:13):
Yet the outcomes are the same asystem that reinforces
inequality under the banner ofeconomic stability.
To realign it would requireredefining stability not just as
low inflation, but as equitableparticipation in prosperity.
Here are several alternatives tothe traditional central banking
system that are either alreadyin use or being proposed to
(16:34):
address the shortcomings ofcentralized, debt-based monetary
systems.
There's a mutual credit system,like Sardex in Italy, where
local businesses trade with oneanother using a credit system
that doesn't rely on nationalcurrency.
Balances are created by trustand offset over time.
No interest, no banks.
This encourages circular,community-based economies.
(16:56):
There's public banking systemslike the Bank of North Dakota.
It's a state-owned bank thatserves the public interest
rather than private shareholders.
Profits are reinvested into thestate for education,
infrastructure and smallbusinesses.
This structure supports localbanks instead of competing with
them.
There are complementary andlocal currency structures, like
(17:17):
the Bristol Pound in the UK orIthaca Hours.
These currencies circulate onlywithin a local community, keep
wealth local, often depreciateif not spent, encouraging
circulation rather than hoarding.
There's also sovereign digitalcurrencies, like in China,
nigeria or the Bahamas.
These are centralized in naturebut represent a shift from
(17:38):
private bank-created money tostate-issued digital cash.
These systems may increasetransparency and reduce bank
overreach, but still depend onstate control, not
decentralization.
There's also resourced backedand ecological currencies
Currencies backed by carbonsequestration, renewable energy
(17:59):
or ecosystem restoration.
They're proposed as a new wayto anchor money in planetary
boundaries and natural value.
There's also the Islamicbanking system, which is a
non-interest-based financialmodel.
These systems ban interest andemphasize ethical investment.
They promote shared risk andreal asset-backed finance.
(18:20):
They are already in practicewidely in parts of the Middle
East, southeast Asia and Africa.
Each alternative reflects adifferent worldview, one that
prioritizes community equity,resilience or ecological harmony
over control and profit.
The Federal Reserve System wasbuilt not with an ear to the
sacred, but with an eye towardscontrol.
(18:40):
Control At its core.
The Fed is designed to regulatemarkets, manage inflation and
stabilize the financial systemthrough levers of interest rates
, money supply and creditissuance.
But nowhere in its architecturedoes it say what serves life,
what honors the soul, whatsustains harmony with nature or
equity among all beings.
It is a system of mathematicalabstraction, disconnected from
(19:04):
the pulse of the earth and thebreath of the human spirit.
Its measures of success are GDPgrowth, consumer confidence,
inflation targets.
These are fundamentallyextractive.
They reward acceleration,consumption and competition, not
regeneration, sufficiency orreverence.
Reverence.
(19:27):
This system commodifies time.
The Fed's policies rely oninterest and artificial pressure
placed on time itself.
But the sacred moves cyclically, not linearly.
Growth for growth's sake is aviolation of a natural order
which includes rest, decay andrenewal.
This system values only whatcan be measured.
Love has no metric, belonginghas no price tag.
The Fed's levers cannot touchthe soul of a village where the
(19:48):
grief of a forest felled for GDP.
It governs a reality that omitsthe most essential truths.
The system also privileges thefew over the many.
Its very origin, crafted insecrecy by bankers at Jekyll
Island in 1910, enshrined asystem where those with capital
shape the conditions foreveryone else.
(20:10):
This is not stewardship.
This is hierarchy disguised asstability.
If we were to align economiclife with the rhythms of the
cosmos, we would not centercontrol, we would center
relationship.
We would have local anddecentralized exchange systems,
mutual credit networks,community currencies and time
(20:30):
banks.
All mirror the reciprocityfound in ecosystems that
prioritize trust, service andsufficiency over speculation and
hoarding.
We would look at regenerativefinance capital deployed in
service of healing of land,bodies and communities.
Profit is not abandoned butsubordinated to purpose.
The goal is not to extract butto circulate vitality.
(20:53):
We would focus on sacred timingand natural limits.
A sacred economic system wouldfollow the seasons.
There would be time for rest,time for slowness, time for
listening.
Artificial scarcity andperpetual urgency would be
replaced by trust and naturalabundance.
We would look for currencybacked by meaning, instead of
debt-based money issued throughprivate banks.
(21:14):
We could imagine currenciesbacked by service, by time, by
care.
Imagine a currency that growsin value, not when hoarded but
when shared.
You see, the universe doesn'tinflate endlessly.
Stars collapse into black holes, galaxies birth new systems.
Nature teaches us thateverything must be in balance.
The Fed knows only expansion orcontraction, but the sacred
(21:37):
teaches us rhythm, not reaction.
The future of economy is notmore control, it's deeper
coherence.
It is remembering that value isnot determined by markets but
by what sustains life.
To build this future, we don'tjust need better policies.
We need a reorientation of thesoul, an economy that listens to
(21:58):
the earth, that reflects thefractal harmony of creation,
that restores the sacred to thecenter of exchange.
We don't need to destroy theold system to begin, we only
need to stop bowing to it andstart designing economies that
sound like love.
As we come to the end of thisepisode, one thing becomes clear
we cannot heal a systemdesigned to keep us asleep
(22:20):
without first remembering who weare.
The Federal Reserve, like manyinstitutions, operates from a
paradigm of control, scarcityand separation, where value is
extracted, not cultivated, wherewealth is concentrated not
shared, where the rhythms oflife are bent to serve the
mechanisms of profit.
But sacred economics beginswith a different premise, one
(22:40):
that honors reciprocity overexploitation, that sees currency
not just as money but as acurrent, as a flow of life,
energy, trust and care.
If the Federal Reserve listensonly to markets and not to
people, let alone to the earth,then it is not a system aligned
with life.
And if the systems that governus cannot reflect the sacred,
(23:01):
then it is up to us to beginimagining, remembering and
building the ones that do, notthrough revolt but through
resonance, not through dominancebut through coherence.
The future doesn't need anothercentral bank, it needs central
belonging, a new rhythm thathonors every being, a new
architecture that mirrors theintelligence of the cosmos.
So let this episode be aninvitation not just to question
(23:24):
the system, but to come backinto right relationship with
value, with community and withthe sacred flow of life itself,
because in the end, therevolution won't be centralized.
It will be rooted, rememberedand lived.
As you continue listening to theEvolved Podcast, I'm going to
unveil the true nature of theworld that exists right under
(23:44):
your nose.
I'm going to analyze with you,out in the open, the systems at
play here and the ways we cangrow together and evolve.
My aim To provide you with realways to touch higher levels of
awareness through truth andknowledge.
Episodes are updated weekly.
If you want to change yourworld for the better and support
this evolution of consciousness, please show me by following,
sharing this podcast with thoseyou love and leaving a review.
(24:06):
If you enjoyed our time today,please donate on BuyMeACoffee,
linked in the show notes below.
Until next week, let's level upand master your universe.
You.
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