Beware of criticism regarding the Federal Reserve right now; you need to know what's being criticized and why. This is in response to https://voat.co/v/GreatAwakening/2869853, which links a Gateway Pundit article titled "JEROME POWELL SCREWS AMERICA: Dow Drops 2,500 Points Since Fed Chairman’s Insidious Threats to Raise Rates". You need to know what rates are being raised, and how the Federal Reserve has the power to raise them. First, let's take a look at the Federal Funds Overnight Rate. (archive link.)  This is the rate the Federal Reserve has a monopoly on and sets. Here's the thing though: There's nothing forbidding banks from loaning each other money outside of this system.  The Fed maintains this "monopoly" basically by overpowering the market; it has an infinite supply of money, it can print more money whenever it wants, and it can lend/borrow with no limit.  As a result any bank that wants to loan out money at higher than that rate has potential borrowers borrow from the Fed instead; and any borrower who wants to borrow at below that rate likewise finds all lenders do the same. Why does the Fed do this?  This is how the Fed is supposed to control the money supply and the economy.  It can set the rate artificially low to lend out more money than it borrows, releasing more money into the economy; or it can set it high to suck money in in an attempt to kill inflation. So here's the question:  Right now the Fed has that number set at 2.2%.  If the Fed wasn't there, would banks be lending each other money at a lower or a higher rate?  If we're seeing inflation, as indicators seem to show, that rate would naturally be higher, and the Fed is subsidizing the banks by lending at a low rate and printing more cash.  That new cash entering the economy has the potential to exacerbate that inflation, and the Fed would naturally increase rates to slow that down. Except we seem to have a political faction that's screaming about the Fed killing the economy. The biggest problem is, IMNSHO, exactly how much money the Fed is lending/borrowing isn't public information, so We The People have no way to judge if they're doing the right thing, or if they're acting in a politically motivated manner. I would conclude that, instead of yelling and screaming and speculating, we need to audit the Fed, and change the rules.  (If not eliminate it entirely, but that's another argument.)