Can Congress control money supply?
Just as Congress and the president control fiscal policy, the Federal Reserve System dominates monetary policy, the control of the supply and cost of money. Since monetary policy affects every sector of the economy, the Fed has to be considered coequal with the president and Congress in macroeconomic decision making.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) controls the supply of money and bank credit. Government securities are purchased and sold in the open market by the RBI to control money supply. This is known as open market operations. You can read about The Reserve Bank of India: Functions and Composition in the given link.
Article I, Section 8, Clause 5: [The Congress shall have Power . . . ] To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures; . . . National Bank v.
Conducting monetary policy
The basic approach is simply to change the size of the money supply. This is usually done through open-market operations, in which short-term government debt is exchanged with the private sector.
The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 gave the Federal Reserve responsibility for setting monetary policy. The Federal Reserve controls the three tools of monetary policy--open market operations, the discount rate, and reserve requirements.
The U.S. central banking system—the Federal Reserve, or the Fed—is the most powerful economic institution in the United States, perhaps the world. Its core responsibilities include setting interest rates, managing the money supply, and regulating financial markets.
The Fed increases or decreases the monetary base by buying or selling securities in the open market. For example, the Fed buys U.S. bonds with a check that is deposited at a bank, which has an account with the Fed. The amount on the check adds to the Fed's reserves, and that increases the monetary base.
Appropriations bills
The House and Senate appropriations committees, through their 12 subcommittees, hold hearings to examine the budget requests and needs of federal spending programs. The House and Senate then produce their own appropriations bills to fund the federal government.
Part of Congress's exercise of legislative authority is the establishment of an annual budget for the government. To this end, Congress levies taxes and tariffs to provide funding for essential government services.
- Clause 1 Migration or Importation. ...
- Clause 2 Habeas Corpus. ...
- Clause 3 Nullification. ...
- Clause 4 Direct Taxes. ...
- Clause 5 Exports. ...
- Clause 6 Ports. ...
- Clause 7 Appropriations. ...
- Clause 8 Titles of Nobility and Foreign Emoluments.
How does the U.S. government increase the money supply?
Open Market Operations
If it wanted to increase the money supply, it bought government securities. This supplied cash to the banks with which it transacted and that increased the money supply. Conversely, if the Fed wanted to decrease the money supply, it sold securities from its account.
The Federal Reserve is not funded by congressional appropriations. Its operations are financed primarily from the interest earned on the securities it owns—securities acquired in the course of the Federal Reserve's open market operations.
Monetary policy is a set of actions to control a nation's overall money supply and achieve economic growth.
While the Fed's control over the size of the monetary base is complete, its control over the money supply is not. One major reason for this is banks can choose to hold the additional base money (i.e., deposit balances with the Federal Reserve banks) supplied by the Fed as excess reserves.
When and Why Did Nixon End the Gold Standard? President Richard Nixon closed the gold window in 1971 in order to address the country's inflation problem and to discourage foreign governments from redeeming more and more dollars for gold.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
The Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States, provides the nation with a safe, flexible, and stable monetary and financial system.
It goes back to supply and demand. Increasing the money supply by, say, $32 trillion only introduces $32 trillion more into the economy. It doesn't magically conjure $32 trillion worth of goods. More dollars chasing the same amount of goods would cause prices to spike — in a major way.
Federal Reserve Banks' stock is owned by banks, never by individuals. Federal law requires national banks to be members of the Federal Reserve System and to own a specified amount of the stock of the Reserve Bank in the Federal Reserve district where they are located.
It wouldn't be historically unprecedented. In fact, it's been done many times in the past. But nothing comes free, and though printing more money would avoid higher taxes, it would also create a problem of its own: inflation. Inflation is a general increase in the prices of goods and services throughout an economy.
Overall, as shown in table 1, the size of the Federal Reserve's balance sheet decreased roughly $90 billion from about $8.8 trillion on September 28, 2022, to about $8.7 trillion as of March 29, 2023.
What is ultimately responsible for the size of the money supply?
The Federal Reserve is the correct answer!
To increase the money supply, the Fed will purchase bonds from banks, which injects money into the banking system. To decrease the money supply, the Fed will sell bonds to banks, removing capital from the banking system.
Central banks conduct monetary policy by adjusting the supply of money, usually through buying or selling securities in the open market.
Supply is controlled by different entities for a number of reasons, whether that is through government intervention or market forces. In this lesson, investigate why people want to control supply, market forces, government controls, and breaking the law.
The Federal Reserve. The Fed controls monetary policy through its ability to influence the banking system, credit, and the money supply. Monetary policy is one of the two main macroeconomic tools governments use to control the aggregate economy, the other being: fiscal policy.
References
- https://www.thestreet.com/dictionary/money-supply
- https://www.investopedia.com/articles/08/fight-recession.asp
- https://finance.yahoo.com/news/top-20-countries-owe-us-175515001.html
- https://people.howstuffworks.com/5-united-states-debt-holders.htm
- https://www.usa.gov/currency
- https://learn.apmex.com/learning-guide/history/history-1000-dollar-bill/
- https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S10-C1-2/ALDE_00001098/
- https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/Sheets/2023/monetary-policy-and-central-banking
- https://arnoldjewelers.com/the-elusive-1000-dollar-bill-us/
- https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/042015/how-does-money-supply-affect-inflation.asp
- https://www.uscurrency.gov/denominations
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/miltonezrati/2023/01/16/chinas-overwhelming-debt-burden-points-to-still-deeper-problems/
- https://learn.apmex.com/learning-guide/is-there-a-500-bill/
- https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/06/openmarketoperations.asp
- https://www.cga.ct.gov/PS95/rpt/olr/htm/95-R-1200.htm
- https://www.vaia.com/en-us/textbooks/economics/macroeconomics-22nd/money-banking-and-financial-institutions/q5-what-backs-the-money-supply-in-the-united-states-what-det/
- https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-markets-financial-institutions-and-fiscal-service/cash-and-debt-forecasting
- https://usafacts.org/articles/which-countries-own-the-most-us-debt/
- https://collins.house.gov/media/press-releases/collins-china-buying-us-farmland
- https://www.vedantu.com/commerce/debt-free-countries
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_the_Treasury
- http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/CHINA-DEBT-GRAPHIC/0100315H2LG/
- https://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/11/successful-ways-government-reduces-debt.asp
- https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-finance-guide/national-debt/
- https://obamaadministration.archives.performance.gov/agency/department-treasury.html
- https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/MoneySupply.html
- https://www.richmondfed.org/banking/banker_resources/applications_membership/federal_reserve_membership
- https://www.bankrate.com/investing/income-wealth-top-1-percent/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_two-dollar_bill
- https://collectiblescurrency.com/collections/1000-one-thousand-dollars-bill
- https://thehill.com/homenews/nexstar_media_wire/4484891-is-your-2-bill-worth-thousands-how-to-tell/
- https://www.quora.com/How-much-does-America-owe-to-other-countries-and-how-much-do-those-countries-owe-America
- https://www.visualcapitalist.com/government-debt-by-country-advanced-economies/
- https://greenlight.com/learning-center/fun-facts/3-dollar-bill-US-currency
- https://www.quora.com/If-China-sells-all-US-treasury-bonds-what-will-happen-to-the-US-economy
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/246420/major-foreign-holders-of-us-treasury-debt/
- https://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/nixon-shock.asp
- https://www1.udel.edu/htr/American/Texts/fed.html
- https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/good-question-how-did-the-u-s-debt-get-so-high/
- https://home.treasury.gov/about/history/history-overview/organization-and-functions
- https://www.fool.com/investing/how-to-calculate/price-of-treasury-bills/
- https://fox59.com/news/national-world/have-a-2-bill-it-could-be-worth-thousands/
- https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/Series/Back-to-Basics/Monetary-Policy
- https://www.quora.com/Are-there-any-10-000-dollar-bills-still-in-circulation
- https://www.bea.gov/research/papers/2015/new-estimates-value-land-united-states
- https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/your-1-and-2-bills-may-be-worth-thousands
- https://versustexas.com/blog/seizure-of-cash/
- https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/us-national-debt-dilemma
- https://www.thebalancemoney.com/who-owns-the-u-s-national-debt-3306124
- https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-by-national-debt
- https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/053115/how-central-banks-control-supply-money.asp
- https://www.khanacademy.org/economics-finance-domain/macroeconomics/monetary-system-topic/macro-the-money-market/v/money-supply-and-demand-impacting-interest-rates
- https://www.investopedia.com/6-famous-discontinued-and-uncommon-u-s-currency-denominations-4773302
- https://www.imf.org/en/Blogs/Articles/2023/09/13/global-debt-is-returning-to-its-rising-trend
- https://www.shermanstravel.com/advice/travel-trivia-5-very-large-banknotes
- https://www.stlouisfed.org/-/media/project/frbstl/stlouisfed/files/pdfs/publications/pub_assets/pdf/re/2013/b/reader_exchange.pdf
- https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/nmah_742353
- https://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/currency_12600.htm
- https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/082515/who-decides-when-print-money-us.asp
- https://www.freefacts.org/social-security/why-cant-we-just-print-more-money
- https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/confederate-dollar.asp
- https://www.quora.com/What-happens-when-countries-stop-buying-U-S-bonds-and-lend-their-money-to-other-governments-instead-of-lending-them-to-America
- https://study.com/academy/lesson/controlling-supply-government-intervention-market-forces.html
- https://thehill.com/opinion/international/4075341-china-is-in-default-on-a-trillion-dollars-in-debt-to-us-bondholders-will-the-us-force-repayment/
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/article-1/section-9
- https://finance.yahoo.com/personal-finance/presidents-influence-on-interest-rates-183150114.html
- https://www.clearfinances.net/countries-without-public-debt/
- https://wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-much-money-can-a-bank-hold
- https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/07/central-banks.asp
- https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/treasurybill.asp
- https://www.marketwatch.com/visual-stories/your-2-bills-could-be-worth-over-20-000-heres-how-to-check-62175872
- https://finance.yahoo.com/news/check-wallet-rare-1-bills-120457377.html
- https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/040115/reasons-why-china-buys-us-treasury-bonds.asp
- https://open.lib.umn.edu/exploringbusiness/chapter/13-3-the-federal-reserve-system/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_position_of_the_United_States
- https://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-money-supply-shrinking-most-105000864.html
- https://home.treasury.gov/subfooter/faqs/duties-and-functions-faqs
- https://documents.dps.ny.gov/public/Common/ViewDoc.aspx?DocRefId=%7BA2C877D1-B33B-4320-AD25-2E0A7229CC8C%7D
- https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h6/current/default.htm
- https://money.com/dollar-scholar-government-print-more-money/
- https://homework.study.com/explanation/what-would-happen-if-the-u-s-actually-paid-off-the-national-debt-where-would-the-banks-big-financial-institutions-and-government-foreign-and-domestic-put-their-cash.html
- https://www.pgpf.org/national-debt-clock
- https://www.wheaton.edu/academics/academic-centers/wheaton-center-for-faith-politics-and-economics/resource-center/articles/2021/understanding-the-money-supply/
- https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/monetarypolicy.asp
- https://www.quora.com/How-much-money-has-been-printed-USD-and-what-percentage-of-that-is-still-available
- https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/who-going-buy-all-us-debt-rod-khleif-gdete
- https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/May-2023-Federal-Reserve-Balance-Sheet-Developments.htm
- https://byjus.com/ias-questions/who-controls-the-supply-of-money-and-bank-credit/
- https://www.fdiintelligence.com/content/data-trends/the-world-banks-top-10-biggest-debtors-82044
- https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/080615/china-owns-us-debt-how-much.asp
- https://wgntv.com/news/trending/is-your-2-bill-worth-thousands-how-to-tell/
- https://www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed/files/the-fed-explained.pdf
- https://www.quora.com/What-would-happen-if-China-told-the-USA-they-are-calling-in-all-of-their-debts-and-want-their-money-now
- https://www.gao.gov/americas-fiscal-future/federal-debt
- https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomc.htm
- https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/our-government/the-legislative-branch/
- https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S8-C5-1/ALDE_00001066/
- https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-us-federal-reserve
- https://www.marketplace.org/2023/05/26/who-does-the-u-s-owe-31-4-trillion/
- https://brainly.com/question/30083929
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/1226054/value-of-united-states-treasury-securities-held-by-russia/
- https://milli.bank/blog/how-much-money-do-americans-have/
- https://www.bep.gov/currency/history/historical-currency
- https://courses.lumenlearning.com/hccs-macroeconomics-3/chapter/the-fed-and-monetary-policy/
- https://new.nsf.gov/about/budget/process
- https://www.barrons.com/articles/10-000-bill-sells-for-480-000-now-thats-what-you-call-inflation-52f109c7
- https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/fractionalreservebanking.asp
- https://1997-2001.state.gov/issues/economic/fs_000301_wardebt.html
- https://constitution.findlaw.com/article1/annotation37.html
- https://home.treasury.gov/subfooter/faqs/accounting-budget-faqs
- https://chinapower.csis.org/us-debt/
- https://quizlet.com/87329574/econ-ch-13-quiz-flash-cards/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_one_hundred-thousand-dollar_bill
- https://home.treasury.gov/about/general-information/role-of-the-treasury
- https://globalaffairs.org/bluemarble/china-foreign-land-ownership-explainer
- https://www.pgpf.org/infographic/the-national-debt-is-now-more-than-34-trillion-what-does-that-mean