Forum Post: "The banks and Federal Reserve are in control of our nation’s economic destiny" - Dennis Kucinich

“The banks—and the Federal Reserve that supports those banks—are very much in control of our nation’s economic destiny right now.

“It is time for us to face the fact that leaving the enormous and devastating problem of lowering the unemployment rate up to the Federal Reserve is a mistake that we have to change. Though the Fed has a mandate to maximize employment, most of what it has done has had the effect of expanding bank balance sheets. Tellingly, the Federal Reserve is not acting to achieve its mandate of full employment, but instead is targeting an unemployment rate of between six and seven percent. And last week, the Fed Chairman hinted that more quantitative easing is coming. This has been great for corporate profits, but it hasn’t done nearly enough to stimulate businesses to hire workers or to stimulate demand in the economy.

“We cannot leave the economic well-being of millions of Americans in the hands of an entity that serves the private financial institutions. Instead they’re talking about the same old solution that hasn’t made much of a difference so far: quantitative easing.

“We have trillions of dollars in crumbling infrastructure that private banks are not doing anything to fix, and neither is the Fed. If we want to strengthen our economy, it is time we stopped waiting and hoping for substantive action from the Fed Chairman.

“This has to change. We have to change it. Now is our time.”

• Dennis Kucinich