Is the problem a "too-free" economy or is it the one area in which the economy is centrally controlled?

Question

I.e., haven't all these asset bubbles and crashes been caused by too dramatic changes in the supply of money and credit, which is completely controlled by the Fed?

Should money and credit be privatized?

Answer 1

When things go wrong people criticize fed policy and sometimes justifiably. However it is very doubtful that getting rid of the fed would make things better. It was created in response to a series of crash and bubbles, and stared actively managing the economy  as a result of the great depression. Here is an graph of the monetary history of the US since 1774  which shows that the good old days were not really that good.

http://www.visualizingeconomics.com/2008...

Answer 2

All in all, the fed mostly tries to help the economy by controlling the supply of money and credit, but it does not appear to hinder the strength of economy because they are other factors like the price of oil, which has nothing to do with supply of money and interest rates. However, there is good argument because the housing market is a complete disaster right now. the sub prime mortgages.

This country was founded on cheap labor and cheap energy. One is slipping away, and we need to find alternative.