Essay About Discount Rate And Money Supply

Monetary and Fiscal Policy
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The Monetary and Fiscal Policies, although controlled by two
different organizations, are the ways that our economy is kept under
control. Both policies have their strengths and weaknesses, some
situations favoring use of both policies, but most of the time, only
one is necessary.
The monetary policy is the act of regulating the money supply
by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, currently headed by Alan
Greenspan. One of the main responsibilities of the Federal Reserve
System is to regulate the money supply so as to keep production,
prices, and employment stable. The “Fed” has three tools to manipulate
the money supply. They are the reserve requirement, open market
operations, and the discount rate.
The most powerful tool available is the reserve requirement.
The reserve requirement is the percentage of money that the bank is
not allowed to loan out. If it is lowered, banks are required to keep
less money, and so more money is put out into circulation
(theoretically). If it is raised, then banks may have to collect on
some loans to meet the new reserve requirement.
The tool known as open market operations influences money and
credit operations by buying and selling of government securities on
the open market. This is used to control overall money supply. If the
Fed believes there is not enough money in circulation, then they will
buy the securities from member banks. If the Fed believes there is too
much money in the economy, they will sell the securities back to the
banks. Because it is easier to make gradual changes in the supply of
money, open market operations are use more regularly than monetary
policy.
When member banks want to raise money, they can borrow from
Federal Reserve Banks. Just like other loans, there is an interest
rate, or a discount rate, the third tool of the monetary policy. If
the discount rate is high, then fewer banks will be inclined to
borrow, and if it is low, more banks will (theoretically) borrow from
the reserve banks. The discount rate is not used as frequently as it
was in the past, but it does serve as an indicator to private bankers
of the intentions of the Fed to constrict or enlarge the money
supply.
The monetary policy is a good way to influence the money
supply, but it does have its weaknesses. One weakness is that tight
money policy works better that loose money policy. Tight money works
on bringing money in to stop circulation, but for loose policy to
really work, people have to want loans and want to spend money.
Another problem is monetary velocity. The number of times per year a
dollar changes hands for goods and services is completely independent
of the money supply, and can sometimes contradict the efforts of the
Fed. The benefits of the monetary system are that it can be enacted
immediately with quick results. There are no delays from congress.
Second, the Fed uses partisan politics, and so has no ties to any
political party, but acts in the best interests of the U.S. Economy.
The second way to influence the money supply lies in the hands
of the government with the Fiscal Policy. The fiscal policy consists
of two main tools. The changing of tax rates, and changing government
spending. The main point of fiscal policy is to