As you might know, the U.S. Senate voted 70-30 to confirm Ben Bernanke as Chair of the Federal Reserve for another 4 years. Ever wonder who sits on the Federal Reserve, and what they do? Well, here it is. The Federal Reserve was created in 1913 by Woodrow Wilson when he signed the Federal Reserve Act into law. Before the Federal Reserve Act was in place, there wasn’t a consistent central bank in this country — and believe it or not, there wasn’t an official single “thing” representing “money.”  There were two short-lived national banking charters, but they were based on the Bank of England — and as Congress gained more power, they controlled the flow of currency.  So the Federal Reserve Act created a consistent form of currency (the Federal Reserve “Note”) — and a central bank that would have both private and public components. The Board oversees 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks, and these are chaired by folks who monitor local bank stability and economic fluctuation — and then make recommendations to the big board which is chaired by Bernanke. Bernanke also chairs the Federal Open Market Committee, which aims to keep the economy stable by monitoring the flow of money. The Federal Reserve — which is the shorthand for this board of directors and also an actual building — also makes sure that your money is safe through the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation).  It was created to address market panics — and many (including Milton Friedman) blamed the Fed for the Great Depression.  Bernanke has obsessed on the Depression throughout his career, and even called-out Friedman in a speech one time by thanking him for blaming the Fed for the Depression, and said hey, on behalf of the Fed, sorry about that — but thanks to you it won’t happen again.  Bernanke’s job for the past four years, aside from the task of monitoring the prime interest rate and flow of money, has been to, basically, avoid another Depression.  Job well done, sir.