We hear a lot about the Federal Reserve. It’s a poorly understood entity that seems to be in the news an awful lot for something most of the public knows so little about.

We have a firm understanding of what the Federal Reserve does, and we know that it is just a human institution like any other, subject to the same virtues and flaws as the rest of us. There is a vocal minority however that is concerned with the idea of a vast and powerful conspiracy with the Federal Reserve at its helm. They fear that a small handful of unelected people control everything at the expense of our legitimate elective government and will ultimately be our ruination.

There is a glaring problem with this theory: the hundred years since the Federal Reserve was founded has seen more progress in our country, in our living standards, and in goods and services that make our lives better than was done in the thousand (or two thousand, or ten thousand) years before.

In other words, if a handful of people really are controlling everything, they’ve apparently been doing a wonderful job for us so far.