The Federal Reserve’s Role and how it Oversteps the Biblical Principles
Student’s name
ECONOMICS ANALYSIS ESSAY
For this assignment, you will write a 2–3-page paper (double-spaced, 1-inch margins) providing at least 1 example of how government has overstepped biblical principles in some form of economic policy. Be sure to adhere to the format specified in the Course Style Guidelines document.
Options include the following topics:
• A specific piece of legislation relating to business regulation or taxation.
• The “party platform” of either the Republican Party or the Democratic Party (or both).
• The role of the Federal Reserve.
• The budget process.
In discussing one of these topics, incorporate clear references from the required reading.
The required Reading & Study material for Module/Week 7 must be cited specifically, and you must include outsides sources as well. You must include at least 2 references in your essay; when citing them, you must adhere to the format specified in the Course Style Guidelines document.
GOVT-200: Constitutional Government & Free Enterprise
The Federal Reserve’s Role and how it Oversteps the Biblical Principles
The United States government attempts to abide by biblical doctrines during the formulation and undertaking of some forms of economic policies. The Bible has imperative information essential in keeping the societal outcomes in check. The collection of these tips are referred to as biblical principles (Conti-Brown, 2017). These principles are God’s form of disseminating information and guiding principles to humanity and Christians on the progressive path f spirituality. Moreover, they are intertwined with human beings’ nature so that they relate to God’s way of life or human.
Analysis of the Federal Reserve’s role in overstepping the biblical principles
Conversely, these principles face many drawbacks as human beings overstep their daily undertakings of the multifaceted government economic policy processes. An exemplary instance is the Federal Reserve’s processes as it oversteps the biblical principles as Christians question the Fed’s performance (Conti-Brown, 2017). This discourse analyses the Fed’s role and how it oversteps the biblical principles in the wake of maintaining the economic stimulus.
Background of the Federal Reserve
The Federal Reserves was founded in 1913 by U.S Congress, primarily to regulate the national financial instructions and keep the economy afloat. It is regarded as one of the most influential financial institutions globally, also referred to as the United States Central bank. The Fed is an independent entity; thus, its decision is not subjected to government influence. However, it is not exempted from the oversight of congress; thus, it must operate as per the provision of the financial and economic policy framework policy (Conti-Brown, 2017).
Issue of Concern
Over the years, the Federal Reserve has formulated new policies and regulations to violate biblical principles. These rules have shaped and changed the functionality of the bank. Herein are a few biblical guidelines that the Fed has violated.
Biblical application
Firstly, according to Exodus 22:26, it addresses the issue of repayment of dues, whereby the Fed violates these guidelines. Following the financial crisis of 2008, a crisis that could have been prevented, however, in the Fed’s watch, is monitored as the banks depleted their reserves, the fed offered loans while understanding the financial institution’s inability to pay the loans with the increased interest rates. Secondly, the fed contributes to the debasement of money that is considered a violation of the biblical principles addressed in Isiah 1:2. In the Bible, money was equated to silver and gold that were precious metals (Conti-Brown, 2017).
However, the Federal Reserve shifted the value of its silver in 1933. The metals and plates were replaced by the Federal Reserve notes that are not backed up by anything but rather than the government assurance of its worth, unlike the value of silver and Gold (Marbaniang, 2013). Furthermore, due to its monopolistic nature, the Federal Reserve’s forcibly transfers to others. As it attributes to inflation, which is an ethical violation, the exodus 20:15 biblical principle ‘‘thou shall not steal’’. Additionally, According to the Bible, addressed by the book of Leviticus 19:36, “Thou shall not tamper with measures and weights…” this provision of the Bible questions the use of false measures and weights as this amounts to a high level of fraud.
Literature review
The ability to generate more and more notes has led to inflation; this is one way the Federal Reserve has overstepped the biblical principles in economic policy. The Federal Reserve’s contribution of inflation violates the right to private property, thus considered unethical economic policy. By manipulating the government supply, this has attributed to the economic and ethical shortcomings and notably contributes to the violation of God’s doctrine. The Bible requires us to use accurate balances; thus, false weights equal to abomination as per the biblical teachings. This is concerning the use of coinage and Federal Reserve notes to measure the value of the currency (Sabrin, 2019)
Commentary
The United States economic policies are formulated to safeguard the people; the functionality of these policies is guided by the provisions of these policies and other external influences such as the biblical principles. Many of these economic policies have overstepped the biblical principles and teachings; this is evidenced by the multifaceted issues facing the economy, in matters, taxation, budgetary allocation, and notably the Federal Reserve’s functionality. Many financial institutions today are suffering bankruptcy following their inability to repay their debts. Additionally, the country has suffered a financial crisis and inflation following the Feds violation of the biblical principles and its doctrines during the formation of economic policies.
References
Conti-Brown, P. (2017). The power and independence of the Federal Reserve. Princeton University Press.
Marbaniang, D. (2013). The Corrosion of Gold In Light of Modern Christian Economics.
Sabrin, M. (2019). Why the Federal Reserve Sucks. Lulu. Com.
