Who Really Runs the Money Printer? (And Why Can’t We Opt Out of Foreign Aid?)
Written by: Jennifer Bash
Some people spend their weekends at the beach or brunch. I spend mine thinking about the Federal Reserve and whether taxpayers should be able to opt out of foreign aid. Normal? Maybe not. Productive? You bet.
Let’s start with the shower thought that started it all:
What if you could choose whether your tax dollars went to domestic priorities—like education, infrastructure, and veterans—or were sent overseas in the form of foreign aid?
Simple checkbox on your W-4:
✅ Keep it local
⬜ Ship it abroad
It’s direct democracy with your wallet. Brilliant, right?
That’s when Jamie (aka Human C-SPAN) hit me with: “Well, you know, the Federal Reserve controls monetary policy, not Congress. And foreign aid? That’s a whole separate budget process.”
Cue the record scratch. What even is the Federal Reserve? Who controls it? And why does it feel like no one—not even elected officials—really understands who’s calling the financial shots?
Let’s decode this economic Rubik’s Cube.
The Federal Reserve: America’s Mystery Banker
Officially, the Federal Reserve (or "the Fed") is the central bank of the United States. Its job is to:
Control inflation
Regulate the money supply
Keep employment and interest rates stable
Act as the lender of last resort (especially in times of crisis)
It was created in 1913 by the Federal Reserve Act. Since then, it has become the most powerful institution in the financial world—and possibly the least understood.
Wait… Who Actually Controls the Fed?
Technically, it’s a hybrid of public oversight and private influence. Translation: no one person—or elected body—truly controls it. Not Congress. Not the President. Not even Elon.
At the top of the pyramid is Jerome Powell, Chair of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. A Republican appointed by Trump and reappointed by Biden, Powell has become the bipartisan punching bag of both Wall Street and Washington. He’s holding off on rate cuts while half the country screams “Uncle!” over mortgage rates.
Backing him are six other governors:
Philip Jefferson – Vice Chair. Appointed by Biden, Democrat-leaning. Brings a calm, academic presence.
Michelle Bowman – Republican. A rare voice for community banks and rural issues.
Christopher Waller – Republican and known inflation hawk.
Lisa Cook, Adriana Kugler, and Michael Barr – All Biden picks, leaning Democrat, focused on labor markets, equity, and regulatory oversight.
They serve 14-year terms. Which, in political time, is basically immortality. They're appointed, not elected. No debates. No primaries. Just... appointed technocrats making trillion-dollar decisions.
Sidebar: The Unelected Power Brokers
Let’s talk about the 12 Regional Reserve Banks, each run by a president who helps shape interest rate policy through the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). These presidents are not elected by the public. They’re selected by boards filled with bankers and local elites. It’s like Survivor: Central Banker Edition—except no one gets voted off, and everyone gets to control your financial future.
Here’s who’s calling the shots in 2025:
John C. Williams (New York) – The muscle behind the curtain. Always has a vote on the FOMC. Closely aligned with Powell.
Austan Goolsbee (Chicago) – Former Obama economic advisor turned central banker. Knows how to spin it on TV and in spreadsheets.
Neel Kashkari (Minneapolis) – Was pro-bailout under Bush, then pro-stimulus under COVID, now suddenly a rate hawk. Pick a lane, Neel.
Raphael Bostic (Atlanta) – Known for focus on inclusive economic growth. Thoughtful, measured, and rising in influence.
Mary Daly (San Francisco) – Labor economist. Talks about inequality and the working class—rare in Fed circles.
Susan M. Collins (Boston) – Macro brainiac. Keeps a low profile but punches hard in policy circles.
Lorie K. Logan (Dallas) – Market operations wizard from the New York Fed. Quiet but sharp.
Thomas I. Barkin (Richmond) – Former McKinsey exec. Translation: spreadsheets and suits.
Anna Paulson (Philadelphia) – New kid on the FOMC block, replacing Patrick Harker. Deep roots in research.
Alberto G. Musalem (St. Louis) – Global markets guy. New, but not green.
Jeffrey R. Schmid (Kansas City) – Banker and university president—likely to lean hawkish.
Beth M. Hammack (Cleveland) – Straight outta Goldman Sachs. Knows markets, money, and probably 10 ways to hedge a recession.
In 2025, five of these folks vote alongside the Board of Governors on interest rate policy: Williams, Goolsbee, Collins, Musalem, and Schmid. It's like watching a financial Avengers team assemble—if they were all allergic to transparency.
And That Brings Us Back to Foreign Aid…
In 2024, the U.S. sent more than $50 billion abroad—Ukraine, Israel, humanitarian aid, and development assistance. Some argue it’s necessary for global stability. Others say it’s money we can’t afford to give away while veterans sleep under bridges and our infrastructure crumbles.
Right now, you don’t get a say.
So here's the million-dollar (or trillion-dollar) idea:
What if we treated tax allocation like a democracy? Let Americans vote—on their W-4 or yearly tax forms—on where a portion of their money goes.
Want your tax dollars funding a new VA hospital in your state?
Check the box.
Want to help rebuild a road in Kabul?
Check another box.
No more funding by default. Force the government to earn your contribution.
Final Thought: Transparency is the New Patriotism
The more we dig into who controls the economy, the more we find... it’s not us. We have unelected economists shaping monetary policy, unelected bankers picking regional Fed presidents, and elected politicians rubber-stamping trillion-dollar aid packages with almost zero public input.
Most Americans couldn’t name a single Fed governor or regional bank president—or tell you where their tax dollars go. And maybe that’s by design. But in a country that prides itself on “We the People,” shouldn't we actually have a say?
It’s time to open the books, demystify the Fed, and put power back where it belongs—with the taxpayer.
Poll for Readers: (submit your choice)
If you could choose where your federal taxes go, which would you prioritize?
U.S. infrastructure
Veterans & healthcare
Education
Foreign aid
Pay off national debt
Regarding the economists, I’m not sure what the concern is about. Thank goodness they are experts! It protects the US from Trump’s childish temper tantrums as we’ve seen with his idiotic tariff policy, and it protects us from Biden’s dementia. Either way, the economy is run by adults and not fluctuating political personalities.
On voting for foreign aid, that’s why we elect presidents. They’re supposed to weigh the benefits and costs.
Keep the columns flowing!
I have 3 ideas for future columns: 1) Trump’s pedofile history with Jeffrey Epstein, and 2) Should we trust Putin, and 3) Who should be a US citizen when language in the Constitution is clear.