Allan Sloan

The Federal Reserve (the Fed) – the United States’ version of a Central Bank – is a strange duck. It is the U.S. government’s most powerful regulatory agency. It, after all, regulates money and interest rates. Yet, its budget comes entirely from the banking industry and relationships with the financial industry. So Congress, which appropriates money for all other federal agencies, has little leverage over the Fed’s operations.

There is more confusion about Social Security today than ever before. We are hearing contradictory claims from individuals, organizations, and government, and nobody knows who to believe.