We all know what money is. We may have different terms for it—smackers, c-notes, dead presidents, Benjamins, bucks, bones, clams, dough, moolah—but money usually finds a way to overcome these...

But what gives money its value? Or does it even have real value?  What makes it any more special than any other product of paper and ink?An economist would tall you that what gives money its v...

Today, American money is fiat money. But for many decades the United States had representative money. In 1879, the United States joined many other nations on the gold standard. The price of gold...

Fiat money (paper currency and coins), however, makes up only a small part of America’s money supply. A much greater part consists of demand deposits, such as checking accounts, and “near money...

By now it should be apparent that money and the money supply are complicated and somewhat tenuous. American money is not backed by anything of real value, such as gold, and banks are allowed to len...

By serving as an intermediary bank, setting reserve requirements, and making short-term loans to banks, the Fed plays a crucial role in overseeing the nation’s banks and money supply. Our checks...