Please read Griftopia by Matt Taibbi if you haven't already. It is an amazing account of the criminality and incompetence behind the conduct that led to the economic melt-down. He describes how the Fed acted, and failed to act, in so many ways inimical to the interests of the U.S. and world economy. I believe it might be a good idea to transfer the Fed's role to the U.S. Treasury Department. Although there may be risks to putting it in the hands of politicians, there would be more accountability (one would hope!). I suggest we should have a watch-dog agency that has full access to the Fed's records and that will report to Congress at the same time as the Fed reports. Also, the watch-dog agency's views should be communicated to the public by whomever utilizes the public airwaves. There must be far more diligent oversight by Congress -- and the President and his/her advisers should be held responsible for providing greater oversight. The destructive actions of the Fed should not simply be attributed to Alan Greenspan. He was allowed to do what he did by a complacent White House and Congress -- and by the absence of an effective watch-dog agency. I'd welcome the views of others who have ideas about how to avoid the disasters that resulted from the Fed's insanely disastrous policies and practices.