There are about 23,000 people too many, working in the Federal Reserve System. According to the 2021 budget, the actual amount was 23,517.
Various calculations can be done to put more context around this and provide additional food for thought. In 2022 the Fed paid about $4 billion in salaries in addition to the$1 billion it paid in pension costs. If we take this $5 billion and divide it by the Fed’s 23,000 employees, we arrive at a cost of approximately $217,000 per employee. Keep in mind that this is just an average and rough estimate. The reality is likely that closer to 80% of the employees only make around $100,000 while the remaining 20% make a lot more.
But there’s more to it than that. The financial statements reveal that the Board of Governors expenses and currency costs were $2 billion. If this constitutes salaries, then total salaries and pension costs at the Fed become closer to $7 billion. Dividing this figure by 23,000 people equals around $304,000 per employee.
The salary structure can be viewed below:
The 23,000+ people who work at the Fed are probably doing well financially. Steady income, great benefits, probably not too much stress, and likely have little risk of being fired over things such as failure to meet profitability targets.
Additionally, any risk of a severe downturn leading to mass layoffs likely doesn’t apply to them. Quite the opposite in fact, as any severe market downturn typically forces the Fed to act more, with more bailouts, more money printing, and the creation of more lending programs. As we’ve seen, in times of financial crisis it’s not unheard of for Fed officials to work weekends!
It seems all so welcoming, reinforced by Chair Jerome Powell’s inspirational 2-minute-long video on the importance of diversity. According to the transcript:
Diversity makes the Board stronger by providing different talents and perspectives that help make us more effective. We also do a better job serving the public when we reflect the rich diversity of our nation.
Various resource groups exist to help manage this much diversity, including:
Sadly, the Fed continues to discriminate against Austrians…
The benefits beyond the standard salary and pension are numerous. It offers other insurance plans, a thrift plan, alternative work arrangements, transportation subsidy, academic assistance, leave (which appears to be granted when you work too many hours), paid parental leave, and career development.
Should one choose to work from the office, on-site perks include:
- credit union offices for your banking needs,
- fitness centers that encourage a healthy lifestyle through exercise and indoor and outdoor sports,
- lifestyle seminars on finance, health, and life transitions that assist employees with major life decisions,
- and a Fine Arts program for appreciation of the cultural arts.
With 12 districts to choose from, the Federal Reserve System offers a little something to everyone:
Other than for the janitorial staff (who may be contracted), there appears to be no physically demanding labor involved. The jobs available primarily consist of office workers, such as economists, researchers, attorneys, analysts, and IT positions.
Those in the system have little to no incentive to question where their salary is coming from, or what the greater economic impacts of their organization are. Speaking of averages, if the average low-level employee read Mises or Rothbard, it would only raise more questions and leave them in an ethical dilemma, which could become quite unnerving. To the average person, the system works for them so there’s no need to ask too many questions.
However, those in the upper echelon of the Fed may require a much more impregnable conscience. One can only hope that those within the Board of Governors know exactly what they’re doing, and simply don’t care about the capital destruction, currency debasement, and boom-bust cycle they create; if not, then the conclusion becomes much more terrifying.
