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OnThisDayTech @OnThisDayTech - ON THIS DAY in Tech – December 23, 1913
FEDERAL RESERVE ACT SIGNED INTO LAW
112 years ago TODAY, President Woodrow Wilson put pen to paper and created the Federal Reserve System—the new central banking system that would forever change how America handles money, credit, and crises.
Born from the ashes of the 1907 banking panic, the Fed was sold as the solution: elastic currency, stable banks, and a lender of last resort.
But fast-forward to 2025, and the numbers tell a deeper story:
The US Dollar’s Collapse:
Since 1913, the U.S. dollar has lost over 97% of its purchasing power. $1 in 1913 buys about 3 cents worth of goods today.
Debt explosion:
National debt in 1913: $2.9 billion
Today (December 2025): $38.4 trillion
That’s a mind-numbing circa 1,324,000% increase.
And who do we owe it to?
- About $8 trillion is intragovernmental (Social Security, Medicare trust funds—future taxpayers)
- The Federal Reserve itself holds $5–6 trillion in Treasuries
- Domestic investors (pensions, banks, funds): the biggest slice
- Foreign nations: $8.5–9 trillion (Japan #1, China #2)