The International Monetary Fund, Bank for International Settlements, and Federal Reserve

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), and the Federal Reserve (Fed) are central pillars of the global financial system, exerting profound influence over economies and the lives of ordinary people.

These institutions, guided by specific individuals—both historical and current—have implemented policies that critics argue work against the public interest, notably by fueling drastic inflation, consolidating elite power, and eroding the well-being of "we the people."

The Institutions and Their Roles

The International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Founded in 1944, the IMF provides financial assistance to struggling nations, often attaching strict conditions like austerity, privatization, and deregulation. These policies, critics say, burden citizens with debt and inflation while benefiting multinational corporations and creditors.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS)

Established in 1930, the BIS acts as a bank for central banks, setting international financial standards like the Basel Accords. Its policies have been accused of favoring large financial institutions, reducing competition, and enabling surveillance through digital finance initiatives.

The Federal Reserve (Fed)

Created in 1913, the Fed manages U.S. monetary policy, controlling interest rates and the money supply. Its decisions often ripple globally, with critics pointing to inflation and economic inequality as outcomes of its actions.

Key Figures: Historical and Current Influencers

Below are specific individuals who have held power within these institutions and pushed policies perceived as detrimental to the public, particularly through drastic inflation and economic control.

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Christine Lagarde (Managing Director, 2011–2019)

Lagarde oversaw the IMF during the Eurozone crisis, enforcing austerity measures in countries like Greece. These policies—cuts to public spending, privatization of state assets, and tax hikes—led to soaring unemployment, slashed wages, and economic stagnation. Critics argue her approach deepened recessions and indirectly fueled inflation by weakening local economies, benefiting creditors over citizens.

Kristalina Georgieva (Managing Director, 2019–present)

Georgieva has led the IMF through the COVID-19 pandemic, approving massive loans to developing nations. While intended as relief, these loans have been criticized for increasing debt burdens without boosting productivity, leading to inflation and currency devaluation in recipient countries—harming ordinary people while enriching global lenders.

Bank for International Settlements (BIS)

Jaime Caruana (General Manager, 2009–2017)

Caruana shaped the Basel III regulations post-2008, raising capital requirements for banks. While aimed at stability, these rules disproportionately hurt smaller institutions, consolidating power in the hands of banking giants—many tied to Caruana’s prior employer, JPMorgan Chase. Critics say this reduced competition, indirectly contributing to economic instability and inflation pressures.

Agustín Carstens (General Manager, 2017–present)

Carstens has championed central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), arguing they enhance financial oversight. Detractors warn this paves the way for surveillance and control, potentially inflating costs as cash is phased out and transactions are tracked, undermining public financial autonomy.

Federal Reserve (Fed)

Alan Greenspan (Chairman, 1987–2006)

Greenspan’s policy of maintaining low interest rates in the early 2000s is widely blamed for inflating the housing bubble, which burst in 2008. This artificial boom drove up prices, eroded savings, and set the stage for a crash that devastated ordinary Americans while Wall Street recovered quickly.

Ben Bernanke (Chairman, 2006–2014)

Bernanke introduced quantitative easing (QE) after the 2008 crisis, pumping trillions into the economy. Critics argue this devalued the dollar, spiked asset prices, and laid the groundwork for long-term inflation—enriching investors while leaving workers with stagnant wages.

Jerome Powell (Chairman, 2018–present)

Powell continued QE and kept rates near zero post-pandemic, even as inflation hit 40-year highs by 2022. This eroded purchasing power for everyday Americans, with critics claiming it’s a deliberate tactic to reduce government debt’s real value, favoring elites over the public.

Policies Against the People: Inflation and Beyond

These figures have driven policies that critics say harm "we the people" in specific ways:

Drastic Inflation

Fed’s Role: Greenspan’s low rates inflated housing costs, Bernanke’s QE flooded markets with money, and Powell’s persistence with loose policy triggered post-2020 inflation spikes—reaching 9.1% in June 2022. This "hidden tax" shrank wages and savings, hitting the poor hardest while asset-rich elites prospered.

IMF’s Contribution: Lagarde’s austerity in Europe stifled growth, forcing reliance on imports that drove prices up. Georgieva’s pandemic loans in nations like Argentina fueled currency collapses and inflation—e.g., Argentina’s rate hit 114% in 2023—crushing local populations.

Economic Control and Inequality

BIS’s Consolidation: Caruana’s Basel III favored megabanks, reducing options for small businesses and consumers. Carstens’ CBDC push could centralize power further, giving elites tools to monitor and manipulate spending.

Fed’s Bailouts: Bernanke’s QE bailed out Wall Street post-2008, while Powell’s policies inflated stock and real estate markets—widening the wealth gap as the middle class struggled to keep up.

Erosion of Autonomy

IMF’s Strings: Lagarde and Georgieva tied loans to neoliberal reforms—privatization and deregulation—that handed national assets to corporations, weakening public control.

BIS’s Surveillance: Carstens’ digital currency advocacy threatens privacy, potentially enabling financial exclusion of dissenters.

The Bigger Picture: A System Favoring Elites

These individuals’ policies align with a broader narrative: a financial system designed to benefit the powerful at the public’s expense. Greenspan, Bernanke, and Powell’s Fed has propped up the dollar’s global dominance, tying the world to U.S. inflation. Lagarde and Georgieva’s IMF has pushed a neoliberal agenda, opening markets to exploitation. Caruana and Carstens’ BIS has standardized rules that entrench big banks. Together, they’ve fueled inflation, crashed economies, and reset systems—each time consolidating wealth upward.

Naming the Architects

The IMF, BIS, and Fed, under leaders like Christine Lagarde, Jaime Caruana, Alan Greenspan, and their successors, have wielded power to shape a world where drastic inflation and economic control undermine "we the people." Their policies—whether austerity, QE, or digital oversight—have been criticized as serving elites, shrinking the middle class, and fostering dependency. By identifying these figures and their actions, we can begin to challenge a system that too often prioritizes profit over prosperity for all.