Submissions should be a minimum of 500 words and sources must be documented. You should use you own words and should not just "copy and paste" responses from Internet sources.

You have a choice of answering question A, question B, or question C. Please indicate which question you are answering and answer only one:

Question A: This week's discussion concerns the Federal Reserve's effectiveness over the past decade in achieving the goals of its congressional mandate. In your own words, please explain why YOU believe the Fed has or hasn't been effective.

Question B: The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco has some innovative websites which describe the activities of the Fed:

http://www.frbsf.org/education/teacher-resources/what-is-the-fed

http://sffed-education.org/chairman/

In your own words, describe what new concepts you have learned about the Fed and what effect those concepts have had on you, your family and friends, or your business.

Question C: Go to the Dynamic Yield Curve at: http://stockcharts.com/freecharts/yieldcurve.php

Observe how the yield curve changes over time. What conclusions can you draw from the charts? Specifically, how has the yield curve changed over the last 12 - 18 months? What do you think has caused this change? In your own words, comment on whether you think this change is beneficial to the economy and if and what action the Federal Reserve should take to change the course of our economy.