The Nature of Money

  Money is a modern, refined, trading system.  In ancient days, money came in the form of possessions. When you wanted something someone else had, you traded something you owned for it.
  Today, money is made when banks make loans.  After someone makes money, they "trade" it for whatever they want to own. After its creation, money is circulated by banks, people, and the Federal Reserve.
  The Federal Reserve has most of the power over the money supply.  It can raise or lower the amount of money made, by buying or selling bonds. In doing so, it can slow down the economy, or boost it's growth.
  Although the Federal Reserve holds a lot of the money, it doesn't hold all of it.  There are two other excess sources of money that are held by the people, and the banks.  This keeps the Federal Reserve from becoming a total dictator over the money supply.