It's both actually, the Board of Directors is elected by the banks but the Board of Governors is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal..._of_government
The wife was speculating about China Inc yesterday too. They already own a huge portion of their national debt, so a little private ownership should bring things to a head nicely. (More) Nationalism next, then war? Sound familiar?
adam
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