The first Bank of the United States is established by Congress in 1791.

1791.

• First Central bank.
Helps unite country's economy.
• Has 8 branches.
• It had a 20-year charter which was not renewed.

The Second Bank of the United States is established by Congress in 1816.

1816.

• It serves the same function as the first bank.
• It finances debt from the War of 1812.
• President Andrew Jackson and Bank President Nicholas Biddle are at odds over second bank.
• It had a 20-year charter which was not renewed.
• It would be 75 years before Central banking would be tried again.

The Federal Reserve System is established in 1913.

1913.

• It is the nation's third central bank.
• The Banking Panic of 1907 creates motivation for another central bank.
• The Federal Reserve Act is passed on December 23, 1913.
• It has a 20-year charter. However, it has been made permanent by the McFadden Act of 1927.

The nation faces grave economic woes in the 1930s.

1930s

• The Great Depression has many bank and business failures.
• Many laws were passed by Congress... the Glass-Steagall Act, the FDIC is established, the SEC is established
• New laws begin to restore faith in the safety of banks and the stock market.

The nations faces World War 2 and its aftermath.

1940s-1950s

• The Employment Act of 1946 passes, which defines goals of economic policy.
• Treasury-Fed Accord is reached in 1951. The Fed's independence in setting monetary policy is established.

Consumer protection laws take precedence in the 1960s and high inflation and interest rates appear in the 1970s.

1960s-1970s.

• The Truth in Lending Act is passed in 1968.
• The Community Reinvestment Act passed in 1977.
• The Humphrey-Hawkins Act of 1978 requires the Fed to submit a report to Congress on monetary policy bi-annually.

Bank DE-regulation spreads.

1980s-1990s.

• The way the Fed provides services is changed by Congress.
• Electronic methods of payment become increasingly popular. This includes debit and credit cards.
• The Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 is repealed in 1999. Banks now can combine with financial services firms in financial holding companies.

Security and crisis are concerns with the 9/11 attacks and the 2008 bank failures.

• After 9/11, the Fed pumps liquidity into the financial markets.
• Check 21, passed in 2003, allows a paper check to be converted to an electronic image. This changes the payment system dramatically.
• To respond to the instability of the financial system in 2008, the Fed lowers short-term interest rates to near zero. In addition, it establishes special lending programs.

For the past 11 years, I've been doing affiliate-style marketing. Over that time, my average earnings were substantial.. This is is cool since I don't have to share it with staff/employees/etc... Been there and done that in previous businesses. It's no fun. Having fun in your business is very important... Otherwise you will probably fail due to boredom. (unless you sell it).

I have sold online businesses once 'bored' with them... Then, I took the money and used it to make new sites which were fun... You take a break and have some offline fun.

Overall, I've had some success, and hope it continues being fun for the next 13 years. My goal is to retire at 50... then the sites become free money from there on out ).

Making serious money as an affiliate requires lots of patience, time, and hard work (at least at first). I suggest finding a niche you like. Then, learn who the competition is... Figure out how to serve the client/customer better... Finally, prepare for the fight and work to win.

It's fun when you make $500-$1000 a day without 'working'. It's neat to take a vacation and come back and see earnings while 'having additional fun'.

Because of the nature of the Internet, privacy is an issue transcending not only partisan politics but national boundaries. It cuts into areas including privileged business communications (even if encrypted). With telephony rapidly moving from switched connections to packeted VOIP, we get into all kinds of new complications.

Sound bytes and one-liners do not resolve the issue. I hope to see some statesman like brilliance -- intelligence from those far beyond the "politics as usual" arena. I do not pretend to know the answers, or all the issues. However, I feel how huge this is, and how immense the impact on everyone's future quality of life.

My hope is everyone continues to inform themselves, to move beyond their preconceived ideas and patterns, and look at all sides of these issues. We cannot have a reasonable solution if it only comes from pre-disposed positions.