This week on Crash Course Economics, we're talking about monetary policy. The reality of the world is that the United States (and most of the world's economies) are, to varying degrees, Keynesian. When things go wrong, economically, the central bank of the country intervenes to try aand get things back on track. In the United States, the Federal Reserve is the organization that steps in to use monetary policy to steer the economy. When the Fed, as it's called, does step in, there are a few different tacks it can take. The Fed can change interest rates, or it can change the money supply. This is pretty interesting stuff, and it's what we're getting into today. Crash Course is on Patreon! You can support us directly by signing up at http://www.patreon.com/crashcourse Thanks to the following Patrons for their generous monthly contributions that help keep Crash Course free for everyone forever: Fatima Iqbal, Penelope Flagg, Eugenia Karlson, Alex S, Jirat, Tim Curwick, Christy Huddleston, Eric Kitchen, Moritz Schmidt, Today I Found Out, Avi Yashchin, Chris Peters, Eric Knight, Jacob Ash, Simun Niclasen, Jan Schmid, Elliot Beter, Sandra Aft, SR Foxley, Ian Dundore, Daniel Baulig, Jason A Saslow, Robert Kunz, Jessica Wode, Steve Marshall, Anna-Ester Volozh, Christian, Caleb Weeks, Jeffrey Thompson, James Craver, and Markus Persson -- Want to find Crash Course elsewhere on the internet? Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/YouTubeCrashCourse Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/TheCrashCourse Tumblr - http://thecrashcourse.tumblr.com/ Support Crash Course on Patreon: http://patreon.com/crashcourse CC Kids: null