the Federal Reserve of the United States (like most other central banks around the world) has something called central bank independence. This means that the Fed is run by a group of people appointed by the President (and confirmed by the Senate) who have complete independence from the rest of the government after they are confirmed. Once in office, they can run monetary policy as they see fit, and no one can fire them or tell them what to do. This is supposed to make monetary policy non-partisan and politically neutral, since politicians have no control over it. But this also means that voters have no say in monetary policy, either. You can't vote to replace governors of the Fed that you think are doing a bad job. So, what do you think about this system? Should it remain as it is, or does the Fed need democratic oversight? Provide at least one argument in support of your view. 2. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States went through a deep recession, with unemployment in 2020 reaching levels not seen since the 1930s. Things have improved since then, but the economy (and employment) is nowhere near pre-pandemic levels. There is a lot of hope that the economy will bounce back after the pandemic is over, but it will definitely need some help in doing so. Now that we have discussed both fiscal and monetary policy, you know all the tools that a government could use to help bring the economy out of recession. What kind of policy do you think we should use to pull the US economy out of the current recession - fiscal, monetary, or both? Provide at least one argument in support of your view.