Little off topic but scary nonetheless.

Two stories which have received limited publicity in recent months are the results of the Federal Reserve audit and this new 'Supercommittee' - created to initiate spending cuts in the US before November 23rd.

We are all generally aware of the Fed's invincible power and its casual secrecy by which it implements life changing policies for the citizens of the world. Up until recently, only a handful of people knew the actual lengths the Federal Reserve had gone to during the heart of the crisis. Now, the world knows.

The Federal Reserve fought hard to keep the truth buried behind the closed doors from which it came. Despite the Fed's efforts, earlier this year, by way of the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the GOA (Government Accountability Office) audited the Fed for the first time in its 98 year history.

It was revealed that the U.S. Federal Reserve gave out $16.1 trillion in emergency loans to U.S. and foreign financial institutions between Dec. 1, 2007 and July 21, 2010, according to figures produced by the governments first-ever audit of the central bank. This amount was intended to be secret.

That figure is more than the entire annual US GDP, which came in at $14.5 trillion last year.

It's more than the entire National Debt that rose above $15 trillion on Thursday, November 17th 2011.

More than every mortgage in the United States combined.

And all of the money was given out at less than 1% interest...

As mentioned, Fed officials strongly discouraged lawmakers from ordering the audit, claiming it may 'serve to undermine confidence' in the monetary system.

They don't want the average man going to work every day knowing that the Federal Reserve, which doesn't answer to anyone, including the US government, is currently taking the biggest risk in American history. And that his financial future, along with everyone else's, is on the line.

Here is the breakdown of the $16.1 trillion loaned out:

$3.08 trillion went to financial institutions in the U.K., Germany, Switzerland, France and Belgium, the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) analysis shows.

Asset swap arrangements were opened with banks in the U.K., Canada, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, Norway, Mexico, Singapore and Switzerland. Twelve of those arrangements are still ongoing and have been extended through August 2012.

Citigroup received the most financial assistance from the Fed, at $2.5 trillion. Morgan Stanley came in second with $2.04 trillion, followed by Merill Lynch at $1.9 trillion and Bank of America at $1.3 trillion. All of this money was given away for next to nothing. With that stated, the majority of it has been repaid and the Fed did make billions on the transaction.

The audit also clearly outlined that the Fed outsourced the vast majority of its lending operations to the financial institutions responsible for sparking the crisis in the first place. The GAO report recommended new policies that would eliminate such conflicts of interest, and suggests that in the future the Fed should keep better records of their emergency decision-making process.

The Fed agreed to "strongly consider" the recommendations, but as it is not a government-run institution, it cannot be forced to do so by lawmakers.