Just a minor correction. The US Government can not legally print money. This is all done through the Federal Reserve System at the request of the Treasury. The Fed can even deny the request (I don't know if they ever have).

From the Fed's FAQ:
"As the nation's central bank, the Federal Reserve derives its authority from the U.S. Congress. It is considered an independent central bank because its decisions do not have to be ratified by the President or anyone else in the executive or legislative branch of government, it does not receive funding appropriated by Congress, and the terms of the members of the Board of Governors span multiple presidential and congressional terms."

Another (very funny) quote:
"Although they are set up like private corporations and member banks hold their stock, the Federal Reserve Banks owe their existence to an act of Congress and have a mandate to serve the public. Therefore, they are not really "private" companies, but rather are "owned" by the citizens of the United States."

This is complete bull of course - each regional bank (there are 12) is run as a private corp and compete with the other banks for contracts from the Treasury.

Further down this is backed up by the following:
"Are Federal Reserve Bank employees considered government employees?

No. Employees of the Federal Reserve Banks are not government employees. They are paid as part of the expenses of their employing Reserve Bank."

Each bank is also responsible for certain specific tasks, for example the Dallas FRB is one of the banks which is responsible for the destruction of old currency.

Kevin
http://technogeek.org/