Fed launches Facebook page, Hawaiian shirt insanity ensues

When the Federal Reserve decided to start a Facebook page, I'm sure the thinking went something like: "Hey, we should be on social media, everyone else is. What's the worst that could happen?" And then the worst happened. The Fed obviously isn't familiar with the internet, and the golden rule that comes with it: If you try to own the internet, the internet owns (or pwns) you. Just like Josh Lyman of the West Wing discovering what happens when you try and take control of internet message boards, the Fed has seen its posts bombarded with trolling comments mocking its policies and outright questioning of the existence of the Federal Reserve. It's tough to get in touch with the Fed (is there an 800 number to call?), so users on Facebook have decided to vent their frustrations in the comment section of the Facebook page. Some of the comments are a little out there, and some even call for bringing down capitalism. But in between it all, we found some genuinely funny and spot on comments. For the record, I'm not a Facebook commentator; I'm just here to report on the craziness of the Federal Reserves Facebook page. So here are 9 of the funniest comments on the Fed's Facebook page.

The Fed's schedule

A few posts on the page give people an idea of what's on schedule this week for the Fed. Making up a troll-y comment to that is like shooting fish in a barrel. People came up with all sorts of weekly events, like manipulating markets and Pinky and the Brain references. But our two favorites had to do with Hawaiian shirts, George Soros, and getting back onto the gold standard.

The Fed's customer service

Like I said before, it's pretty tough to get in touch with the Fed. It's not like you can walk into the Federal Reserve and ask for a customer service representative. So users have taken to Facebook to ask questions of the Fed, like "Why does this FB page even exist?" and "When will you be releasing the audit of Ft. Knox?" Here are some of our other favorites:     

Janet Yellen

Running the Fed can't be easy, and as Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen has taken the brunt of the satirical comments. Yellen is the figurehead of the Fed, and has been singled out by the comments section, dinging her with comparisons to a groundhog to referring to her as "the high priestess."

Bitcoin

Ahh, it all comes full circle back to cryptocurrencies. Many Facebook commentators are happy with the Fed messing up, since that could lead to cryptocurrencies taking over, since obviously, there is no middle ground between where we are with the Fed and basing our economy on a digital asset that may or may not be controlled by China. But that discussion isn't for the Facebook comments section, so on with the bitcoin!