Thanks to David Wessel, Economic Editor for the Wall Street Journal, I have been corrected in my understanding as to what it costs for the owners of the Federal Reserve to print a bill of any denomination. Mr. Wessel referred me to the link FED101. The column to the right reflects my updated understanding that the owners of the Federal Reserve, according to this website, pay approximately "4.2 cents per note to produce US currency" of any denomination.

The site also provides a historical timeline for the Federal Reserve. However, although mentions and defines "government securities" and "collateral" I was unable to ascertain from their site what it is that constitutes "anything of value, such as property, stocks or bonds that secures or guarantees the discharge of a financial obligation or loan." Given my concern (to the right) about the debt we produce with our labor, I couldn't help to wonder if our labor is somehow linked to the "Employment Act"that came under the domain of the Fed in 1946?