Fed Budget Increases 5.5% y/y (can they monetize indignation?)

"Total net expenses for the Federal Re-serve System for 2009 are budgeted at $4,084.4 million, an increase of 5.5 percent from 2008 actual expenses... [priced services] revenue, combined with claims for reimbursement and other in-come, results in the recovery of 28 per-cent of the System’s budgeted 2009 expenses. When these items are deducted from budgeted 2009 expenses, net ex penses of the System are 15.5 percent higher than 2008 net expenses (table 1.1), primarily because of a decline in priced services revenue and an increase in currency costs."

But, it's not all bad - "System employment is budgeted at 20,018 for 2009, a decrease of 727 from the 2008 level, largely because of planned staff reductions by the Reserve Banks."

Apparently, with over 20,000 employees spending almost $4 Bil the FRS didn't have enough resources to predict/prevent this catastrophe. Maybe they should hire some Internet bloggers and save a few Bil? But that would shrink the bureaucracy/technocracy and defeat the purpose of a banking cartel (ehm, I mean central planning agency) - wouldn't it?