To get an understanding you have to educate yourself. The 700 billion is the reserves held by the Federal Reserve. They lend out 10x that amount...
U.S. Pledges Top $7.7 Trillion to Ease Frozen Credit (Yeah you read that right 7.7 trillion not 700 billion and they aren't finished yet. That's $24,000 for every man woman and child in the country. 1/2 of the entire GDP last year)
http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=2...Drk&refer=home
Some learning material.
Watch this video for a brief overview.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=65Vkqcrfh9A
More in depth 45 minute video
Money As Debt
http://video.google.com/videosearch?...bt&emb=0&aq=f#
For the advanced course
The Money Masters
http://video.google.com/videosearch?...rs&emb=0&aq=f#