Showing posts with label Federal Reserve. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Federal Reserve. Show all posts

Thursday, July 31, 2025

Nobody would be the ideal Federal Reserve chair

Nobody knows best how to manage the U.S. economy. Nobody even knows what the correct interest rate should be. Nobody would make the perfect Federal Reserve chairman.

Nobody for Fed Chairman | Ron Paul Institute | Ron Paul: 

July 28, 2025 - "President Trump has recently suggested that, unless Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell cuts interest rates, the president might revert to his The Apprentice days and tell Powell, 'you’re fired.' President Trump backtracked on firing Powell after the president’s comments caused stock markets to fall. However, it is almost certain that President Trump will not reappoint Powell when Powell’s term ends in May.

"Media reports indicate the leading candidates to replace Powell include Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, former Federal Reserve Board Governor Kevin Warsh, and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett. A more interesting question than who will replace Powell is why would anyone want to, since the next Fed chairman will likely face another Fed-caused meltdown.

"The national debt is over 37 trillion dollars and rising. Yet few in Congress are serious about cutting federal spending. This puts pressure on the Fed to keep interest rates low to limit the cost of ongoing debt interest payments. So, the Fed continues monetizing the debt, pumping more money into the economy, weakening the dollar’s purchasing power, and eroding the American people’s standard of living. 

"The Federal Reserve’s low interest rate policy also distorts the market, leading to the bubble-boom-and-bust business cycle that has plagued the American economy since the last link between the dollar and gold was severed in 1971.

"The Fed’s job is also made more difficult by a reduced demand for Treasury securities among investors, causing the Fed to increase its purchases. This pumps more money into the economy, further eroding the dollar’s value.

"Concerns about the national debt’s effect on monetary policy are a key factor behind the recent increase in gold prices and the interest in cryptocurrencies. The danger posed by the national debt is one reason why foreign countries are increasing their gold holdings and considering challenging the US dollar’s world reserve currency status.

"Whoever succeeds Jerome Powell as Fed chairman will face a no-win choice. He could try to keep interest rates low to ensure the federal government’s interest payments remain manageable, at the cost of making it more likely the US economy will face another Federal Reserve caused meltdown. Instead, he could try increasing rates to limit price increases thus raising the cost of managing government (and private sector) debt to unsustainable levels, throwing the economy into a severe downturn.

"Congress members and President Trump are attacking Chairman Powell for spending over two billion dollars on Federal Reserve headquarters renovations. This is a waste of taxpayer money, but it pales in comparison to the harm suffered by the American people because of the Federal Reserve’s inflationary policies.

"Treasury Secretary Bessent has suggested expanding the investigation beyond the costs of renovating the Fed headquarters to examination of 'the entire Federal Reserve institution' to determine if the Fed has 'succeeded in its mission.' This suggests Secretary Bessent would support passing the Audit the Fed legislation, which is a step toward returning to a constitutional and sound monetary policy. However, anyone who understands Austrian economics knows a fiat money system managed by a secretive central bank can never succeed in creating lasting prosperity and will eventually crash the economy.

"No person or persons can know the 'correct' interest rates, and the Federal Reserve’s attempts to control interest rates are destructive like other central planning. The proper answer to who should be Fed chairman is … nobody."

Copyright © 2025 The Ron Paul Institute. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit and a live link are given.
https://ronpaulinstitute.org/nobody-for-fed-chairman/

Saturday, June 13, 2020

Jorgensen on lockdowns, crypto, and the Fed

2020 Libertarian Presidential Candidate Jo Jorgensen Talks Bitcoin, Endless Wars, Covid-19 Response | News.Bitcoin.com - Jamie Redman:

June 9, 2020 - "On June 8, news.Bitcoin.com ... discussed a number of issues with the Libertarian 2020 presidential candidate Joanne Jorgensen, otherwise known as 'Jo.' The Libertarian nominee is a well known political activist and academic researcher during the last few decades.... 

"BC: What are your thoughts on how the US government handled the coronavirus outbreak —  specifically the business shutdowns and lockdown orders?...
JJ: It was tragic, they put us all under house arrest and tens of millions of people lost their jobs. Many of those jobs are not coming back. One of my grandfathers immigrated from Sweden and his family came to America for freedom. You know the land of the free and home of the brave. And while we are all under lockdown, the old country that he left they were all out walking about, going to school, going to restaurants, and having a general freedom that you would expect Americans to have.

"BC: Since the coronavirus and even months prior, the US Federal Reserve has created trillions of dollars and it has been distributed to private dealers and interests. What are your thoughts on the Fed and how would you address this private bank as President?
JJ: First all the Federal Reserve should have never been created to begin with. Unfortunately, they are teaching history a little wrong in the textbooks these days. Because a lot of people say that if it wasn’t for the Fed stepping in, the Great Depression would have been so much worse. But actually the Federal Reserve caused the problems....

"[T]he first thing I would do if I was President of the United States would be to audit the Federal Reserve.... Eventually, I’d like to see the Fed abolished. Because through the Federal Reserve we get money created out of thin air, which is basically the equivalent of counterfeit money....

"BC: A great number of Libertarians like money such as gold and silver. However, in recent years many free-market advocates support bitcoin. What is your stance on Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency economy?
JJ: A message from the Libertarian Party platform says: 'We favor free-market banking with unrestricted competition among banks and depository institutions of all types — Individuals engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any mutually agreeable commodity or item. We support a halt to inflationary monetary policies and unconstitutional legal tender laws.'

"So a number of people say that they want to back USD with gold. That would be a step in the right direction, but that is not enough. We have competition in cars, competition with computers, and competitive grocery stores. Why not have competition with money? So the people have access to something that is more planned and a monetary system they can better predict. Right now what we have is money that’s created under the whims of Congress and the Federal Reserve Chair.

"I would act in support of a free market in currencies. Some people say that the constitution authorizes the federal government to create currency, just like it authorizes the creation of the post office. But in neither case, does the constitution give the federal government a monopoly on currency or the delivery of mail. Businesses should be able to trade and accept whatever they want and that would mean bitcoin and all the other cryptocurrencies....

"I would enact Ron Paul’s Free Competition in Currency Act. This would repeal legal tender laws and taxes on coins and monetary metals. And it would repeal the prohibition on coining money. Also, I would repeal the Bank Secrecy Act, Know-Your-Customer (KYC), and other laws that violate our right to financial privacy. Many people go to bitcoin because they do want privacy so I would work to repeal those unjust laws.

"I would also appoint commissioners to the CFTC and the SEC who would then seek to deregulate Bitcoin and other crypto-assets. I would appoint leaders at the Treasury Department, who would be told to leave bitcoin and crypto operations alone. Lastly, I would pardon Ross Ulbricht, the individual who operated the Silk Road (SR) marketplace. Ulbricht is serving more than one life sentence in prison for nonviolent offenses, partly because some of the SR members were selling drugs for bitcoin."

Read more: https://news.bitcoin.com/2020-libertarian-presidential-candidate-jo-jorgensen-talks-bitcoin-endless-wars-covid-19-response/

Thursday, April 2, 2020

Federal Reserve taking extraordinary measures

Will Coronavirus End the Fed? | Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity - Ron Paul:

March 30, 2020 - "September 17, 2019 was a significant day in American economic history. On that day, the New York Federal Reserve began emergency cash infusions into the repurchasing (repo) market ... the market banks use to make short-term loans to each other.... The New York Fed ... has not stopped pumping money into the repo market since September. Also, the Federal Reserve has been expanding its balance sheet since September. Investment advisor Michael Pento called the balance sheet expansion quantitative easing (QE) 'on steroids.'

"I mention these interventions to show that the Fed was taking extraordinary measures to prop up the economy months before anyone in China showed the first symptoms of coronavirus.

"Now the Fed is using the historic stock market downturn and the (hopefully) temporary closure of businesses in the coronavirus panic to dramatically increase its interventions in the economy. Not only has the Fed increased the amount it is pumping into the repo market, it is purchasing unlimited amounts of Treasury securities and mortgage-backed securities. This was welcome news to Congress and the president, as it came as they were working on setting up trillions of dollars in spending in coronavirus aid/economic stimulus bills.

"This month the Fed announced it would start purchasing municipal bonds, thus ensuring the state and local government debt bubble will keep growing for a few more months. The Fed has also created three new loan facilities to provide hundreds of billions of dollars in credit to businesses. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has stated that the Fed will lend out as much as it takes to revive the economy.

"The Fed is also reducing interest rates to zero. We likely already have negative real interest rates because of inflation. Negative real interest rates are a tax on savings and thus lead to a lack of private funds available for investment, giving the Fed another excuse to expand its lending activities.

"The Fed’s actions may appear to mitigate some of the damage of the coronavirus panic. However, by flooding the economy with new money, expanding asset purchases, and facilitating Congress and the president’s spending sprees, the Fed is exacerbating America’s long-term economic problems.

"The Federal Reserve is unlikely to end these emergency measures after the government declares it is safe to resume normal life. Consumers, businesses, and (especially) the federal government are so addicted to low interest rates, quantitative easing, and other Federal Reserve interventions that any effort by the Fed to allow rates to rise or to stop creating new money will cause a severe recession.

"Eventually the Federal Reserve-created consumer, business, and government debt bubbles will explode, leading to a major crisis that will dwarf the current coronavirus shutdown. The silver lining is that this next crisis could finally demolish the Keynesian welfare-warfare state and the fiat money system.

"The Federal Reserve’s unprecedented interventions in the marketplace make it more urgent than ever that Congress pass, and President Trump sign, the Audit the Fed bill. This would finally allow the American people to learn the truth about the Fed’s conduct of monetary policy. Audit the Fed is a step toward restoring health to our economic system by ending the fiat money pandemic that facilitates the welfare-warfare state and the unstable, debt-based economy."

Read more: http://ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2020/march/30/will-coronavirus-end-the-fed/

Copyright © 2020 by RonPaul Institute. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit and a live link are given.

Saturday, November 17, 2018

Why libertarians like Bitcoin

The Libertarian Case for Bitcoin | Hacked: Hacking Finance - William Bartlett:

August 23, 2018 - "From the outside looking in, Bitcoin seems to have a cult-like following.... However, as you get to understand crypto a little better, it becomes clear that there are many different factions.... There are the technologists who think technology is king, [the] contrarians who believe that the US dollar and all fiat currencies are overvalued, and then there are the libertarians who want to have as much freedom from the government as possible.

 "At its core, libertarianism is a political philosophy that gives individuals rights to acquire, keep, and exchange their holdings. It is a very 'American' point-of-view, and has gained a lot of support in recent times, due to the rising fiscal deficit, among other things.... To libertarians, the ideal is to have minimum intervention from the state.

"This also involves locking middlemen and intermediaries out of the equation. Oligopolies such as the one the big banks currently hold end up giving them a 'government-level' of control over the funds of customers. Bitcoin disintermediates these banks and creates a natural market for all who wish to do commerce online.

"An auxiliary point would be the somewhat excessive intervention in the money markets by the Fed. Denationalization of currency is a position most libertarians take as another way of protecting their money from purposeful inflation.

"What is especially beautiful about Bitcoin is the fact that it is censorship resistant. Not only is there economic freedom, but also the ability to fund whatever you would like, but without worrying about being stopped. This is true 'freedom of expression' (another libertarian ideal). Obviously there are cases where this goes too far (e.g. terrorism) and this is where the debate about Bitcoin’s place in society heats up.

"Bitcoin also goes in direct conflict with the government’s desire to track the flow of money for taxation and regulatory purposes. It is very difficult for governments to track the flow of Bitcoin funds, and even though it’s possible to match up public addresses, anonymity is generally ensured. And for those looking for a more robust solution, other privacy coins like zCash and Monero have popped up.

"Aside from Bitcoin, you have numerous new 'markets' popping up where there used to be inefficient markets with minimal innovation. Utility coins are putting a value on what used to be deadweight loss in the markets. This connects to Bitcoin with the idea of 'economic liberty', where they have property rights and fully privatized free markets."

Read more: https://hacked.com/the-libertarian-case-for-bitcoin/
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Saturday, August 26, 2017

Ron Paul: Oppose right and left authoritarianism

Ron Paul: We Must Oppose Fascism Of the Right and Left | News and views from a different angle - Market Slant:

August 22, 2017 - "Following the recent clashes between the alt-right and the group antifa, some libertarians have debated which group they should support. The answer is simple: neither. The alt-right and its leftist opponents are two sides of the same authoritarian coin.

"The alt-right elevates racial identity over individual identity. The obsession with race leads them to support massive government interference in the economy in order to benefit members of the favored race. They also favor massive welfare and entitlement spending, as long as it functions as a racial spoils system.... No one who sincerely supports individual liberty, property rights, or the right to life can have any sympathy for this type of racial collectivism.

"Antifa, like all Marxists, elevates class identity over individual identity. Antifa supporters believe government must run the economy because otherwise workers will be exploited by greedy capitalists. This faith in central planning ignores economic reality, as well as the reality that in a free market employers and workers voluntarily work together for their mutual benefit. It is only when government intervenes in the economy that crony capitalists have the opportunity to exploit workers, consumers, and taxpayers....

"Ironically, the failure of the Keynesian model of economic authoritarianism, promoted by establishment economists like Paul Krugman, is responsible for the rise of the alt-right and antifa.... [M]any Americans continue to struggle with unemployment and a Federal Reserve-caused eroding standard of living. History shows that economic hardship causes many to follow demagogues offering easy solutions and convenient scapegoats....

"As the Keynesian-Krugman empire of big government and fiat currency collapses, more people will be attracted to authoritarianism, leading to an increase in violence. The only way to ensure the current system is not replaced with something even worse is for those of us who know the truth to work harder to spread the ideas of liberty.

"While we should be willing to form coalitions with individuals of good will across the political spectrum, we must never align with anyone promoting violence as a solution to social and economic problems. We must also oppose any attempts to use the violence committed by extremists as a justification for expanding the police state or infringing on free speech....

"Libertarians have several advantages in the ideological battle... First, we do not need to resort to scapegoating and demagoguing, as we have the truth about the welfare-warfare state and the Federal Reserve on our side. We also offer a realistic way to restore prosperity. But our greatest advantage is that, while authoritarianism divides people by race, class, religion, or other differences, the cause of liberty unites all who seek peace and prosperity."

Read more: https://www.marketslant.com/article/ron-paul-we-must-oppose-fascism-right-and-left
'via Blog this'

Copyright © 2017 by Ron Paul Institute. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit and a live link are given.

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

US House committee passes Audit the Fed bill

House panel passes bill to audit the Fed - MarketWatch - Greg Robb:

March 28, 2017 - "A House panel on Tuesday approved legislation that would let a government watchdog audit the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decisions, a move bitterly opposed by the central bank.

"The House Committee on oversight and government reform passed the measure by voice vote after roughly 30 minutes of debate.

"The bill was the brainchild of Ron Paul, the former House Republican and libertarian presidential candidate and sharp critic of the U.S. monetary policy. Versions of the bill have twice passed the House by wide margins but then stalled due to lack of support from Democrats in the Senate and the Obama administration.

"Analysts said the measure has a better chance to become law now that Republicans control both houses of Congress and the White House. Paul’s son, Rand, the Republican senator from Kentucky, has introduced a similar measure in the Senate.

"Democrats in the committee were firmly against the bill.... Republicans said the measure was needed to rein in the Fed.

"'It is ironic that the arsonists that caused the financial collapse are now being given credit...for putting out the fire. Almost every macroeconomist concedes in retrospect that [the Fed’s] extended period of easy money led to the financial crisis,' said Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky."

Read more: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/house-panel-passes-bill-to-audit-the-fed-2017-03-28
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Friday, February 10, 2017

Pence hires Cato staffer as chief economist

Libertarian finance guru heads to Pence's office | Washington Examiner - Joseph Lawlor:

February 7, 2017 - "A libertarian finance expert and top critic of former President Barack Obama's Wall Street reform laws is headed to the White House.

"Mark Calabria, previously the director of financial regulatory studies at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington, D.C., reportedly will serve as Vice President Mike Pence's chief economist....

"A former staffer to former Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., with a PhD in economics from George Mason University, Calabria represents a strain of free-market thinking that views federal regulation of markets as often counterproductive and is skeptical of the influence of the Federal Reserve and government spending.

"Unlike top White House economic policy advisers, such as National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn or Treasury Secretary-designate Steven Mnuchin, both of whom worked at Goldman Sachs, Calabria does not come from Wall Street and doesn't have past affiliation with Democrats. Calabria, who maintains an active social media presence, has criticized big business interests in the past.

"Calabria also has sought to reform the Federal Reserve and supported legislation to subject the central bank to a policy audit, a measure opposed by big banks. He helped start Cato's Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, which advocates alternatives to the Fed's control of monetary and regulatory policy within the academy.

"In testimony to the House Financial Services Committee, Calabria also has advocated scaling back the government's role in guaranteeing mortgage-backed securities and closing mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a viewpoint at odds with the interests of the housing industry."

Read more: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/libertarian-finance-guru-heads-to-pences-office/article/2614407
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Monday, December 19, 2016

Ron Paul campaigning for Fed oversight board

Ron Paul Wants a Spot on Federal Reserve Board of Governors:

December 19, 2016 - "Ron Paul's group, Campaign for Liberty, is trying to get him a spot on the U.S. Federal Reserve's Board of Governors, a senior politics editor with the Huffington Post reports.
Sam Stein ‏@samsteinhp
Ron Paul’s group, Campaign for Liberty, is pushing to get Ron Paul nominated to the U.S. Federal Reserve's Board of Governors.
10:45 AM - 18 Dec 201
"Paul, a former GOP member of Congress from Texas, earlier this week criticized the Federal Reserve, saying it was manipulating the economy.

"'We do not work on a free-market principle, we do not have sound money, it's all manipulated,' he told Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business Network.

"'Prices are going to go up and the money's going to be so bent according to political reasons and not because of business decisions, so we want the government out of it. We want people to save money, create capital, but capital cannot come from the Federal Reserve working with a computer; that's the fallacy and that's why zero rates of interest didn't work because they weren't realistic.'

"The Board of Governors oversees the work of the Federal Reserve Banks and plays a major role in crafting U.S. monetary policy. There are seven members, all appointed by the president of the United States.

"Paul established Campaign for Liberty, his nonprofit political organization, during his presidential run in 2008 with the purpose of spreading his idea that the government should be limited in its role."

Read more: http://www.newsmax.com/Politics/ron-paul-federal-reserve-board-of-governors-campaign-for-liberty/2016/12/18/id/764560/
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Sunday, February 7, 2016

Should/can libertarians support Cruz? (2) Yes

The Libertarian Moment Lives With Ted Cruz | Liberty Conservatives - Remso W. Martinez:

February 7, 2016 - "There is [no] pretending that Ted Cruz is a libertarian, he is as conservative as they come, in the traditional sense.... Cruz never pretended to be something he wasn’t, he has much adoration for libertarians, and has stated time and time again that when certain challenges come about, there is a need for a coalition.

"Cruz has been consistent from the beginning, and has shown he shares more common ground with libertarians than virtually any other person in Washington. His record alone shows:
  1. He is against senseless undeclared and unconstitutional wars and nation-building halfway around the world.
  2. He championed and co-sponsored Audit the Fed, making it a central point in his plan for the new Senate majority.
  3. He is pro gold standard.
  4. He opposes the Patriot Act and opposed the indefinite detention provisions of the NDAA, and authored an amendment to it requiring a DoD audit of bases, to identify waste and prioritize base expenditures in an effort to ‘reduce our overseas footprint’
  5. He believes that the internet should be free and open.
"If nothing else, a simple look at his Five for Freedom plan should be convincing enough. In the preamble Cruz states 'During my first year, I will fight to abolish the IRS, the Department of Education, the Department of Energy, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. To do that, I will press Congress relentlessly. And I will appoint heads of each of those agencies whose central charge will be to lead the effort to wind them down and determine whether any programs need to be preserved elsewhere because they fall within the proper purview of the federal government. I do not anticipate lists to be long.' The structure of the pan includes:
  • Five for Freedom – abolish 4 unnecessary cabinet agencies and the IRS.
  • 25 Federal “ABCs” – eliminate 25 Agencies, Bureaus, Commissions, and other programs.
  • Grace Commission 2.0 – reinstitute President Reagan’s Panel on Cost Control (“The Grace Commission”) to identify waste and inefficiency.
  • Congressional accountability – amend the Constitution to require Congress and the President to balance the budget, and enact the REINS Act.
  • Federal hiring freeze and reform – institute a freeze on the hiring of federal civilian employees across the executive branch, and reform automatic worker raises.
"The opportunity to keep the Liberty Movement within the GOP is still alive thanks to Cruz, the last 'Yahoo for Uncle Milton' on stage who can break the Washington Cartel."

Read more: http://www.libertyconservatives.com/libertarian-moment-lives-ted-cruz/
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Saturday, October 31, 2015

How the Fed Is increasing economic inequality

Rand Paul Is Right: The Fed Is Increasing Inequality With Its Low Rates - Forbes - Jeffrey Dorfman: 

October 29, 2015 - "Last night’s Republican debate was supposed to be about economic policy, but instead it was, once again, more about moderators asking gotcha questions.... There was, however, a great moment of economic clarity, thanks to Rand Paul, on the surprisingly overlooked role the Fed has played in increasing economic inequality.

"Virtually all economists agree that the Fed’s low interest rates have been responsible for inflating stock market values. By reducing the returns to savings accounts, certificates of deposit and bonds, the Fed has intentionally driven ordinary investors to increase their investment allocation to the stock market, thereby boosting stock returns. Because people with more wealth tend to own more stock, those higher stock prices have led the rich to gain much more than the poor and middle class.

"Low interest rates have meant low borrowing costs for large corporations with direct access to capital markets. This low-cost borrowing has boosted corporate profits which also flow mostly to the wealthy.

"Poorer individuals, with smaller savings and few other assets, tend to be heavier users of credit cards for borrowing.... Unfortunately, while the Fed has pushed down interest rates for big corporations, average credit card interest rates have only dropped about 1.5 percentage points (from about 14.5 to 13%).... Wealthier individuals, with more savings and other assets, rarely need to carry a credit card balance, but they do borrow (tax-deductible) funds in the form of mortgage debt, often in large amounts. Thanks partly to the Fed’s many moves to lower interest rates, mortgage rates have fallen about 2.5 percentage points (roughly from 6.5 to 4% for 30 year fixed rate mortgages).... For example, somebody with a $400,000 mortgage could save ... $600 to $800 per month, way more than the $20 per month the poor are saving on credit card debt.

"Finally, the low interest rates set by the Fed combined with the additional labor costs thanks to the Obama Administration (Obamacare and its associated taxes) are changing the relative prices of labor and capital.... This also increases economic inequality because the poor and middle class earn most (or all) of their money from labor income, while the rich collect a significant share of their income in various forms of returns to capital.... Purposely tilting the economy in favor of capital and against labor is pretty close to taking from the poor and giving to the rich, the exact reverse of normal government attempts to redistribute income.

"[While] the left is consumed with economic inequality, nary a voice on the left is complaining about the Fed’s role in making it worse. Rand Paul is correct that the Fed is causing a widening of economic inequality....If you want less economic inequality, we should begin by stopping policies that make it worse."

Read more: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffreydorfman/2015/10/29/rand-paul-is-right-the-fed-is-increasing-inequality/
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Friday, October 30, 2015

Rand Paul & Ted Cruz slam Federal Reserve

In GOP Debate, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul Tear at Fundamentals of the Fed - Michael S. Derby, Wall Street Journal:

October 29, 2015 - "Two Republican presidential candidates blasted the Federal Reserve on a fundamental level in a debate Wednesday night, airing their criticisms of the central bank before a prime-time television audience.

"Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky criticized the Fed’s impact on the economy and called for new operating regimes that would limit the central bank’s influence....

"Mr. Cruz lambasted what he saw as a 'star chamber' of central bankers implementing radical policies with little democratic accountability. He was particularly concerned with the now-ended campaigns of long-term bond purchases the Fed employed to provide stimulus.

"Mr. Cruz also said the Fed has an inflation problem on its hands. 'If you look at a single mom buying groceries, she sees hamburger prices have gone up nearly 40%. She sees her cost of electricity going up. She sees her health insurance going up. And loose money is one of the major problems,' he said. 'I think the Fed should get out of the business of trying to juice our economy and simply be focused on sound money and monetary stability, ideally tied to gold,' Mr. Cruz said.

"Mr. Cruz is correct that, since 2008, the Fed has had an aggressive monetary-policy stance, with short-term rates at near-zero levels, amid several rounds of large-scale bond purchases, as well as other tools to provide stimulus....

"Mr. Paul said in the debate that 'the Fed has been a great problem in our society' and that its policies have helped fuel economic inequality. He also made a plug for legislation that would audit the monetary-policy-making functions of the Fed, something central bankers and many economists believe would politicize rate policy and make it less effective.

"Mr. Paul also wants to fundamentally end how the central bank influences the economy. 'What you need to do is free up interest rates. Interest rates are the price of money, and we shouldn’t have price controls on the price of money,' the legislator said in the debate."

Read more: http://www.wsj.com/articles/in-gop-debate-ted-cruz-and-rand-paul-tear-at-fundamentals-of-the-fed-1446144549
'via Blog this'

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Cato Institute challenging Federal Reserve

Libertarian Think Tank is Spoiling for a Fight with the Fed - Real Time Economics - Wall Street Journal - Ben Leubsdorf:

October 20, 2014 - "The Cato Institute has some bones to pick with the Federal Reserve.

"The Washington libertarian think tank this week will launch a new Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives. Its goal: challenge the central bank’s policies and explore alternative ways to manage the U.S. money supply, including but not limited to a return to the gold standard.

"'I think we can do better than the Federal Reserve,' said George Selgin, the center’s director and a former economics professor at the University of Georgia. 'We should be exploring how to do better. We should be exploring alternatives that could do better, instead of dismissing that entire inquiry as something that should be only of interest to people on the fringe.'

"The new center is the latest manifestation of growing public and academic attention on the Fed and central banking after the 2008 financial crisis.... The Fed’s extraordinary actions in recent years – helping rescue large financial firms, pinning interest rates at zero for nearly six years and counting, three rounds of bond-buying aimed at stimulating economic recovery – remain controversial.

"Critics have variously accused the Fed of bailing out fat-cat Wall Street bankers, harming Americans who rely on interest from their savings, distorting the flows of the free market, failing to generate sustainable economic growth and flirting with out-of-control inflation and a debased currency. Defenders say the Fed’s policies prevented the crisis from escalating into a financial catastrophe, helped stabilize the financial system and helped nurture a fitful recovery, and they note inflation remains low and the dollar strong.

Read more: http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2014/10/20/libertarian-think-tank-is-spoiling-for-a-fight-with-the-fed/
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Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Ron Paul: Yellen is dangerous for the economy

Ron Paul: Yellen Dangerous For The Economy - Forbes - (Kitco News):

November 26, 2013 - "The Federal Reserve will not be able to revive the economy under the leadership of Janet Yellen, said Dr. Ron Paul.

"The former U.S. congressman, and former Republican presidential candidate spoke with Kitco News during the Metals & Minerals Conference in San Francisco and said he does not expect Yellen to change the monetary policy that is currently in place. In fact he expects that she could be even more aggressive than current chairman Ben Bernanke.

"'She is a very aggressive inflator. She really believes in quantitative easing and that is the only thing they know,' Paul said. 'I think she is very dangerous. I think she will be dangerous to the U.S. dollar.'

"On Thursday the U.S. Senate Banking Committee approved the nomination of Janet Yellen as the next chief of the central bank; it was approved by a vote of 14 to eight. Her nomination will now be sent to the full Senate for a final vote, which according to some media reports will take place in December.

Read more: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kitconews/2013/11/26/ron-paul-yellen-is-dangerous-for-the-economy/
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Monday, September 3, 2012

Fed audit reveals $16 trillion in secret bailouts

Audit of the Federal Reserve Reveals $16 Trillion in Secret Bailouts:

September 1, 2012 - "The first ever GAO (Government Accountability Office) audit of the Federal Reserve was carried out in the past few months due to the Ron Paul, Alan Grayson Amendment to the Dodd-Frank bill, which passed last year. Jim DeMint, a Republican Senator, and Bernie Sanders, an independent Senator, led the charge for a Federal Reserve audit in the Senate, but watered down the original language of the house bill (HR1207), so that a complete audit would not be carried out.

"Nevertheless, the results of the first audit in the Federal Reserve’s nearly 100 year history were posted on Senator Sanders’s webpage earlier this morning.

"What was revealed in the audit was startling:

"$16,000,000,000,000.00 had been secretly given out to US banks and corporations and foreign banks everywhere from France to Scotland. From the period between December 2007 and June 2010, the Federal Reserve had secretly bailed out many of the world’s banks, corporations, and governments. The Federal Reserve likes to refer to these secret bailouts as an all-inclusive loan program, but virtually none of the money has been returned and it was loaned out at 0% interest.....

"To place $16 trillion into perspective, remember that GDP of the United States is only $14.12 trillion. The entire national debt of the United States government spanning its 200+ year history is “only” $14.5 trillion..... Take all of the outrage and debate over the $1.5 trillion deficit into consideration, and swallow this Red pill: There was no debate about whether $16,000,000,000,000 would be given to failing banks and failing corporations around the world."

Read more: http://www.sott.net/articles/show/250592-Audit-of-the-Federal-Reserve-Reveals-16-Trillion-in-Secret-Bailouts
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Monday, August 20, 2012

Romney calls for Fed audit as party mulls platform plank

Romney Calls for Fed Audit as Party Mulls Platform Plank - Bloomberg - Lisa Lerer and Julie Hirschfeld Davis:

August 20, 2012 - "'The Federal Reserve should be accountable,' Romney told thousands of voters at a campaign rally today in Goffstown, New Hampshire. 'We should see what they’re doing.'

"Under pressure from anti-tax Tea Party activists and other small government advocates, Republicans are considering including a plank in their platform calling for a full audit of the central bank -- a prospect that concerns many party leaders and their financial supporters. Romney’s remarks could put pressure on the Republican Platform Committee -- which is currently meeting in Tampa, the convention site -- to adopt the proposal.

"On the platform committee’s website, proposals to audit the Federal Reserve are among the most popular. Representative Ron Paul of Texas, a longtime Fed critic who made opposition to it a major theme of his failed bid for the Republican presidential nomination, has said that if Romney’s backers resist the effort, it could result in a political battle at the convention.

"Romney has chosen his words on the issue carefully, stopping short of siding with Paul even as he seeks support from him and his supporters."

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-20/romney-calls-for-fed-audit-as-party-mulls-platform-plank.html
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Wednesday, July 25, 2012

House passes Ron Paul-backed bill giving Congress greater scrutiny over Federal Reserve

House passes Ron Paul-backed bill giving Congress greater scrutiny over Federal Reserve - The Washington Post - Associated Press:

July 25, 2012 - "The House voted Wednesday to give Congress greater scrutiny over the monetary policy decisions of the Federal Reserve, approving legislation sponsored by longtime Fed nemesis Rep. Ron Paul.

"The 76-year-old Texas Republican, who is retiring at end of this session, has made a career of trying to do away with the Fed, which he blames for the growth of government and the rising federal deficit. Failing to accomplish that, he has pushed to make the independent central bank’s operations more transparent....

"The legislation, which passed 327-98, would require the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, to carry out comprehensive audits of the Fed’s Board of Governors and 12 regional banks.

"The Fed is subject to annual financial statement audits and the Dodd-Frank Act passed after the 2008 Wall Street meltdown does have provisions, backed by Paul, for auditing certain Fed activities. But the new legislation goes further in requiring inspections of the bank’s monetary policy decision-making, including its agreements with foreign central banks and Foreign Open Market Committee directives."

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/house-passes-ron-paul-backed-bill-giving-congress-greater-scrutiny-over-federal-reserve/2012/07/25/gJQA2b5T9W_story.html
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Sunday, July 22, 2012

Ron Paul`s `audit the Fed` bill coming up Tuesday - Mineweb.com

Ron Paul`s `audit the Fed` bill coming up Tuesday - POLITICAL ECONOMY - Mineweb.com Tim Ahmann & Donna Smith:

July 21, 2012 - "The House of Representatives is expected to vote on Tuesday on a bill that would allow for a congressional audit of Federal Reserve monetary policy decisions.... The legislation proposed by Republican Representative Ron Paul, a long-time critic of the U.S. central bank and author of the book "End the Fed," has already gathered 274 co-sponsors, virtually guaranteeing passage.

"The Republican-led House will consider the bill under a fast-track procedure that requires a two-thirds majority, but nearly two-thirds of the House has already signed onto the bill.... Paul's son, Republican Senator Rand Paul, has introduced a companion bill in the Democrat-controlled Senate, but chances of success are remote given a less critical view of the central bank in that chamber."

Read more: http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page72068?oid=155542&sn=Detail&pid=102055
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Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Ron Paul's 'Audit The Fed' bill clears House committee

Ron Paul's 'Audit The Fed' Bill Passes House Oversight Committee - Business Insider - Grace Wyler:

June 27, 2012 - "Ron Paul is finally gaining support for his beloved Audit The Fed bill.
The bill, H.R. 459, passed the House Oversight Committee this morning on a voivote, with no vocal opposition.... Here's Paul's statement on the vote:

"'I am very happy that the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform today passed H.R. 459. The bill passed unanimously by voice vote, with all of its strong audit provisions intact. It is time for the Federal Reserve to face a thorough audit of its monetary policy and lending operations. The Fed’s purchases of dubious assets from favored Wall Street institutions; its lending of hundreds of billions of dollars to foreign governments and central banks; and the prospect of further quantitative easing and European bailouts underscore the critical need for transparency. I am deeply appreciative of the overwhelming support this legislation has received from my colleagues in the House, especially today from the Oversight Committee. I look forward to seeing my Audit the Fed legislation passed by a bipartisan majority of Congress next month.'"

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/ron-paul-audit-the-fed-federal-reserve-bill-passes-house-oversight-committee-2012-6#ixzz1z2C8pbTn
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Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Ron Paul only presidential candidate telling truth about America’s economic woes

NH Best Selling Author Maintains Ron Paul Only Presidential Candidate Telling America the Truth about America’s Economic Woes - Houston Chronicle:

April 3, 2012 - "Best-selling author Barry James Dyke, author of The Pirates of Manhattan and recently released sequel, The Pirates of Manhattan II: Highway to Serfdom, maintains Ron Paul is the only candidate consistently telling Americans the truth about its finances and the role that the Federal Reserve has in America’s decline. http://www.thepiratesofmanhattan.com .

Dyke says, 'Ron Paul is the only candidate addressing the heart of America’s financial woes, the Federal Reserve System. Since the crisis began the Fed has consistently been more interested in bailing out Wall Street rather than Main Street. The Fed, with its zero interest rate policy, has ruined the currency through inflation by turning the central bank into a printing press, a long used trick of fallen empires.' The author continues, 'Dr. Paul is the only candidate addressing the core economic issues facing America; unsustainable wars, bankruptcy of the country, debauchment of the currency, corporate welfare, and a collapsed middle class'."

Read more: http://www.chron.com/business/press-releases/article/NH-Best-Selling-Author-Maintains-Ron-Paul-Only-3454608.php
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Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Ron Paul Tells Bernanke He Killed The Dollar, Silver Coin In Hand - Forbes

Ron Paul Tells Bernanke He Killed The Dollar, Silver Coin In Hand - Forbes - Agustinho Fontevecchia:

Feb. 29, 2012 - "Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke had an interesting morning over on Capitol Hill.... Bernanke ... was put on the spot by Ron Paul who pulled out a silver eagle and accused him of debasing the currency and destroying America’s wealth.

"Ron Paul first asked Bernanke if he did his own grocery shopping, to which the Fed Chairman responded with a 'yes.' Paul immediately cut him off and said 'no one believes the 2% inflation rate,' claiming it was actually closer to 9%. 'Someone is stealing wealth,' said Ron Paul, in full campaign mode.

He then pulled out a silver eagle, a silver coin that has nominal face value of one dollar that is legal tender. Ron Paul told Bernanke that in 2006, as he took the top spot at the Federal Reserve, an ounce of silver bought about 4 gallons of gas. Today, said Paul, it buys about 11."

Read more: http://www.forbes.com/sites/afontevecchia/2012/02/29/ron-paul-tells-bernanke-he-killed-the-dollar-silver-coin-in-hand/
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