Yesterday Congressman Ron Paul blogged about HR 1207 “which calls for a complete audit of the Federal Reserve.”1 He wrote:
This bill now has nearly 170 cosponsors, with support from both Republicans and Democrats. Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced a companion bill in the Senate S 604, which will hopefully begin to gain momentum as well. I am very encouraged to see so many of my colleagues in Congress stand with me for greater transparency in government.
Some have begun to push back against this bill, and I am very happy to address their concerns.
The main argument seems to be that Congressional oversight over the Fed is government interference in the free market. This argument shows a misunderstanding of what a free market really is. Fundamentally, you cannot defend the Federal Reserve and the free market at the same time. The Fed negates the very foundation of a free market by artificially manipulating the price and supply of money – the lifeblood of the economy. In a free market, interest rates, like the price of any other consumer good, are decentralized and set by the market. The only legitimate, Constitutional role of government in monetary policy is to protect the integrity of the monetary unit and defend against counterfeiters.
Instead, Congress has abdicated this responsibility to a cabal of elite, quasi-governmental banks who, instead of stabilizing the economy, have destabilized it. It took less than two decades for the Federal Reserve to bring on the Great Depression of the 1930’s. It has also inflated away the value of our currency by over 96 percent since its inception. It has invisibly stolen from the poor and given to the rich through this controlled inflation, and now openly stolen through recent bank bailouts. It has predictably exacerbated the very problems it was meant to solve.
HR 1207: Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009 would be a huge step towards providing much needed transparency to our financial system. The United States’ monetary and economic freedom may be at stake. For an overview of the history of the Federal Reserve System, watch the Fiat Empire Videos. These videos may surprise you.
Below is the Young Americans for Liberty video on HR 1207.
Sources:
- Paul, Ron. “Audit the Fed, Then End It!” 18 May 2009. United States House of Representatives, 111th Congress, 1st Session. 19 May 2009.↩
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Tags: Federal Reserve, Freedom, Money, Ron Paul
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Jeremy Harrison
on May 20, 2009 at 7:18 am
I’ve always thought Ron Paul would make a phenomenal economics advisor. He is very well versed in history and general economic trends. I’m not too keen on many of his other ideas, but he seems spot on here. My parents always taught me that as long as you are honest, you will never have to fear or hide behind pretenses. Here, there is no reason the government should attempt to conceal what the Fed is doing, unless what they are doing is something they are not proud of. That, I fear, is the case.
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Chris H.
on May 20, 2009 at 3:25 pm
If Ron Paul can work with Bernie Sanders (my favorite Senator) then it makes sense that Greg and I get along so well together.
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Greg
on May 20, 2009 at 10:15 pm
Chris H. -
Greg
I’m with you Jeremy. Congressman Paul excels in this area. I think many government leaders would do well to become better educated in this area. Let’s hope HR 1207 gets some traction.
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Mark D.
on May 22, 2009 at 10:15 pm
Whether you think central banking is a good thing or a bad thing, there is no serious case against government audits of a central bank.
There is a case for the independence of the Fed, but not as a private institution. The Fed has no more reason to be private than the Supreme Court does.
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Greg
Agreed. HR 1207 seems to be the most legitimate piece of legislation on this topic that Congressman Paul has introduced to date. It will be interesting to see who is appointed to be the “opposition” in both houses of Congress.
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