Economic oligarchs? Yes, that is what the Fed is. It is no less a cabal of economic central planners than the old Soviet Politburo, and just as effective. In 1913, Congress gave away its control of our money to the Fed through the Federal Reserve Act. The Central Bank has dictated monetary policy without congressional oversight ever since. Under current law, the elected 535 members of Congress have no authority whatsoever over the 12 unelected members of the Federal Open Market Committee and their decisions on interest rates, buying and selling of government debt, and the printing of new money. Congress cannot force Fed chairman Bernanke to give an accounting of where the $11 trillion of new money and credit have gone since the beginning of this recession. Every act of the Fed is carried out with almost perfect secrecy and impunity.
But again, things are finally, and rightly, moving against the Fed. Perhaps the last straw for Congressman Shuler and the other 33 cosponsors of HR 1207 since Tuesday was the testimony of Bank of America’s CEO Ken Lewis that Bernanke threatened and bullied him into finalizing BoA’s takeover of Merrill Lynch. The threats to his and the Board’s jobs from Bernanke and Paulson were inappropriate and probably illegal. If this is what it takes finally to get a long-overdue report of the Fed’s secret activities, activities which affect every American deeply, then so be it.
As the Fed controls the very lifeblood of our economy, every American should get involved in this issue. Technology has made this very easy. Contact your congressperson at Roll Call – Congress.org and either thank them for cosponsoring HR 1207, or request they do so. The fight for passage of this indispensable legislation has just begun. This commentator is under no illusions about the battle which will be waged to oppose it. But, one thing is certain: contacting members of Congress is an effective way for citizens to support good legislation – even for lonely libertarians.
Article comments
1 - Dan(Miller)
Kenn,
HR 1207 seems to be a good start. However, the audit is not to be completed until the end of next year -- eighteen months from now-- and an audit report is not due until ninety days after the audit is completed. Then, the report goes only to various identified members of Congress and to any other member who asks for a copy.
Why the substantial delay and why not have the report made available to anyone who asks for a copy?
Dan(Miller)
2 - Bliffle
I might take exception to this statement (but i don't have time right now):
"...we libertarians. It's about time " we are the political descendants of the Enlightenment thinkers and American Founding Fathers who helped usher in the modern world, with its respect for economic and personal freedoms."
I've heard this conceit many times before, and I even embraced it many years ago, but now I have my doubts. More later.