Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Ron Paul: why the Fed likes independence

Ron Paul's latest "Texas Straight Talk" update deals with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's scheme to cover up details of AIG's "backdoor bailout" of large investment banks, and also covers the much-debated issue of the Fed's "independence".



Here's what Congressman Paul had to say about the recent backroom dealings by the Treasury and the Fed, and "Why the Fed Likes Independence":

"
This claim that the Fed should have “independence” is a canard. They very much enjoy their comfortable pattern of bailing out friends and devaluing the currency with no oversight and no accountability. Geithner specifically asked officials at AIG not to disclose to the SEC or to the public particulars about this special deal for his friends. We only know these details now because AIG was eventually forthcoming when Congress demanded some answers.

We should be getting this information, and information on all such dealings, straight from the Fed. The Fed should be accountable to Congress because it is a creature of Congress. The Constitution gives Congress the authority to oversee the integrity of the monetary unit. We have unwisely and unconstitutionally delegated this authority to the
Federal Reserve, which has in turn devalued our dollar by 95 percent and counting.

When the
Federal Reserve engages in harmful policies, Congress is still ultimately responsible. If the Fed is not made accountable through a GAO audit at least, it will continue to be accountable to no one, and that is unacceptable."
Please see our related links section for more discussion on why the Federal Reserve should (or should not be) held accountable through government audits.

Related articles and posts:

1. Interview: Ron Paul & Steve Forbes discuss the Fed - Forbes.

2. Fed wants to keep US bailouts secret - Finance Trends.

3. Geithner wants zipped lips on AIG swaps - Finance Trends.

4. Ron Paul answers questions on C-SPAN - RonPaul.com.