Audit the Fed Bill Reaches Benchmark

June 11 – Washington D.C. – A bill started by Congressman Ron Paul reached a critical benchmark of 218 cosponsors in the House of Representatives, which means it is now cosponsored by a majority of the members.

The bill, named the Federal Reserve Transparency Act will demand full transparency from the Federal Reserve for the first time in history by removing all restrictions from Government Accountability Office (GAO) audits of the Fed and mandating an audit by the end of 2010.

Based on the Campaign for Liberty’s website, an organization Ron Paul supports, explains the need for Fed Transparency “Since its inception in 1913, the Federal Reserve has helped to devalue our dollar by 95%. During the recent economic crisis, it has poured trillions of dollars into the economy with no oversight, made secret agreements with foreign banks and governments, and has refused to tell Congress who is getting the money or to give it the details of what deals are being made.”

“The tremendous grass-roots and bipartisan support in Congress for [Fed Transparency] is an indicator of how mainstream America is fed up with Fed secrecy,” said Congressman Paul. “I look forward to this issue receiving greater public exposure.”

Tags: fed transparency, ron paul, the fed

Ron Paul on the Role of Gold in Monetary Policy

Dr. Ron Paul is, in my opinion, the most important candidate for president because of his consistent views on monetary and fiscal policy. If, in the likely event Dr. Ron Paul is not elected president — the United States will most likely continue its decline away from a great nation and into a totalitarian regime.

The late Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan’s own words, “the abandonment of the gold standard made it possible for the welfare statists to use the banking system as a means to an unlimited expansion of credit. … In the absence of the gold standard, there is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation.” Which means gold fundamentally stands in the way of governmental monetary abuse. Gold is a natural ‘protector’ of government’s manipulating the supply of money.

Gold naturally remains scarce because there is only a limited amount of gold – above or below ground. Regardless of monetary manipulation, gold remains scarce. Unlike paper money, which historically has never held value because of governmental control and manipulation. Paper starts as dirt, which is then made into money, and will end as dirt. History tends to repeat.

I would like to highlight some of Dr. Paul’s views of monetary and Fiscal policy. In an essay, The Maestro Changes His Tune, Dr. Paul discusses the Federal Reserve problem by saying, “the Federal Reserve does not mimic a gold standard by any measure. The clearest example of this lies in our current account deficit, which our fiat currency encourages. Under a gold standard we would not have exchange rate distortions between the Chinese renminbi and the U.S. dollar, for example. True currency stability is impossible when fiat dollars can be produced at will and foreign lenders bankroll our deficits.” To avoid government’s manipulation on money and to protect monetary freedom, gold is a solution for both monetary manipulation and the protection of individual freedoms.

The protection of individual monetary freedom can be explained through inflation, when inflation erodes an individual’s private property – money – the individual’s freedom is replaced by a larger government. Dr. Paul discusses the problem of inflation by saying,

“Fiat currency and big government go hand-in-hand. Without a gold standard, Congress is free to spend recklessly and fall back on monetary expansion to pay the bills. Politically, it’s easier to print new dollars than raise taxes or borrow overseas. The Fed in essence creates paper reserves that enable Congress to undertake spending measures that far exceed tax revenues.”

The effect of inflation is not felt by government, nor by the politicians who passed the legislation to establish the Federal Reserve. The effects are most felt by the poor, and middle class. The same people, who make America great, have money stolen through inflation caused by expanding the supply of money.

It is apparent no presidential candidate cares about the average American except for Dr. Ron Paul. “The laws of supply and demand work better than any central banker to determine both the correct supply of money in the economy and the interest rate at which capital is available – without the political favoritism and secrecy that characterize central banks,” says Paul. Americans should not question which presidential candidate to vote for because every American will benefit from the prosperity generated by the views and beliefs of our founding fathers – beliefs which Dr. Paul hold dearly.

Dr. Paul said, “Americans should not tolerate the manipulation of our economy and the inflation of our currency by an unaccountable institution.” Instead Americans should elect a representatives who hold the belief — preserving individual liberties is more important than expanding the size and scope of the American government.