Who Should Audit the Fed?

[Ghost Dog]

A few days ago the House passed with a veto-proof majority the bill known as “audit the fed” or more plainly as H.R. 459, sponsored by Ron Paul. If it became law, it would open the Federal Reserve’s policy deliberations and decisions, certain operations and dealings with foreign banks and governments to scrutiny by the Congressional Government Accountability Office. The GAO currently audits the Fed’s financials but not its policy making.

A number of House Democrats supported the bill, though party chieftains are against it. The critics of the measure, prominently including Fed Chair Ben Bernanke, argue that it will open the way to political interference with monetary policy, which is best conducted on purely economic grounds.

Both sides have a valid point. H.R. 459 proponents are surely right that the Fed should not be allowed to hide its policy making from the public—the provision of some information with a lag is not enough. The Federal Reserve system itself is a bureaucracy with its own priorities; how do we know that this secretive bureaucracy is serving the interests of the people?

Technocrats claim that the Fed bases its decisions on data and scientific models, but if you look at economic research you realize that data and models are like fish in an ocean. What you catch depends largely on what kind of tackle and bait you use and where you go fishing. (I’ve borrowed the fish metaphor from a 1961 book by a British historian.)

The Fed is a very rich bureaucracy with large research staffs who can find ways to justify almost any action—such as the $16 trillion provided in bailouts and loans in recent years. An independent overseer might at least question policymaking rationales.

Then again, allowing Congress greater say in monetary policy is a frightening prospect...

/... http://wallstreetpit.com/94322-who-should-audit-the-fed

[JustAnotherGen]

1. Not this Congress

I think it should a group of citizens from different backgrounds that are relevant to the Fed.

Example - a Branch manager at a local Detroit Michigan Credit Union.

An Economics professor at a Community College.

Treasure of a town in Vermont.

etc. etc. So on and so forth. The House is filled with rank and file indiots that can only scream 'Tea' and will have zero idea what they are looking at/reviewing.

Point blank - they are too dumb.

[patrice]

6. 1+

[Ghost Dog]

9. Yes. And with a seriously responsible media reporting the details

of what such a group of people might find...

Scrutiny by the people for the people. Nice idea. How could this be achieved?

[1StrongBlackMan]

11. Unfortunately ...

Few, if any, of the groups that you mentioned would be capable of performing an audit.

We'd do far better if we got a citizen's group of CPA and Accounting teachers that failed econ and finance while in undergrad.

[JustAnotherGen]

14. I like that idea too!

:yep: Of the people and by the people -because our current house has a bunch of god damned fools in it!

[JustAnotherGen]

15. You know

The HOR shouldn't even be allowed to audit a McDonald's nutritional content menu. They'd come out with some nonsense that McDonald's HAS Nutritional Content.

[1StrongBlackMan]

17. Well ...

Their patron saint, St. Ronnie the Actor, did declare ketchup to be a vegetable ... even though the tomatoe is actually a fruit.

[JustAnotherGen]

18. Oooooh

I never thought of the fruit v. vegetable aspect.

[1StrongBlackMan]

2. Perhaps ...

the same group that has been auditting the Fed for the past 50+ years?

It is the ron paulian "let's go back on the gold standard" crowd that are floating the "fed audited" cannard.

http://www.newyorkfed.org/aboutthefed/fedpoint/fed35.html

[patrice]

5. 1+

[girl gone mad]

10. No, it isn't just paulites that want to see the Fed audited.

This might be educational for you:

[1StrongBlackMan]

12. I can't see the video ...

can you give me a hint as to who is speaking?

[Agony]

23. William K. Black - white collar criminologist etc

[JustAnotherGen]

16. Yeppers!

And Ron Paul is an idiot - so right there is a solid clue that this is a bad idea.

[agent46]

3. The Fed, of course.

That's how we roll in Amerika!

[patrice]

4. 1+

[Ghost Dog]

8. Or... subcontract out to the BoE...

( )

[patrice]

7. K&R

[AnneD]

13. IMHO....

Ron Paul should head up the committee and Elizabeth Warren. I can just hear Timmy's sphincter pucker up and Bernanke head to the restroom to wash out his briefs at that thought. Frankly he is one of the few, I might like Volker on the committee as an observer. He seems to be the last decent SOTT that we had.

[Ghost Dog]

19. Say more, AnneD

[AnneD]

20. Hey there....

Ghost Dog. Just keeping it real. Are you out of the London madness. Been thinking about you.

Edited to add....there are some thing that Ron may say that I disagree with but he did much to lift the veil of secrecy that the Feds like to maintain. Thanks to his and Dodds insistence, the TARP bill had the attachment that required the Feds to show who came to the window for the sweetheart loans. It proved to be very illuminating, to say the least.

[Ghost Dog]

21. Hey. I rely on people like you to give me clues

as regards what's real over there. You know.

Yeah, I took a quick look at what's going on in (South) UK. I'm rendered quite speechless, but I guess you can guess. Mixed with a few genuine people there though. Doing my best to report honestly, poco a poco.

However, I came back home here to my village(s) in Spain, let's get real, pretty damn fast. Will maybe die here.

I may be getting on in years, and quite lazy, but I'm not, you know, dumb crazy.

Besides... what little money's available goes much further around here.

Meanwhile... don't you guys rule the world? ¿Que coño pasa?

[GregOrr]

22. Vote on "Audit the Fed"

I think this is an interesting idea because it's a possible overlap between Ron Paul / 99% / Progressive movements.

You can vote on the idea at http://the99vote.com/idea/US128

[Harald Baldr]

24. Audit is needed but won't solve the underlying problem

an audit of the FED is long overdue. The fact that it's never happend in nearly 100 years is an outrage. (and I'm not even American)

The problem won't be solved though as the whole political system is rigged against individual liberty through the exercise of majority rule elections.

I'm not against Democracy, just simply against the insurmountable amount of power the leaders we elect always amass at our expense and ability to make individual decision on our own behalf.

The 'Tyranny of the Majority; is the underlying issue, and biggest scourge facing ever Democracy today including the United States, not an audit of the FED:

http://haraldbaldr.blogspot.com/2012/08/freedom-democracy-tyranny-of-majority.html