Paul Right to Hold Up Yellen Nomination

[Kowalski]

Senator Rand Paul is absolutely correct and justified in threatening to delay the confirmation of Janet Yellen to become Chairperson of the Federal Reserve.

Not only should he be commended for the step by Republicans but he should be supported by as many Democrats as possible – which would only be in keeping with the 89 Democrats who contributed to the bi-partisan support of H.R. 459 in 2012 which simply sought to “To require a full audit of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal reserve banks by the Comptroller General of the United States, and for other purposes,” the exact same language as Rand Paul’s S.202 — Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2011.

There is no way to justify opposition to S. 202 and support of H.R. 459. But I wonder – will Democrats still try to find a way?

There are two principled arguments against the Federal Reserve System that any American should entertain subscribing to – one is monetary in nature and the other regulatory.

Republicans and Democrats have diverse points of variance on whether the medium of exchange of this country should be backed by gold or exist as a fiat currency. Fine, as a gold-standard advocate who wants stable money, I don’t mind settling that disagreement at another time. We can bifurcate that temporarily from the regulatory issue.

However, the argument that the Federal Reserve system should be exempt from any kind of audit can only be viewed as benefiting the elite interests of a banking sector that both sides of the aisle should agree enjoys a privileged monopoly only because Congress erroneously (but not permanently) forfeited its Constitutionally mandated authority over the nation’s finances.

Link: http://www.forbes.co...ld-support-him/

Edited October 25, 2013 by Kowalski

[Kowalski]

While no longer actively engaged in politcs, one of Ron Paul's crowning achievements while in Congress, was to bring some much needed sunlight to the balance sheet, the activities, and secret bailouts of the Fed, and according to some, was being responsible for the "transaprency, openness, and forward guidance" approach to monetary policy. The paradox here, as the whole Taper - Non Tapershocking episode provied, is that the Fed itself is now caught in a reflexive Catch 22, and no longer can "renormalize" and extricate itself from its policy through "guidance" without in the process destroying everything it has achieved during the prior period of central planniing.

Still, despite Ron Paul's unsung accomplishments there is much more to be done to expose just how actively the NY Fed's trading desk participates in the fixing of the S&P500's closing price day after day. For that, he will need the help of his son, Rand. Which is why as the Sunshine State Newsreports, "Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is ramping up his opposition to President Barack Obama’s nomination of Janet Yellen to chair the Federal Reserve. Paul is teaming up with the Campaign for Liberty, chaired by his father former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, to stand in opposition to Yellen and push legislation taking aim at the Fed."

On Thursday, the Campaign for Liberty announced a video on the subject featuring Sen. Paul and John Tate, the president of the group.

“The Senate fight over Barack Obama's Fed chair nominee is just around the corner,” Norm Singleton, the vice president of policy for the Campaign for Liberty, wrote supporters on Thursday. “And Senator Rand Paul has vowed to block the nomination until Harry Reid brings ‘Audit the Fed’ to the floor for a vote. This will be the fight of our lives -- but this is our moment!

Will Paul and Paul succeed in getting some traction in the Democrat governed senate: the same Democrats who loathed the Fed when it was only in the news over how many trillions in bank bailouts it provided, but love it now that it is best known for monetizing the US deficit and funding various insolvent welfare programs? We doubt it, but we wish the luck.

Sadly, it is now far too late to change strategy and direction, and/or focus on anything besides salvage. Which is why it is perhaps best if Yellen et al are allowed unobstructed access to everything they want to engage in: print $100 billion a month? Fine, do it. Print $1 trillion? $1 quadrillion? Go for it!

Link: http://www.zerohedge...st-janet-yellen

Edited October 25, 2013 by Kowalski

[Kowalski]

"As part of Senate consideration of the Janet Yellen nomination to be chair of the Federal Reserve, I will request a vote on my bipartisan Federal Reserve Transparency Act, S. 209,” Paul said in a statement Friday. “The American people deserve transparency from the Federal Reserve and the federal government as a whole.”

News of the Kentucky senator’s intentions was first reported by CNBC.

Paul’s legislation calls for a complete audit of the Federal Reserve.

It “will eliminate the current audit restrictions placed on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and mandate a complete audit of the Federal Reserve to be completed by a firm deadline,”Paul’s website states, “finally delivering answers to the American people about how their money is being spent by Washington.”

Link: http://www.theblaze....air-nomination/

Edited October 25, 2013 by Kowalski

[Yamato]

Where's ninjadude to defend Fed secrecy for the elitists when you need him?

[Kowalski]

Where's ninjadude to defend Fed secrecy for the elitists when you need him?

Well, personally, I think this is a great idea, and hope everyone supports him on this...Democrats and Republicans a like.....

[Yamato]

Well, personally, I think this is a great idea, and hope everyone supports him on this...Democrats and Republicans a like.....

Democrats supporting Fed transparency? Did Hell freeze over? It was a great idea when Ron Paul got it through the House before Harry Reid pinned it DOA in the Senate last year. It was a great idea in 2007 when Ron Paul was campaigning on it. I think I've been down this road enough times to know that democrats are completely unable to explain in debates with me on this forum why they support Fed secrecy. They just follow orders from the invisible hand in the sky that controls them. It need not be any more complicated than that.

[preacherman76]

Democrats supporting Fed transparency? Did Hell freeze over? It was a great idea when Ron Paul got it through the House before Harry Reid pinned it DOA in the Senate last year. It was a great idea in 2007 when Ron Paul was campaigning on it. I think I've been down this road enough times to know that democrats are completely unable to explain in debates with me on this forum why they support Fed secrecy. They just follow orders from the invisible hand in the sky that controls them. It need not be any more complicated than that.

True that. Saddly the GOP isnt much better when it comes to exposing the fed. There are only a small handfull of folks in government who get it at all. Or they are just affraid to get killed standing against the all powerful bank.

[Frank Merton]

Since I think the Fed has been doing a great job for the circumstances and is the only US institution showing good sense, I of course support the Yellen nomination and am delighted with it.

The Fed is printing money and throwing it out of helicopters over Manhattan (actually they are buying Treasuries and thereby keeping interest rates low. This is exactly what it should do when there is high unemployment, low confidence, low growth and dropping or stable prices.

In the meantime the Administration, acting out of pressure from dinosaur Republicans (who don't realize the illusion of the debt as not meaningful unless it is looked at in constant terms both costs and the size of the economy, is actually reducing the deficit, so much so that it may even disappear. This is the exact opposite of what should be being done. The administration adds obligations and regulations on the people and businesses and reduces spending. Thank God for the Fed.

[ian hacktorp]

Thank God for the Fed.

Professing a love for someone who has imprisoned and abused you is a well-studied psychiatric condition known as Stockholm Syndrome. It will be good to begin the process of emotionally letting go of irrational devotion because, like all ponzi schemes, the Fed will collapse. The writing is on the wall and even mainstream economists are seeing it.

[spartan max2]

audit the fed . Why should they be exempt?

[ian hacktorp]

The "great job" the Fed has been doing is coming under increasing fire from financial experts who can see that Bernanke and, soon, Yellen are stuck with no way out. The following quote by Paul Singer of Elliott Management sums things up well. Read the entire interview for a real eye-full:

http://www.zerohedge...g-and-dangerous

"Something Is Wrong And Dangerous"

What has been happening with the U.S. federal government in its recent highly-theatrical phase, as contentious and difficult as it has been, is merely a precursor to much bigger events.

we are talking about the underlying structural issues of the federal budget deficit, economic growth, the deeply contentious Affordable Care Act, and the long-term insolvency of the country due to the government having made (and continuing to make) massively unpayable promises for the future. As we have pointed out, the current annual federal deficit, so ballyhooed to be “coming down nicely,” is actually catastrophically out of control. It is not a trillion dollars. The true figure is more like $7 trillion (and growing!) after accounting for unfunded liabilities, which are mounting at a fantastic pace. It is not an exaggeration to say that America is deeply insolvent, and for that matter, so are most of continental Europe, the U.K. and Japan. No combination of achievable growth rates and taxes can pay for the promises that have been made. The numbers are clear and inexorable.

None of the major governmental leaders in these regions is telling the truth about the present state of affairs and where it will lead, nor are they making the structural changes necessary to unlock the potential to grow their respective economies significantly faster than current rates.

Edited October 30, 2013 by hacktorp

[Yamato]

Thank God Frank didn't have to bury any of the corpses in Vietnam that were financed by the Fed. The biggest assembly line of bombs the world had ever seen, and besides, war is always the first and best excuse to go into debt over, thank God.