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Ron Paul Is Right! We Should Audit the Fed

Posted Jul 08, 2009 12:30pm EDT by Peter Gorenstein in Newsmakers, Banking

An amendment based on Congressman Ron Paul’s House bill to audit the Federal Reserves was blocked by the Senate this week on procedural grounds.

Speaking on the Senate floor, Republican Senator Jim DeMint and supporter of an audit said, "allowing the Fed to operate our nation's monetary system in almost complete secrecy leads to abuse, inflation and a lower quality of life."

Charles Ortel, managing director with Newport Value Partners, an independent research firm, agrees.  "Transparency is the key to any market," he says, noting the Fed doesn't mark-to-market its assets, much of it now consisting of the worst toxic debt Wall Street had to offer.

In truth, the Fed doesn't work in complete secrecy - they do release a weekly update which details the size and type of assets on its balance sheet. According to the latest report, the Fed’s balance sheet shrunk to $1.989 trillion, falling below $2 trillion for the first time since March.

And Bernanke backers are inclined to say, give the Fed a break.  Those supporters including, Warren Buffett, claim the Fed’s action saved the U.S. from an even greater economic catastrophe.

But Ortel isn’t buying it: "We are well into a major crisis of confidence... those with major league exposure to the dollar and U.S. companies are quietly reducing that exposure," he claims.

If one looks at recent U.S. Treasury auctions, appetite for U.S. debt remains relatively strong.  But Ortel says the smart money has little confidence in the future of the U.S. and is instead buying gold and other hard assets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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377 Comments

John
John - Wednesday July 08, 2009 12:44PM EDT

I'm going to Audit the FED!!!

Yahoo! Finance User
Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday July 08, 2009 12:46PM EDT

In May of 2008, Dallas Federal Reserve CEO and President, Richard Fisher, said Amerika's unfunded liabilities amounted to $99 trillion http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3Eb4H8jb2c. Imagine what the number is now with the messiah in office. AJ is right: Amerika is being destroyed deliberately.

Yahoo! Finance User
Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday July 08, 2009 12:46PM EDT

I used to trust the U.S. Government to do what is right for the people. I no longer do.

Piasa Bird
Piasa Bird - Wednesday July 08, 2009 12:47PM EDT

Why no audit? Would the Fed tolerate no audit of any bank or institution it supervises? Only reason not to audit is to hide activities, but we'll all find out later when we pay.

WolfTalk101
WolfTalk101 - Wednesday July 08, 2009 12:48PM EDT

Well that sucks! I really wanted to have that pushed through. Maybe Biden wsa telling the truth and Obama is just blowing more smoke up the public's #$@. Ron Paul for preseident - he has other great ideas about getting back on the gold standard to reign in govt spending.

Jon M
Jon M - Wednesday July 08, 2009 12:48PM EDT

End the Fed.

taopraxis
taopraxis - Wednesday July 08, 2009 12:53PM EDT

Ersatz money, ersatz markets, ersatz freedom.

Yahoo! Finance User
Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday July 08, 2009 12:54PM EDT

The Fed should be abolished, not audited! They're there for one reason and one reason only: to steal people's savings via inflation. How is that fair? If you want my money, tax me, don't steal it. Crooks.

Polski
Polski - Wednesday July 08, 2009 12:55PM EDT

While slightly dis-related to above, there is the need to Audit all Companies on the Stock Market, confidence in the fundamentals relies on this! Stock-Fraud seems to be an accepted Way of life by the Pundits, but not to this Investor! Can cite examples, of where your money is going today, with no basis for the Numbers?

Fives
Fives - Wednesday July 08, 2009 12:56PM EDT

The Fed has printed trillions of dollars and given it away to politically connected banks and corporations. We deserve to know what the Fed is doing with the country's money. Watch Rep Alan Grayson shred the ineffectual fed auditor. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXlxBeAvsB8

Johan S Berg
Johan S Berg - Wednesday July 08, 2009 12:56PM EDT

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.... now he's right. He was a wacko last year.... you dumb asses in the media knew this then.... stop pretending like this is some epiphany you just stumbled across.

CS
CS - Wednesday July 08, 2009 12:57PM EDT

This tells you who "our" senators are working for.

Danny
Danny - Wednesday July 08, 2009 12:57PM EDT

I'll be the first to admit that I thought Ron Paul was off his rocker a couple of years ago. Now I see he's been preaching mostly common sense all along. Aside from his foreign policy stance, I'm with him and Peter Schiff when it comes to domestic financial policies. Time to bring the Fed and Treasury into broad daylight. wallstreetbean.com

Katy C
Katy C - Wednesday July 08, 2009 12:58PM EDT

We all know that the Fed is the Oz thing, the man behind the curtain, all smoke and mirrors. Exposing the horror of it might be too much to bear.

Vladimir Jabotinsky
Vladimir Jabotinsky - Wednesday July 08, 2009 12:59PM EDT

Jihad pre-dates the US and is on the rise in part due to oil revenue financing over the last four decades. Only if Ron Paul acknowledged Islamists' war against Western Civilization. Only if he admitted that jihadists don't care about our past or present foreign policy and are waging jihad on infidels in 38 out of 40 armed conflicts on the planet. Then Ron Paul would be a decent candidate with whom entitlements and other constitutional issues can be debated.

Whit Chambers
Whit Chambers - Wednesday July 08, 2009 12:59PM EDT

And the Libs think that government is here to help us and Obama will save us. Well they think money grows on trees!

Whit Chambers
Whit Chambers - Wednesday July 08, 2009 01:00PM EDT

Does Barney Frank Richard Suck?

Harlequin
Harlequin - Wednesday July 08, 2009 01:01PM EDT

I am perfectly happy to "give the Fed a break." But I would still like an independent audit. Trust but verify.

DrD
DrD - Wednesday July 08, 2009 01:01PM EDT

It's not just the fed. The organization holding the reigns of power in Washington right now is operating under a de facto coup. They have zero constitutional authority. We the people must withhold our treasure from this criminal enterprise until we can re-seat a proper congress and president. Until that happens, god save us all.

MatthewG
MatthewG - Wednesday July 08, 2009 01:01PM EDT

this is nutty. Did Tech Ticker decide to target the insane idiots of this country? End the Fed? Who let these morons post? These people are just plain uneducated.

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