Liberty MavenFormer Jeopardy! Champ Attacks Ron Paul’s Fed Audit Bill
July 31st, 2009 4:16 pm | by Marc Gallagher | Published in Banking, Big Government, Commentary, Economics, Federal Reserve, Liberty, Maven Commentary, Politics, Ron Paul | 10 Responses
The blue screen revealed the next answer: “A quasi-government organization that has the power to print money out of thin air with little direct oversight.” Uh… What is the Federal Reserve? That’s correct! A 2002 Jeopardy game show champion, blogger, and Reuters Money and Politics columnist has published a column denouncing Ron Paul’s HR.1207 and his effort to bring more transparency to the Federal Reserve.
James Pethokoukis writes:
An audit would create an explicit and clear congressional assessment of the Fed’s performance.
I’m with you here, compared to what we have now which is an unclear generalization from the Fed itself about its performance.
“Indeed, there would be no point to this proposal, given Humphrey-Hawkins, if it were not the intention of the bill’s proponents to exert congressional control of monetary policy decisions in a way that the Humphrey-Hawkins testimony alone does not allow them to,” argues Michael Woodford, an economics professor at Columbia University.
Wow. Having the Fed Chairman testify twice a year to Congress is the equivalent of a GAO audit? Put your crack pipe down professor.
How might more influence be exerted? Economist Anil Kashyap of the University of Chicago thinks an audit suggests the GAO and Congress could force the Fed to supply all the background information that goes into an interest-rate decision and compel all members of the FOMC to share their individual thinking on any issue in real time.
“The spirit of the Paul bill seems to be that having FOMC meetings live on C-SPAN would be best way to make monetary policy. That would be a disaster.”
This is laughable. The bill would merely require an audit be done by the GAO by the end of 2010. The “spirit” suggested here is an evil fantasy concocted in a feeble effort to find something to criticize the bill for. Allow me to present the summary of HR.1207 for Mr. Kashyap:
Directs the Comptroller General to complete, before the end of 2010, an audit of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and of the federal reserve banks, followed by a detailed report to Congress.
Any detractor of Fed transparency who tries to paint the picture that Paul’s bill is an effort to televise FOMC meetings live does not understand English.
Pethokoukis continues:
The effect on the economy might not be so beneficial, either. Even if the result of the Fed bill is only more aggressive congressional questioning and criticism, financial markets might well fear the bank would start taking congressional wishes into account when making policy.
There is more to the economy than “financial markets”. Even if an audit results in more aggressive questioning, would that be a bad thing? It gets pretty aggressive already (see Grayson) and it seems to have little or no effect on the economy or financial markets. The Fed Chairman is a big boy. He deserves to be questioned aggressively given his position and power with our money.
If the Fed were to begin taking congressional wishes into account when making policy, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing. As it stands right now, the only boss is the President. Perhaps a little congressional oversight would be another check on runaway executive power. Of course, the President would still have the ultimate power over the Fed chairman. He can fire him should the chairman attempt to cut his own puppet strings.
“I’ll take transparency for $1000, Alex.”
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July 31st, 2009 at 10:30 pm (#)
funny stuff
July 31st, 2009 at 11:13 pm (#)
Even funnier is being pompous enough to think your the only person whose opinion is valid.
August 1st, 2009 at 12:44 am (#)
Great job with a rebuttal to the ridiculous article on Reuters. I was about to email Mr. Pethokoukis myself and educate him..but then again, I didn't want to waste my time talking to a fool..I already do too much of that as a professor and there are plenty of fools here at Harvard.
August 1st, 2009 at 12:46 am (#)
I agree completely with Dr. Goldstein. Good job with the rebuttal Marc! =)
August 1st, 2009 at 12:59 am (#)
“A puppet, a tool or a talking head for the establishment”
Hmm… Who is James Pethokoukis? You are correct…
I'll take the HR 1207 for $2010, please Alex.
That’s hilarious…
You printed trillions out of nowhere and called it capital?
Any competing currencies you called counterfeit?
Three of four Americans are asking;
“Where do you get the authority to a free handouts and bailouts to who you so desired with our hard-earned dollars?”
Your scamming days are numbered Ben, may God save your soul…
All in Liberty…
August 1st, 2009 at 2:38 am (#)
You made a mistake. Who do you think financed the president's campaign(and most all campaigns)? Who owns and/or controls the big corporations that finance both sides of our two winged, one party system? Who owns the private banks that comprise the federal reserve system. Here is a clue… Look toward "The City". The president does not control the fed. The fed controls the president.
August 2nd, 2009 at 3:21 pm (#)
He works for Reuters you say ?
They purchased Reuters in the 1890's…………………………………………Who are the Rothschilds ?
They control the Federal Reserve today……………………………………….Who are the Rothschilds ?
He will be elected President in 2012. ………………………………………………………Who is Ron Paul ?
Info Wars, I know & I am telling everyone !
August 3rd, 2009 at 3:34 am (#)
You are right about their control also the CFR runs TheGov.
August 3rd, 2009 at 10:34 am (#)
What no one ever seems to mention, even supporters of Fed transparency, is that its secrecy not only, in theory, protects it from Congressional meddling, it protects the meddlers from having their identities known. Or are people so naive as to think that, will trillions of dollars at stake, attempts aren't being made all the time time influence the Fed? And a certain percentage of those attempts are certainly going to be successful.
August 11th, 2009 at 5:29 pm (#)
"The spirit of the Paul bill seems…"
Yeah, right. It "seems" like that if you're an idiot or propagandist tool.
And, look which "news" organization published this nonsense – Thomson Reuters. Thomson is the richest guy in Canada, AND a legitimate royal. Do you think he has a vested interested in a shrouded Fed? Can you get any more elite than that?
Its coming down to a battle of the elite (and their sychophants) vs.the rest of us.