Ron Paul took his anti-Fed, anti-regulatory, pro-transparency message to the CNBC Squawk Box crew today. This is another winning appearance from Ron Paul. He outlines his views fairly well and makes extremely good arguments for his side of the Fed transparency debate.
His appearance was so positive that they end up telling him that he should come on the show as a special guest (as they have from time to time) for the full 2 hours of the show. Paul makes a joke in response. Check it out below.
Yesterday I gave a fast-paced lecture on constitutional money and the Federal Reserve to the Lehigh Valley Tea Party. The playlist can be found below, and the PDF of the presentation here. I am also available to present this material at a much slower rate, with plenty of time for Q&A to groups. Monetary economics is very crucial to understand as it underlies EVERYTHING that is going on with the economy.
Here’s what I wrote in my letter to Congress . . .
Several countries are making plans to stop using Federal Reserve Notes for oil purchases. I want the same freedom for my personal transactions.
The Fed has nearly doubled the money supply since last Fall. This will cut the future value of my savings in half and send my cost of living through the roof. Add to that . . .
* The $100 trillion in unfunded liabilities for Social Security and Medicare
* Your big bailout schemes,
* Your so-called stimulus package,
* Your cap and trade boondoggle,
* Your disastrous healthcare plans, and the result is . . .
I see no hope for the dollar. You guys have ruined our currency, and I WANT OUT.
If foreigners can stop using Federal Reserve Notes, I should have the same freedom. Why should foreigners have more right to control their own economic destiny than I do?
Many in Washington claim they want to protect the Fed’s independence. What about my independence? I just want you to repeal the legal tender law so I can use forms of money other than Federal Reserve Notes (like gold and silver for instance). Doing this would also moderate the Fed’s behavior. If they want me to keep using Federal Reserve Notes then they’ll have to stop their legalized counterfeiting activities.
Please represent me. Break the Federal Reserve’s money monopoly. Give me the same right that foreigners have.
Slides 4-36 of the below presentation have been presented to several groups around the district for educational purposes. Although you are missing my critical narrative and explanations, I invite you to take a look. If you do disagree or find something new, check my sourcing and citations.
While the hour-long presentation is of course only a snapshot, or a look at the critical pieces of puzzle, I emphasize the importance of the gold market, and view the housing crisis as merely a symptom of the causes – excess FED inflation and artificially low interest rates that were held too low for too long. The irony is not lost that currently the FED interest rates is roughly 0.15%, far lower than previously. In the interests of time and for simplicity, I omitted the Treasury market almost entirely – just a brief mention in the slide on the national debt. The Treasury market is definitely also quite critical.
As part of the New Deal, Franklin D. Roosevelt confiscated all privately-owned gold and made it illegal to own the shiny metal, and fixed its price. Jim Powell of the Future of Freedom Foundation goes through the history of the disastrous actions taken by FDR and the aftermath.
Roosevelt understood that he must apply the full force of federal power to suppress the natural desire for gold in troubled times. The Emergency Banking Act, signed into law March 9, amended the Federal Reserve Act by adding a new subsection (n), which empowered the secretary of the Treasury to demand that all Americans surrender their gold and receive paper money. The following day, Roosevelt issued Executive Order 6073, which made it illegal for Americans to take gold out of the country.
In his first “fireside chat,” delivered on March 12, Roosevelt didn’t say a word about his backstage maneuvering to seize gold. He remarked that “hoarding during the past week has become an exceedingly unfashionable pastime.”
Less than a month later, on April 5, 1933, Roosevelt issued Executive Order 6012, which expropriated privately owned gold. He ordered Americans to surrender their gold to the government by May 1, 1933. Violators would be subject to a $10,000 fine or as many as 10 years in prison.
Ron Paul was interviewed on the Jason Lewis Show by guest host Rod Grams this evening. They talked for about 16 minutes and covered several topics but in the end focused on auditing and potentially ending the Federal Reserve.
Paul specifically discusses why he doesn’t think the way to get HR1207 to a House vote is through a discharge petition. He suggests continuing to drum up grassroots support for HR1207 is the best method.
Grams allowed Ron Paul to speak until he was done on each topic. He even pointed out that his niece convinced him that Paul was a great candidate during the 2008 election.
Listen to the interview in it’s entirety below.
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Most of the public is still unaware of that the gold price is currently suppressed by governments and central banks in collusion with bullion dealers. Even fewer realize that suppression of the price of gold has plenty of historical precedence. The following is the story of the London Gold Pool.
by Jake Towne, the Champion of the Constitution Originally published on Sunday, June 14, 2009 at http://www.nolanchart.com/article6535.html
“When gold speaks, all tongues are silent.” – Italian proverb
This article will briefly review the history and aftermath of the infamous London Gold Pool. For those unfamiliar with monetary history, let me quickly establish the events framing the London Gold Pool.
In 1933, the FED’s monetary inflation caused the Great Depression which was also America’s first bankruptcy. FDR plundered the American people’s gold and one month later outlawed the private possession of gold, an illegal act that existed until 1975. From 1933 onwards, America was on a “gold bullion standard.” A “gold bullion standard” exists when gold coins are not minted and owned by the people, but large international transactions with foreigners are handled in gold bar. However, the FED, America’s central bank, continued inflating the monetary supply which debases the currency and likewise increases the foreigner’s redemption of gold. (emblem)
“What can I do to protect my family?” – Arthur Burns, Federal Reserve Chairman, 1978
by Jake Towne, the Champion of the Constitution Originally published Sunday, May 17, 2009 at http://www.nolanchart.com/article6430.html
The following is a message from Alan Greenspan’s “vaunted Federal Reserve” to the “Average Man.” (Hat-tip to LeMetropoleCafe.com for the lead.) (photo)
On January 17th, 1978, Federal Reserve Chairman Arthur Burns stated from the meeting transcript (emphasis mine):
“You know, the American public, in contrast to some or many of our politicians–perhaps most of them–is very deeply concerned about inflation. People all over the country have been asking themselves the question:
“The average man is also capable of judging neighborhoods. All he has to do is get into an automobile or walk and he can locate areas where the prospect of maintaining good conditions in the neighborhood or some improvement are pretty good over the next ten years or twenty years. People can do that. And they’re doing it in increasing numbers. It’s surprising to me. I hear it from college professors; I hear it from young people; I hear it from my own children.”
“What can I do to protect my family? What can I do to protect my children, my family, and myself against the ravages of inflation? And gradually the thought has evolved and is spreading rapidly that, on the negative side, putting money in the bank or a savings and loan account is no protection.
“What will he turn to? Well, there is farm real estate, a remarkable record there. But the average man doesn’t know how to buy farm real estate. He realizes that location can make an enormous difference. But there’s one thing the average man is capable of doing. If he doesn’t have a home, he can buy a home. If he already has a home, he can buy another.
“Buying bonds, Treasury bonds or corporate bonds, is no protection. Buying common stocks is no protection. It used to be a major protection but it no longer is.
“Then what is left? Well, gold or paintings. But the average man cannot invest in gold; he doesn’t know how. It’s not something he’s accustomed to. Likewise with paintings.
“Except for U.S. Treasuries, what can you hold? Gold?” – Leading Chinese central banker, February 2009
by Jake, the Champion of the Constitution Originally published May 5, 2009 at http://www.nolanchart.com/article6385.html
NEW YORK CITY, FEBRUARY 11, 2009 – Luo Ping, director-general at the China Banking Regulatory Commission, gave what may be a landmark quote in the years to come ahead. Besides chastising the United States for its “laissez-faire capitalism” – at which point I distinctly remember choking on my breakfast of delicious jiaozi (I was in Shanghai eating Chinese dumplings) since Ping obviously understands that corporate cronyism is NOT laissez-faire capitalism as fellow columnist Steven McDuffie recently reminds – in retrospect another part of his speech may prove to be the most prophetic. From Reuters:
“Except for US Treasuries, what can you hold? Gold? You don’t hold Japanese government bonds or UK bonds. US Treasuries are the safe haven. For everyone, including China, it is the only option.”
As I related in “China Nearly Doubles its Official Gold Reserves“, China revised its official gold holding from 600 tons in 2003 to 1,054 tons last month. However, the very fact that China reported no increase for 6 years and then suddenly doubled should prove one thing – the Chinese are abiding by the IMF Articles of Agreement only as it pleases them. For instance, the state-owned banks can hold as much gold as they wish without reporting, although this gold is de facto the Chinese government’s. Please understand that subtlety, not brazen statements like Bush’s sad “Mission Accomplished” ceremony or Obama’s 100 Days congratulation party, is the Chinese way.
Instead of answering the question directly the author analyzes the behavior of gold during times of inflation. The conclusion is that gold (at times) goes down during inflationary events:
Zoom out and the big picture gets even more interesting: The March 20, 2009 high in gold is below the February 20 high, which itself was well beneath the March 2008 all-time peak. Since then, the Fed’s campaign to breathe new life into the economy via cash infusions and credit creation has been tireless. (Last estimate: $12.8 trillion.)
In the end, the evidence speaks for itself. Gold has not fulfilled its promise as hedge against “inflation,” or an economic safe-haven. This scenario, while shocking to the bevy of gold bugs who swarmed around the metal at the onset of the Fed’s bailout binge — is no surprise to EWI subscribers.
While the stats given do not lie, I take issue with the general claim that “Gold has not fulfilled its promise as hedge[sic] against inflation or an economic safe-haven“. The author makes the mistake of assuming that “trading” in gold is the same as accumulating gold for wealth preservation. Sure, if the value of gold goes down it is worth less and those who are trying to trade gold for profit are going to be hurt. But those of us accumulating gold will just purchase more.
Why? The simple answer is, because gold always has value. It certainly has fluctuations in value, but it has always had value and it will likely always have value. No one can make that claim about fiat currencies with a straight face.
Liberty Maven
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