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Stress Test for the Fed?

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A bill proposed by Congressman Ron Paul would shine a light on the mysterious goings-on at the Federal Reserve.

The Fed has been sopping up many billions in toxic assets, creating money hocus-pocus, loaning vast fortunes to central banks in other countries, and in general behaving as if its actions cannot have bad consequences.

HR 1207, introduced in February, would authorize the GAO to audit the Fed’s various funding facilities, used with such abandon over the last year. Look under the hood, see what’s going on in nitty-gritty detail.

Doesn’t sound very radical. But the Fed is accustomed to being “independent,” i.e., unaccountable. Yet as Jim Grant, editor of a publication that monitors interest rates, has observed, if the Fed had to accept the auditing it requires of others, it would be regarded as insolvent.

Except, of course, for that whole create-money-out-of-thin-air thing.

President Obama, a.k.a. Mr. Transparency, has said zilch to support the bill. Still, with over 150 Republicans and over 50 Democrats cosponsoring the legislation, it now has enough votes to pass if congressional leadership allows a vote.

An audit with a negative outcome would not force the Fed to shut down.

But it would provide more ammo for those interested in slowing or stopping fiscal insanity.

And that, too, should be bipartisan. Transpartisan. Universal.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

2 replies on “Stress Test for the Fed?”

Absolutely right, Paul.
Common sense is powerful. Enough hocus pocus. No surprise about President Obama. I’ll bet he agrees but was told by his higher ups (who’s lending the funny money again?) to “pipe down.” In making some sense of it all, your column is a big help. Keep up the good work.

Hum, sounds like common sence to me. Any solvent business or household must take stalk of its expenditures and make careful decisions with the wisest most expedient direction needed to be taken. The government too must be audited for good spending habits.
Irresponsibility is what got us into the problem we are now in.

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