Over the course of our most current economic crisis, the Federal Reserve has issued over $12 trillion in bailouts and loans. Although the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is currently allowed access to some of the Federal Reserve’s spending records, there are several things in which the GAO is prohibited from auditing (including, but not limited to the Fed’s transactions with foreign central banks, governments, and international financial institutions). (http://www.auditthefed.com/about-the-audit/)
The Federal Reserve (which is actually our country’s third central bank) was originally founded after a bank panic in 1907. The Federal Reserve Act of 1913, established the Federal Reserve out of an effort to provide a last resort for banks across the country, in the event of reoccurring “bank runs”, which inevitably lead to panics like the one we experienced in 1907. (A “bank run” is essentially when too many funds are withdrawn by depositors thereby leaving a bank unexpectedly incapable of operating, because most of those funds are not held in reserve, but rather, invested elsewhere.)
Now is not the time to debate whether or not the Federal Reserve System was an adequate approach to preventing bank panics, or financial crises. But it certainly is time to question the constitutionality of a monetary institution pulling on trillions of dollars from the US Treasury, and yet somehow free from answering the simple question being begged by the American people—Where exactly did all of this money go?
Although the complete abolition of the Fed might be a fringe idea, the mere auditing of the Fed is not. Recently, HR 1207, The Federal Reserve Transparency Act (which mandates a GAO audit of the Fed), has 317 supporters in the House of Representatives. The question of how the Senate will respond still remains…
Not surprisingly, Federal Reserve President Mr. Bernanke seems to be one of the only outspoken opponents of such a bill. “Speaking recently at the Economic Club of Washington, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke stressed the importance of the Fed's role as a supervisor and reiterated his opposition to a plan that would expose the central bank's monetary policy decisions to review from the Government Accountability Office.” (Sloan, http://www.onwallstreet.com January 1, 2010). If “monetary policy-making” includes the spending of $12 trillion of the American people’s money, I can’t imagine a reasonable argument as to why we ought not to have the right to see where this money is going.
By the way, if you would like to urge your senator to support the Federal Reserve Sunshine Act S 604, calling for greater transparency in this monetary policy making of the Federal Reserve, click here: http://www.auditthefed.com/?mode=actionpage
-E.C.Soria
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Despite popular opinion, the Fed Reserve isn't a Federal institution, even though they often behave as if they are outside the law. American's deserve to know where their money is going as the reserve and our Fed Govt are keeping us in the dark.
ReplyDeleteThe Federal Reserve Bank has the U.S. on "I.O.U.'s" so that it may maintain full manipulation in governing our land by means of instituting a high interest rate of returned debts for the loans which are allocated in times of modern warfare.The national bank,which answers to no one,is a parasite to our economic freedoms...an institution which only allows prosperity to be stolen for its own wealth,while destroying real capitalism.Is america now an oligarchy?We have yet to whitness capitalism when the federal reserves market manipulation is no more.
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