Ron Paul’s HR 1207 transcends partisan politics and upsets Congressional leadership
On Wednesday a highlight of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s testimony in front of the House Financial Services Committee was the five minutes he endured relentless questioning from Florida Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson. Grayson refused to allow Bernanke to avoid the question of why $500 billion had gone to foreign central banks instead of remaining in the United States. In the end Bernanke did not have any logical answers for Grayson.
That moment was a microcosm of something larger that is taking place in the House of Representatives as a result of HR 1207. Alan Grayson was the first Democrat who cosigned House Resolution 1207, Ron Paul’s bill to audit the Federal Reserve. Since Grayson cosponsored the bill over 90 of his fellow Democrats have followed.
HR 1207 is a perfect example of Congressmen willing to come together, though they might not agree across the spectrum of their political platforms, on an important issue by important issue basis.
So the question that keeps coming up is, “if HR 1207 has such tremendous bipartisan support, why is it still having a difficult time being brought to the House floor for a vote?”
The answer that Ron Paul continues to give is that the leadership in Congress want nothing to do with the bill, at least until it is substantially watered down.
The next question then becomes what does the leadership in the House (i.e. Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank…etc.) have against having transparency in the Federal Reserve System?
I do not believe they have a vested interest in the continuing secrecy of the Federal Reserve System other than their interest to obey orders that are coming from President Obama’s administration.
Once the Obama Administration becomes the focus of the question the picture begins to come into focus.
Obama himself received over $1 million in campaign contributions from Goldman Sachs, an organization that has benefited greatly from the Fed’s recent actions.
The close ties between Wall Street and the White House has for many years allowed the
Federal Reserve to continue to operate unsupervised by the Congress.
The subtlety of Ron Paul’s bill to simply audit the Federal Reserve is its genius, not to say he has been secretive that he believes that an audit would be followed shortly by public outrage.
But the focus on transparency is something that is difficult for most Congressmen to put up a valid argument against. This leaves the Federal Reserve, namely Ben Bernanke, and eventually the leadership in the House and Senate (the Senate has a similar bill that as of this writing has 17 cosponsors) looking foolish when they are forced to use illogical arguments to justify not bringing the bill to the floor.
Ben Bernanke’s argument has essentially boiled down to his fear that if Congress had the power to audit the fed, it would politicize monetary policy, such as the setting of interest rates…etc.
The politicizing of monetary policy is already here and would be no worse if there were transparency. Transparency would simply give Congress the ability to criticize the actions of the Fed with evidence. Instead of the guessing game that has been taking place in recent hearings.
After an audit, Congressmen would be able to level accusations during hearings with solid evidence to back up their accusations. Rather than Bernanke being able to play dumb and claim to not know key information.
Perhaps the most intriguing part to me about a potential audit of the Federal Reserve is something Donald Rumsfeld famously called “the unknown, unknowns.”
Ron Paul and everyone solidly in his camp has a good idea that an audit would cause outrage not only among members of Congress but across the nation, but there could be things lurking in those books that send shock waves around the world. I’ll let you use your imagination…
Comment by Joseph Swanson on 25 July 2009:
2 fold statement meant to: 1) Ca. 2)comment.
1) Ca you folks keep electing the queen of the dammed.Pelosie why? please tell me why!i know most of you are libbs but darn are you stupid too?she is the hold up for our summer of discontent.
2)an audit would in fact show where the Fed has screwed around so much to line there pockets,and keep America as slaves. but i guess most Americans want someone else to take care of them from cradle to grave.then after death cut the grass too.me i love freedom!soon i hope enough people get there heads out of there backsides and force the feds and all of congress to to represent the whole,that is correct whole of the American people. Ron Paul 2012 currently my pres. sorry i hate obamas socialism.i work very hard for every cent i earn i don’t want to give it to a anchor mom or crack whore with 10 babys and 11 daddy’s i didn’t do it your problem not mine no more social tax No Tax at all!Ron Paul 2012 think were at war cause were free?were at war so the industrial military complex and the feds to make money.
so in closing if you want freedom it comes at a cost.
the cost? self reliance no Mr fed you cannot see how much money i have. Ron Paul 2012
Comment by geoff on 25 July 2009:
The rabbit hole goes deeper than the Obama administration. The Fed enables deficit spending. So every bit of unconstitutional spending, pet projects, bribing of fellow members on key votes, wars, you name it, it now engulfs our children’s children, is enabled by the Fed. Without the Fed, Congress has to pay its bills, and tax the people for spending. That’s why sound money, is the real restraint on government by the People.
Comment by alex on 25 July 2009:
Dear Geoff,
You write, “Without the Fed, Congress has to pay its bills and tax the people for spending.”
The Fed’s actions create the largest tax we have on our money. All the Fed does is allow Congress the ability to spend whatever it wants and hide the fact that it is taxing us to death.
Wonder why you can’t seem to save money and get anywhere? Wonder why you work all your life only to have nothing to show for it? This didn’t use to be the case.
You can’t save money and get anywhere because the Fed is keeping interest rates artificially low. This costs all savers a whole lot of money. In fact, my savings should have quadrupled over the past 40 years or so, instead, they are exactly the same as when I put the money in and now the money is worth a tenth as much.
Moreover, by simply printing the money to pay its debts, MY money is now worth a whole lot less. If the money fairy came down and doubled everyone’s money tomorrow, no one would be one penny richer. Everything would just cost double, but if they double the cost of Goldman Sachs’ money and NOT mine, GS is a lot better off because they get to pay their debts with “cheap” dollars, and I am taxed. Because the dollars used to pay me are worth less.
But Geoff, you are correct when you write that sound money is the real restraint on the Government. Anyone against sound money is simply saying they are against government restraint, they are against keeping your money safe, and they are against NOT stealing from you.
Comment by JumpYouF$#!@!s! on 26 July 2009:
EVERY Congressman but Ron Paul should swing from a tree…they are all traitors.
Comment by Amber on 26 July 2009:
“Hate Bill” Favoritism
If “hate bill”-obsessed Congress can’t protect Christians from “gays” as much as it wants to protect “gays” from Christians, will Congress be surprised if it can’t protect itself from most everyone? If “hate bills” are forced on captive Americans, they’ll still find ways to sneakily continue to “plant” Biblical messages everywhere. By doing so they’ll hasten God’s judgment on their oppressors as revealed in Proverbs 19:1. (See related web items including “David Letterman’s Hate, Etc.,” “Separation of Raunch and State,” “Michael the Narc-Angel,” and “Obama Avoids Bible Verses.”) Since Congress can’t seem to legislate “morality,” it’s making up for it by legislating “immorality”!
Comment by Rob on 27 July 2009:
Not to incite the normal “Obama’s bad, but Bush was horrible” conversation, but what was Bush’s ties to Goldman Sachs? How about Clinton?
I ask because the article states, “The close ties between Wall Street and the White House has for many years allowed the Federal Reserve to continue to operate unsupervised by the Congress.”
Comment by Evil Bankers on 27 July 2009:
The Fed fears politicizing monetary policy? Who cares? They have already monetized political policy. Everybody can see its just one big clusterf%ck. Shine a light on these cockroaches already. Watch ‘em scatter as we step on them all.
Comment by TheFedIsA100YearOldFraud on 28 July 2009:
It’s time for this private cartel of banks to be thrown out. The Constitution explicitly states that the Congress will have the power to coin and regulate money – NOT some private cartel of banks that operate in secrecy.
The Federal Reserve is absolutely anathema to the concept of a free market and free society.
Bring down the Federal Reserve!!
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Comment by ブランド腕時計 on 26 August 2010:
全国で高齢者ブランド腕時計の所在エルメスコピー 不明が相ルイヴィト次いでいる
法人市民税収が最多だった１９８９年度の約１５１億８９００万円に比べると半分以下。統計が残る１９６４年度以降、過去最大の落ち込み幅という。
市は２００９年度当初予算では、約問題で、兵庫県内の１３市３町で、生存していれば１２０歳以上となる計１７７０人の戸籍が残っていることが２６日、神戸新聞社のまとめで分かった。最高齢は、江戸時代後期の１８４０（天保１１）年生まれという姫路市の「１７０歳」男性だった。
全国で同様の問題が発覚したのを受け、調査した自治体が発表、または神戸新聞社の問い合わせに答えた。
内訳は、姫路市９０６人▽洲;ロレックス時計;オメガ時計;IWC腕時計 ロレックスデイトナ;ロレックスエクスプローラー;ロレックスGMTマスターII オメガスピードマスター;オメガシーマスター;オメガアクアテラ;オメガデ・ヴィル IWCアクアタイマー;IWCインヂュニア本市３２０人▽伊丹市１２４人▽三田市７８人▽尼崎市５５人▽淡路市５３人▽たつの市５２人▽西宮市５１人▽福崎町３５人▽芦屋市３４人▽南あわじ市２７人▽宍粟市１５人▽太子町９人▽宝塚市８人▽猪名川町２人▽養父市１人。洲本市で「１６１歳」男性、伊丹市で男性とみられる「１５１歳」が含まれていた。
通常は死亡届が出ることで戸籍を抹消されるが、何らかの理由で提出されなかったりしたとみられる。戸籍は残っていても、大半が住民登録されていなかったといい、各市町は法務局と協議するなどして、対象者の戸籍の削除を検討する。
最高齢となる姫路市の「１７０歳」男性が生まれた１８４０年はアヘン戦争が始まった年。男性は、坂本竜馬の５歳年下にあたり、薩長軍が旧幕府軍を破った鳥羽伏見の戦いがあった１８６８年に２８歳だったことになる。;IWCスピットファイアー;IWCポルトギーゼ ロレックスサブマリーナ;ロレックスヨットマスター;ロレックスターノグラフ ロレックスミルガウス;ロレックスエアキング;ロレックスパーペチュアルデイト ロレックスチェリーニ チェリニウム;姫路市が２６日、発表した２００９年度決算見込みで、法人市民税が約７１億１千万円と、０８年度から３８％（約４３億６７００万円）も減ることが明らかになった。
９１億４６００万円の法人田中陽一）ロレックスデイデイト;ロレックスプリンス オメガコンステレーション;IWCクラシックパイロット;IWCポートフィノ;ロレックスデイトジャスト 020bagss.com エルメス バーキン;エルメス ケリー;エルメス 財布;エルメス ベルト;エルメス その他;エルメス 市民税収を見込んだが、担当者は「景気低迷の影響が予想以上に大きかった」としている。市によると、これまで、法人市民税収の落ち込み幅が最も大きかったのは、バブル崩壊後の１９９３年度で、２２・９％減だった。
市税全体を見ても、約９０５億８６００万円と２００８年度から約５３億３千万円減ったが、国からの普通交付税や臨時財政対策債が計約４７億円増加。一般会計決算は歳入約２１９６億円、歳出約２１０３億円で、黒字を確保した。
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