Audit the Fed Restored in Committee

[007]

Because we know handing control of the money supply over to Congress wouldn't result in them monetizing the debt...

I admire your dedication to spreading this nonsense.

It's not nonsense. You honestly think opening up everything to politicians isn't going to result in pressure for particular political pet projects? If you do, you're naive beyond belief.

And you think that a private entity that answers to no one and has complete control over how much money is printed is a good thing why?

 

[Paulie]

Funny how the lefty wackaloons want all this "accountability and oversight" of Wall Street, yet poo-poo the same when it comes to the Fed.

And they'll even stoop to admitting that congress is lousy with fiscal policy (Polk), while they're in control of it!

Thanks Polk, that was priceless!

 

[Polk]

I admire your dedication to spreading this nonsense.

It's not nonsense. You honestly think opening up everything to politicians isn't going to result in pressure for particular political pet projects? If you do, you're naive beyond belief.

And you think that a private entity that answers to no one and has complete control over how much money is printed is a good thing why?

History. An independent central bank will, first and foremore, be interested in price stability. A central bank ran by the political branches will care about playing with the money supply to help their electoral interests.

 

[Toro]

I admire your dedication to spreading this nonsense.

It's not nonsense. You honestly think opening up everything to politicians isn't going to result in pressure for particular political pet projects? If you do, you're naive beyond belief.

And you think that a private entity that answers to no one and has complete control over how much money is printed is a good thing why?

The Fed is a private entity only in that its capital stock is owned by member banks. However, it is not a private entity like we normally think. It is a creation of Congress, must answer to the government, and virtually all of its profits go to the Treasury.

 

[007]

History. An independent central bank will, first and foremore, be interested in price stability. A central bank ran by the political branches will care about playing with the money supply to help their electoral interests.

The Fed is a private entity only in that its capital stock is owned by member banks. However, it is not a private entity like we normally think. It is a creation of Congress, must answer to the government, and virtually all of its profits go to the Treasury.

Federal Reserve System is subject to the Administrative Procedure Act. It is not "owned" by anyone and is "not a private, profit-making institution". It describes itself as "an independent entity within the government, having both public purposes and private aspects".[7] In particular, neither the Federal Reserve System nor its component banks are owned by the US Federal Government.

According to the Federal Reserve, there are presently five different parts of the Federal Reserve System:[8]

1. The presidentially appointed Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, a governmental agency in Washington, D.C.
2. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which oversees Open Market Operations, the principal tool of national monetary policy.
3. Twelve regional privately-owned Federal Reserve Banks located in major cities throughout the nation, which divide the nation into 12 districts, acting as fiscal agents for the U.S. Treasury, each with its own nine-member board of directors.
4. Numerous other private U.S. member banks, which subscribe to required amounts of non-transferable stock in their regional Federal Reserve Banks.
5. Various advisory councils.[9]

The structure of the central banking system in the United States is unique compared to others' in the world, in that an entity outside of the central bank creates the currency. This other entity is the United States Department of the Treasury.

Federal Reserve System - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Regardless of what it is and who if anyone owns it, the fact of the matter is, it has NEVER been AUDITED. So if this entity has been playing by all the rules and all their books are on the up and up, then they have nothing to worry about. But I for one, and MILLIONS of others, would like to have a peak at what the hell they've been up to since 1913!

 

[Toro]

Regardless of what it is and who if anyone owns it, the fact of the matter is, it has NEVER been AUDITED. So if this entity has been playing by all the rules and all their books are on the up and up, then they have nothing to worry about. But I for one, and MILLIONS of others, would like to have a peak at what the hell they've been up to since 1913!

Well, you for one and millions of others can go to the Federal Reserve site and see what they've been up to. It would probably clear up many of the misconceptions that people have, such as "The Fed has never been audited."

The Fed is audited once a year. Deloitte is their auditor.

FRB: Annual Report 2007, Federal Reserve Banks Combined Financial Statements

BTW, the uniqueness of the Federal Reserve system is that it is the only central bank in the world that is not owned wholly by the government.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

It's not nonsense. You honestly think opening up everything to politicians isn't going to result in pressure for particular political pet projects? If you do, you're naive beyond belief.

And you think that a private entity that answers to no one and has complete control over how much money is printed is a good thing why?

History. An independent central bank will, first and foremore, be interested in price stability. A central bank ran by the political branches will care about playing with the money supply to help their electoral interests.

If price stability is their goal then they have utterly failed, since they've devalued the dollar down 95% causing prices to rise.

 

[Polk]

And you think that a private entity that answers to no one and has complete control over how much money is printed is a good thing why?

History. An independent central bank will, first and foremore, be interested in price stability. A central bank ran by the political branches will care about playing with the money supply to help their electoral interests.

If price stability is their goal then they have utterly failed, since they've devalued the dollar down 95% causing prices to rise.

That's a natural occurrence over time. You could take anything over a hundred year span and make it look really stark.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

History. An independent central bank will, first and foremore, be interested in price stability. A central bank ran by the political branches will care about playing with the money supply to help their electoral interests.

If price stability is their goal then they have utterly failed, since they've devalued the dollar down 95% causing prices to rise.

That's a natural occurrence over time. You could take anything over a hundred year span and make it look really stark.

Except before the Fed the value of the dollar was relatively stable.

 

[Polk]

If price stability is their goal then they have utterly failed, since they've devalued the dollar down 95% causing prices to rise.

That's a natural occurrence over time. You could take anything over a hundred year span and make it look really stark.

Except before the Fed the value of the dollar was relatively stable.

Actually, it wasn't. The later 19th century was a period of deflation.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

That's a natural occurrence over time. You could take anything over a hundred year span and make it look really stark.

Except before the Fed the value of the dollar was relatively stable.

Actually, it wasn't. The later 19th century was a period of deflation.

You mean the money was worth more!? How terrible.

 

[Polk]

Except before the Fed the value of the dollar was relatively stable.

Actually, it wasn't. The later 19th century was a period of deflation.

You mean the money was worth more!? How terrible.

Yes, actually, deflation is terrible.

 

[Toro]

Except before the Fed the value of the dollar was relatively stable.

Actually, it wasn't. The later 19th century was a period of deflation.

You mean the money was worth more!? How terrible.

Much of the latter half of the 19th century was mired in depression and recession.

Deflation is as capricious as inflation, if not more so.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

Actually, it wasn't. The later 19th century was a period of deflation.

You mean the money was worth more!? How terrible.

Much of the latter half of the 19th century was mired in depression and recession.

Deflation is as capricious as inflation, if not more so.

You're as familiar with the Austrian school as anyone else on here, so I'm sure you know why there were recessions before the Fed.

 

[Toro]

You mean the money was worth more!? How terrible.

Much of the latter half of the 19th century was mired in depression and recession.

Deflation is as capricious as inflation, if not more so.

You're as familiar with the Austrian school as anyone else on here, so I'm sure you know why there were recessions before the Fed.

Of course. And the Fed's actions have almost certainly made this one worse.

However, deflation is harmful, probably more so than inflation. And this is because of money illusion.

Money illusion - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[KentuckyThinker]

Having the Fed audited by Congress (which, PS, the Fed is audited every year already by a private firm) is the first step toward applying political pressure to make the Fed take actions favorable to political leaders.

Yes, and this audit doesn't really let us see much of anything does it? That's why we need a broader audit. The first step towards applying political pressure to the Fed? What fantasy world have you been living in? The Fed has been political since its inception.

That's what I was thinking.