By: Daryl Hanlin
Published in The Sun Chronicle
October 1, 2009
Before I begin my comments as to the Federal Reserve Transparency Hearings, I must give credit to you. You have leaped to an historical moment in your willingness to hold hearings on Congressman Ron Paul’s Audit the Fed (HR1207).
That being said, I request of you Mr. Frank as chairman, that you please enter my letter into your committee record.
I have become a student of our U.S. fiat monetary system, based on Keynesian economics. I have also studied the more accurate Ludwig Von Mises’ Austrian economics theories, which predicted our current economic crisis.
It is my hope that when these hearings conclude, that HR1207 is not watered down, but, passed as an exclusive bill. If anything, the auditing process should increase in scope. Following the hearing on C-Span and witnessing the printing of trillions of dollars and creation of credit; the growth of the Fed’s balance sheets and their monetizing our national debt, one can follow that the 1913 dollar was worth a dollar when the Federal reserve was created that year.
Americans should be alarmed that the Fed has failed in its two primary mandates: to maintain the value of the dollar (it is today worth only 4 cents) and to maintain full employment.
As you are aware, our fiat dollar is backed by nothing, as there is no longer a gold standard attached to it. The reason the dollar is now only worth 4 cents, is due to the Fed printing excessive dollars out of thin air.
Since both the former and current Fed chairmen, Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke, kept interest rates extremely low, for too long, the housing and financial bubbles have burst. With the interest rate at almost zero; it holds merit that, if HR1207 had been in effect, that Congress would have known, and thus, would have had a chance to see and prevented the bubbles from bursting.
How is the Fed planning to decrease the dollar and credit expansion, if at all? Obviously if the Fed were to spike interest rates now, it might cause the dollar’s collapse, and yet it appears the Fed is trying to re-inflate the bubble. Printing excessive dollars got us into this mess; doing more of the same will make matters worse.
It should be a discussion of an audit as to how banks are now, in such a short time, able to pay back there bailout loans?
It was not made clear during the hearing, as to who gathers the names of candidates and who picks the Fed’s board of governors presented for appointment.
The people have a right to know, as soon as possible, how the Fed is acting in a given market. Circumstances merit they have the tools to react in the market, to protect or enlighten themselves for personal financial recovery, in real time.
I would recommend that a provision be added to HR 1207 that all Fed meetings be audio/video taped and be permanently archived.
I would also advocate that the Fed, as far as its participation as a member of the President’s Working group on Financial Markets, should be required to keep permanent, written, audio and video records for audit, and not abdicate those responsibilities to other members of the president’s group… I see no need for Congress to wait more than three to six weeks for results of a concluded audit.
DARYL HANLIN is a member of the Attleboro Republican City Committee, a supporter of congressman Paul, and a member of the Campaign for Liberty.
