Posted on 09/21/2007 1:25:12 AM PDT by oblomov
In todays testimony before the house, Fed Chairman Bernanke was questioned by Representative Ron Paul in what was a remarkable exchange. Remarkable for how straightforward, lucid, and anti-statist the question was. In his questioning, Ron Paul stated:
I want to follow up on the discussion about moral hazard. I think we have a very narrow understanding about what moral hazard really is. Because I think moral hazard begins at the very moment that we create artificially low interest rates which we constantly do. And this is the reason people make mistakes. It isnt because human nature causes us to make all these mistakes, but there is a normal reaction when interest rates are low that there will be overinvestment and malinvestment, excessive debt, and then there are consequences from this. My question is going to be around the subject of how can it ever be morally justifiable to deliberately depreciate the value of our currency?
His statements continued (about how much oil, gold, wheat, corn, etc. has gone up since the rate decrease) but the heart of his question was the following moral question: ...consciously depreciating the value of the USD has winners and losers (Wall Street/banks/the rich and everyone else), Mr. Bernanke. How do you constantly choose Wall Street over the rest of America?
You will not be surprised to know that B-52 Ben didnt answer the question. He couldnt answer the question (at least truthfully). Was he going to say that the Federal Reserve is a quasi-private institution whose prime directive is to cartelize and protect the profits of the banking industry? Was he going to say that the only policy the Fed knows is based on the flawed Keynesian logic that wealth can be created out of thin air via printing presses? Of course not.
(Excerpt) Read more at minyanville.com ...
Wait a sec, I thought John Edwards was out of the Senate?
I fear that Congressman Ron Paul is being used as Senator Hillary Clinton’s “Ross Perot” for 2008. It worked twice for her husband (President Bill Clinton NEVER won a majority of the populace, yet was elected twice) and she knows it.
Too bad he’s dangerously clueless regarding foreign policy...
Good job rabid Paul haters! Record time on that keyword spam!
Yeah, but do the people who keep repeating this "Paul is the Perot of 2008" line know the difference between a primary and the general election?
If Paul had a clue what the Islamists were up to it would have been easy to support him - but he doesn’t...
Wait a minute - don’t all of the FReeper Ron Paul haters say that those who support him are just a bunch of code pink surrender monkeys? In that case, he would pull more votes from the Democrat than the Republican.
This is especially true if Hillary is the nominee - Ron Paul, were he to run 3rd party, would take a lot of the anti-war vote from her. They’ve never forgiven her for her pro-war votes back in 2003 (when she assumed she would be crowned Queen of the Dems with no serious opposition from the left).
Those of us who believe in significantly lower taxes (elimination of the IRS), less government (elimination of numerous federal departments), sound money (no more Federal Reserve and a return to the gold standard), secure borders, American sovereignty, the US out of the UN and Nato, no more NAFTA, SPP, or NAU - we seem to be persona non grata with the Republican party in general and FR in specific. According to the polls, we’re only 1 to 3 percent of the Republican base, so what’s your worry?
Your slandering Paul with a conspiracy theory that he is in cahoots with Hillary makes you look even kookier than what your ilk claims Paul’s supporters to be.
What exactly are the Islamists planning that couldn’t be stopped by stopping muslim immigration?
Consider that IF, by some unknown and as yet undiscovered law of cosmic illogic, that Ron Paul actually was elected President of the United States: the economic chaos that would result as of the day after Election Day (anticipating Paul’s views and policies on the economy) would make the upheavals of 1987, yea - even 1929 look like a minor ‘whoops’, because the uncertainty would without a doubt bring on a bear market, investment capital would dry up until it was clear what a Paul Administration would mean for the economy, you can be sure the DJIA would be dropping, and the value of the U.S. dollar would be virtually unpredictable. There would be good news for all the gold speculators however, because investors would be moving to precious metals for sure.
And those are just some of the economic issues that would be spooked by a Ron Paul victory next year.
On a global scale, you can be sure that our terrorist enemies would be rubbing their hands in glee because they would know that if Ron Paul is true to his word, there will be a major American pull out from the Middle East, and that would mean that al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, all of those dirtbags would be anticipating their being able to fill that power vacuum with impunity.
Israel might be compelled to launch a pre-emptive strike on both of her enemies Iran and Syria, why? Because Ron Paul has made it clear that he doesn’t think we should be providing any aid or support to Israel or any other nation in the Middle East. Ron Paul would do to Israel what Jimmy Carter did to the Shah, and the results would be even uglier. Israel would (in former SAC parlance) ‘use it (their military and/or nuclear capability) or lose it’.
Fortunately, Ron Paul is not only going to NOT be the GOP nominee, he is never going to be President. It is true that he has some good ideas, he does profess Christ as his Saviour (although he said he is very uncomfortable about discussing his faith, which begs the question ‘why’?), and in his own mind, he no doubt truly believes that his policies would be best for America.
And they would, if this were 1901.
Are you serious?
This Perot thing only works when the GOP candidate is at best a weak-kneed RINO. Bush Sr totally lost most conservatives (if not all) and Bob Dole was equally non-inspirational. If Republicans nominate a conservative, who knows what the word means and can explain conservatism in understandable terms, there will be no need to fear a third candidate.
Reagan did not have to worry about a challenge from the right. He dealt with his opposition from the left (”moderate”, Rockefeller Republican, whatever you want to call them), namely Bush Sr.
Moral Question=Social Justice
Too bad hes dangerously clueless regarding foreign policy...His foreign policy (anti-victory, anti-Israel) is why the Paul Qaeda loves him.
Ron Paul is getting most of his support from way out disgusted democrats!
Wow! I had no idea that the amazing Kreskin was a FReeper.
Back, back, way back, Hey! Hey!
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