Posted on 07/10/2009 9:54:14 AM PDT by mojitojoe
WASHINGTON – Federal Reserve deputy chairman Donald Kohn on Thursday defended the U.S. central bank's independence, saying congressional oversight could interfere with monetary policymaking.
If the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress, were authorized to audit the Fed, that "could cast a chill on monetary policy deliberations," Kohn told a House of Representatives committee.
He acknowledged that the possibility of expanding the audit authority of the GAO over the Fed "has recently been discussed."
"Although Federal Reserve officials regularly explain the rationale for their policy decisions in public venues, the process of vetting ideas and proposals, many of which are never incorporated into policy decisions, could suffer from the threat of public disclosure," Kohn said.
He also defended the Fed's closed-door policy-setting meetings as vital for the financial markets and the public.
(Excerpt) Read more at moneynews.com ...
Uh, I believe the $ is already in an irreversible death spiral.
The Banksters are just figuring out how to come up with a global currency (off shore banking ended overnight)and don't want to be distrubed.
Here is one story about the world currency gold coin and a book handed out at the G8.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2288312/posts
If there was any conspiracy concerning 9-11 it was a conspiracy of Incompetence in Washington which enabled the Hijackers to get as far as they did.
How about their books are in such a mess they are impossible to audit?
Don't tell anyone, but we had fractional reserve banking under the gold standard too. Shhhh.....
Stop it, you're making too much sense.
Bad math, LOL!
or approximately $30,000 for every single living man, woman and child—but has never in its history been subject to an audit.
In 1978 Congress passed the Federal Banking Agency Audit Act (31 USCA §714). It placed the Federal Reserve System back under the auditing authority of the GAO. The Act significantly increased the access of the GAO to the Federal Reserve Banks, the Board, and the Federal Open Market Committee (the FOMC). Since then, the GAO has conducted over 100 financial audits and performance audits of the three Federal Reserve bodies.
Check it out! Page 5, PDF file
The most recent audit was done on their books on Dec 31, 2008.
Charles Ortel, managing director with Newport Value Partners, an independent research firm, agrees. “Transparency is the key to any market,” he says, noting the Fed doesn’t mark-to-market its assets, much of it now consisting of the worst toxic debt Wall Street had to offer.
Why does the Fed need to mark-to-market its assets? Do they have loan covenants that require it? Shareholders that need this info?
They did, the worst bank runs and arguably the worst depression in our country’s history(1870s) occurred under the Gold Standard. The Gold Standard just gave legitimacy to an illegitimate practice. Nonetheless, the Federal reserve System props up Fractional reserve Banking at a national level in this country. Also, the National debt and inflation have skyrocketed since 1913. Our Treasury should be able to print it’s own money with out having to borrow to make up for budget shortfalls,having a national debt and such high taxes is illogical.
OMG! Don't tell the gold bugs and Fed bashers.
Nonetheless, the Federal reserve System props up Fractional reserve Banking at a national level in this country.
Yes, the Federal Reserve is the lender of last resort and backs up the banking system. That's what Central Banks do.
Also, the National debt and inflation have skyrocketed since 1913.
So has population, GDP, wealth, etc, etc.
Our Treasury should be able to print it’s own money with out having to borrow to make up for budget shortfalls
You want the Treasury to print money instead of borrowing? LOL!
I thought you were a conservative?
having a national debt and such high taxes is illogical.
So is running the presses to pay your bills.
Step 1. The Fed Open Market Committee approves the purchase of U.S. Bonds(government issuing debt) on the open market.
Step 2. The bonds are purchased by the New York Fed Bank from whomever is offering them for sale on the open market.
Step 3. The Fed pays for the bonds with electronic credits to the seller’s bank, which in turn credits the seller’s bank account. These credits are based on nothing tangible. The Fed just creates them.
Step 4. The banks use these deposits as reserves. Most banks may loan out ten times (10x) the amount of their reserves to new borrowers, all at interest.
In this way, a Fed purchase of, say a million dollars worth of bonds, gets turned into over 10 million dollars in bank deposits. The Fed, in effect, creates 10% of this totally new money and the banks create the other 90%.
Our national debt props up and makes the investment banks richer. They get to create funny money out of thin air and charge interest on it.
The country hasn’t got richer, the banks have, but the the private debt is 57 trillion, 79% of which has been created since 1990, so the public has gotten poorer and more in debt. The American people don’t have the money to pay off these private debt, that amount of money simply isn’t available.
GDP is decreasing now. Also, I just found the stats for the US GDP 2000-2007:
Average 2.7% per year.That’s about a quarter of that of China’s for the same period, our largest foreign creditor. Our GDP has been growing at a slower rate or decreasing since we signed free trade treaties in the late 80s and early 90s.
I think we should cut spending, however, money is money, there is no reason to borrow and force the taxpayers to foot a higher bill through taxes and inflation when our treasury could issue it’s own money. A National debt is illogical, and taxes should be much lower.
Are you talking about their trades to increase/decrease the money supply? Or their trades to influence the Fed Funds rate?
>How about their books are in such a mess they are impossible to audit?
That would make it much easier to mask shady dealings, don’t you think?
If all their dealings are shady....good point.
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