What Would a Federal Reserve Audit Show?

WSJ ^ | 31 Aug 2009 | Sudeep Reddy

[BGHater]

Rep. Ron Paul’s proposal to fully audit the Federal Reserve system by the end of 2010 appears likely to find its way into legislation in some form. Mr. Paul and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank plan to meet with other lawmakers in the coming weeks to determine how the Government Accountability Office would conduct the audit and what information would be released.

What does the GAO audit now?
The GAO’s oversight of the Fed system is limited to areas outside of monetary policy. That includes everything from bank supervision to consumer issues to payment systems. The Fed’s annual report covering the calendar year 2008 listed seven completed GAO reports and eight projects underway. Fed Vice Chairman Donald Kohn testified this summer that the GAO, as of June 29, had 19 projects underway involving the Fed, including 14 launched at the request of Congress.

What is excluded from GAO oversight?
The GAO can’t review most of the Fed’s monetary policy actions or decisions, including discount window lending (direct loans to financial institutions), open-market operations and any other transactions made under the direction of the Federal Open Market Committee. It also can’t look into the Fed’s transactions with foreign governments, foreign central banks and other international financing organizations. (The GAO in 1993 produced this report on its limitations. The Federal Banking Agency Audit Act of 1978 put other parts of the central bank’s operations under GAO purview, as they had been for a decade until 1933.)

[1rudeboy]

I’m going to go out on a limb here and predict that the Fed audit will find Rep. Frank exonerated of anything even remotely related to his Chairmanship.

[cripplecreek]

Debt beyond our wildest dreams.

[TommyDale]

What would it show? It is rumored that JFK was killed to keep it quiet. Why is the Federal Reserve allowed to keep anything secret, be run by an appointee of the President of the United States, yet it is not a government entity, answering to no one.

[Unlikely Hero]

A gold-leaf facade hiding a festering core propped up with termite-riddled timber.

[ctyankee00]

Actually, ALL of our Federal Reserve Notes represent debt. Every one of them. Because it is fiat money (not backed by anything of value) and because the Fed only creates ‘money’ when someone (the gov’t, other banks) borrow, every dollar represents a dollar of debt. If everyone paid every debt, there would be no dollars in circulation at all. Pretty astounding, eh?

[o_zarkman44]

The government auditing itsself? What a joke.

[remaxagnt]

i 100% agree thats what happend to kennedy. i believe that lincoln wanted to get rid of the central bank as well. that was kennedys first act as president was to abolish the federal reserve. me thinks obama wont let an audit happen.

[cripplecreek]

Neither Obozo or the globalists wants an audit for some reason. Tim Geithner says it would be “damaging”

[Toddsterpatriot]

because the Fed only creates ‘money’ when someone (the gov’t, other banks) borrow,

You create money when you borrow. The Fed creates money when they buy something, anything.

If everyone paid every debt, there would be no dollars in circulation at all.

There would still be money in circulation, just less of it. And everyone will not pay every debt.

[Leisler]

No Lincoln was a big central government federalist.
No to Kennedy too.

[Toddsterpatriot]

that was kennedys first act as president was to abolish the federal reserve.

Not even brushing the fringes of reality.

[Toddsterpatriot]

They've got the gullible fooled. The Fed is less popular than the IRS.

[hosepipe]

Since the Federal reserve is not federal but a global cabal how can they be forced to do anything?.. How can the federal reserve banks be forced to tell the truth if even they will?.. How can their data be checked/verified?.. Especially on previous years?..

Only a republican would even believe them.. better a democrat investigates them.. But then democrats have no problem with lying since the democrat party itself is a lie..

What to do about this?..
Auditing the federal reserve could easily be a circle jerk..
or an effort of circular thinking urrrr. auditing..

Wonder if its possible Americans generally don't even want to know the truth..

On second thought lets back up more than a few steps and prosecute Sandy Berger for espionage.. After hes frog marched into Levenworth then lets do the federal reserve thingy..

[freepersunite]

I often hear this, is it true? he attempted to limit them or something, there was a Presidential order he signed.

The Bank of England also tried to kill Jackson.

[hosepipe]

[ The government auditing itsself? What a joke. ]

The federal reserve is NOT federal.. its global..

[BGHater]

‘After hes frog marched into Levenworth then lets do the federal reserve thingy.. ‘

Sure, whats a few trillion, anyway?

[True Grit]

All local banks operate under what is known as a Fractional Lending Policy. This allows them to loan 10 times more money than they actually have......in reality 8 percent interest becomes 80 percent. I would be mind boggling to know much interest is the Federal Reserve is earning on money it does not have.

[Toddsterpatriot]

He wanted to use the government silver stockpile to issue silver certificates. Why would the Fed care? We had silver and gold certificates when the Fed was created.

The Bank of England also tried to kill Jackson.

Phil, Michael or Jesse?

[Mase]

That's Frank's motivation, what's Ron Paul's?

Didn't he admit he wasn't really interested in the the audit but what policy he might be able to shape from it?

Keeping the Fed as far away as possible from the political BS in DC has always seemed like a good idea. Now that Frank, Schumer, Dodd, Frank, Paul, and many others, want to politicize the Fed for their own ends, you can bet that nothing good will come from it.