Posted on 12/27/2011 6:08:43 PM PST by Iam1ru1-2
The first ever GAO(Government Accountability Office) audit of the Federal Reserve was carried out in the past few months due to the Ron Paul, Alan Grayson Amendment to the Dodd-Frank bill, which passed last year. Jim DeMint, a Republican Senator, and Bernie Sanders, an independent socialist Senator, led the charge for a Federal Reserve audit in the Senate, but watered down the original language of the house bill(HR1207), so that a complete audit would not be carried out. Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke(pictured to the right), former chairman, Alan Greenspan, and various other bankers vehemently opposed the audit and lied to Congress about the effects an audit would have on markets. Nevertheless, the results of the first audit in the Federal Reserve’s nearly 100 year history were posted on Senator Sander’s webpage earlier this morning (July 21, 2011).
What was revealed in the audit was startling: $16,000,000,000,000.00 had been secretly given out to US banks and corporations and foreign banks everywhere from France to Scotland. From the period between December 2007 (Bush's term) and June 2010 (Obama's term), the Federal Reserve had secretly bailed out many of the world’s banks, corporations, and governments. The Federal Reserve likes to refer to these secret bailouts as an all-inclusive loan program, but virtually none of the money has been returned and it was loaned out at 0% interest. Why the Federal Reserve had never been public about this or even informed the United States Congress about the $16 trillion dollar bailout is obvious - the American public would have been outraged to find out that the Federal Reserve bailed out foreign banks while Americans were struggling to find jobs.
To place $16 trillion into perspective, remember that GDP of the United States is only $14.12 trillion. The entire national debt of the United States government spanning its 200+ year history is "only" $14.5 trillion. The budget that is being debated so heavily in Congress and the Senate is "only" $3.5 trillion. Take all of the outrage and debate over the $1.5 trillion deficit into consideration, and swallow this Red pill: There was no debate about whether $16,000,000,000,000 would be given to failing banks and failing corporations around the world. In late 2008, the TARP Bailout bill was passed and loans of $800 billion were given to failing banks and companies. That was a blatant lie considering the fact that Goldman Sachs alone received 814 billion dollars. As is turns out, the Federal Reserve donated $2.5 trillion to Citigroup, while Morgan Stanley received $2.04 trillion. The Royal Bank of Scotland and Deutsche Bank, a German bank, split about a trillion and numerous other banks received hefty chunks of the $16 trillion.
"This is a clear case of socialism for the rich and rugged, you’re-on-your-own individualism for everyone else." - Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
When you have conservative Republican stalwarts like Jim DeMint(R-SC) and Ron Paul(R-TX) as well as self identified Democratic socialists like Bernie Sanders all fighting against the Federal Reserve, you know that it is no longer an issue of Right versus Left. When you have every single member of the Republican Party in Congress and progressive Congressmen like Dennis Kucinich sponsoring a bill to audit the Federal Reserve, you realize that the Federal Reserve is an entity onto itself, which has no oversight and no accountability. Sanders said one thing already is abundantly clear. "The Federal Reserve must be reformed to serve the needs of working families, not just CEOs on Wall Street."
Americans should be swelled with anger and outrage at the abysmal state of affairs when an unelected group of bankers can create money out of thin air and give it out to megabanks and supercorporations like Halloween candy. If the Federal Reserve and the bankers who control it believe that they can continue to devalue the savings of Americans and continue to destroy the US economy, they will have to face the realization that their trillion dollar printing presses will eventually plunder the world economy (as may be their intent).
The list of institutions that received the most money from the Federal Reserve can be found on page 131 of the GAO Audit and are as follows..
Citigroup: $2.5 trillion ($2,500,000,000,000) Morgan Stanley: $2.04 trillion ($2,040,000,000,000) Merrill Lynch: $1.949 trillion ($1,949,000,000,000) Bank of America: $1.344 trillion ($1,344,000,000,000) Barclays PLC (United Kingdom): $868 billion ($868,000,000,000) Bear Sterns: $853 billion ($853,000,000,000) Goldman Sachs: $814 billion ($814,000,000,000) Royal Bank of Scotland (UK): $541 billion ($541,000,000,000) JP Morgan Chase: $391 billion ($391,000,000,000) Deutsche Bank (Germany): $354 billion ($354,000,000,000) UBS (Switzerland): $287 billion ($287,000,000,000) Credit Suisse (Switzerland): $262 billion ($262,000,000,000) Lehman Brothers: $183 billion ($183,000,000,000) Bank of Scotland (United Kingdom): $181 billion ($181,000,000,000) BNP Paribas (France): $175 billion ($175,000,000,000) and many many more including banks in Belgium of all places
View the 266-page GAO audit of the Federal Reserve (July 21st, 2011): http://www.scribd.com/doc/60553686/GAO-Fed-Investigation Source: http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-696 FULL PDF on GAO server: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d11696.pdf Senator Sander’s Article: http://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=9e2a4ea8-6e73-4be2-a753-62060dcbb3c3
www.unelected.org
Uh....ah....I do believe you’re correct.
You are confusing, 1) debt with deficit, and 2) Federal Debt with the Federal Reserve.
Got it.
1. There is no deficit spending, and no debt.
2. Federal spending, which increases debt, which calls for the printing of more money, has nothing to do with the Federal Reserve.
hand palm slaps the forehead. What was I thinking?
Dude, seriously. Very scary we been hijacked!
bookmark
+1
All we have is the “Good faith and credit” promise and the faith is all but gone so nothing much is left but credit and that is about dried up as well.
If this is the case, then why the deficit of 16 trillion?
The banks that borrowed from the Fed have repaid the Fed. The Treasury has borrowed from the world and not repaid their bonds. Clear?
It's not splitting hairs. Europe still has a banking crisis because the "safe" government bonds they own are in danger of default by deadbeat governments.
The dollars the Fed creates do have value. You have some in your wallet right now. And they didn't come from the taxpayer.
No, the money the Fed created did not come out of your paycheck. It did not increase the debt of the government.
Worth less compared to what? Over what time frame?
I'm no financial expert, but flooding the country with trillions of their "newly created money" did is not making the dollar worth less and less?
Trillions that were repaid? No.
And who got those trillions Todd?
Banks mostly.
There is deficit spending and debt. Both are way too big. Spending must be cut.
2. Federal spending, which increases debt, which calls for the printing of more money, has nothing to do with the Federal Reserve.
Federal spending does not call for the printing of more money, it calls for the borrowing of more money.
Government borrowing has nothing to do with the Fed, it's the responsibility of the Congress.
Got it.
I don't think you do.
What was I thinking?
You weren't.
Is it really your contention that there is no truth in the book The Creature from Jekyll Island?
Are you from the Flaherty conspiracy poo-pooist camp? Or is it belief in the purity of the FED just helps you sleep at night?
He has been attacking that book for a long time.
That book is worth reading 5 times over IMHO to let it sink in what is going on.
I'm sure there are a few true things in there. The huge errors more than make up for the few facts.
That GAO number is so stupid and useless...... This is what our taxes are blown on. These Gov't workers all making more than 100 thousand I am sure
No, it is not stupid and useless. Given that it totals more than GDP, it means that the Fed is effectively involved in transactions whose total is the total value of domestic goods and services. This is not just a little thing. We have gotten to the point where monetary/credit transactions executed by the Fed is bigger than real economic transactions. Since total financial transactions are some large multiple of Federal Reserve transactions, it means that the banking system that we are trying to bail out has become a behemoth. While many argue that it is necessary, others might rationally argue that maybe a smaller banking system would be ok.
1. The Fed is incapable of accomplishing its stated objectives.
2. It is a cartel operating against the public interest.
3. It is the supreme instrument of usury.
4. It generates our most unfair tax through inflation and bailouts.
5. It encourages war.
6. It destabilizes the economy.
7. It discourages private capital formation.
All false according to your math...Right?
No it doesn't.
This is not just a little thing. We have gotten to the point where monetary/credit transactions executed by the Fed is bigger than real economic transactions.
Total loans were about $1.2 trillion. At their peak.
While many argue that it is necessary, others might rationally argue that maybe a smaller banking system would be ok.
Banks have been shrinking their balance sheets.
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