Economy
In a rare moment of bipartisan unity, lawmakers and economists on both sides of the aisle largely agreed on two points: The Federal Reserve System as it stands is hurting America and something must be done to stop it. Just what exactly needs to happen, however, was the subject of considerable debate during a Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy hearing Tuesday chaired by sound-money advocate and GOP presidential contender Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas).
Dr. Paul, of course, has become famous around the world for his tireless efforts to audit, expose, and abolish the central bank. He even published a best-selling book in 2009 entitled End the Fed, a title that has become a rallying cry for millions of Americans angry about the institution’s multi-trillion-dollar bailouts, market manipulations, and debasement of the currency.
Two Wall Street economists, Daniel Gross and Gary Shlling, look at the same jobs numbers and come to opposite conclusions, hoping to sell lots of books.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says spending cuts proposed by House Republicans are creating an obstacle for passage of a new farm bill.
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the purported founders of communism, established in the 19th century a government paradigm that transformed Europe and other regions in the eastern hemisphere, adding to an already expansive repertoire of political ideologies. And the seemingly farfetched assertion that communism could someday take control of America seems, quite simply, unfathomable. But is it really that improbable, or furthermore, has it already ensnared certain sectors of society?
Five hundred pages of redactions. Mostly blank pages. That's what the public gets to see in the transcripts of the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FROMC) meetings for 2007-2010. The long-awaited transcripts, released on March 7, pursuant to a Freedom Of Information Act request by MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan Show, undoubtedly hold some very important information about the Fed's activities and decisions during and since the financial crisis, including to whom the Fed has given trillions of taxpayer dollars in "loans" and bailouts -- and on what terms.
