Bernanke Blames the Blogs

In trying to explain why the incredibly expensive and blatantly corrupt bailouts & stimulus have failed to create jobs or inspire confidence, Bernanke has pulled out the old tired defense of blaming the critics. Except he’s taking it to the 20th century and singling out blogs and bloggers for “identifying … crises.”

Apparently, having people able to speak their mind and find faults in the system is a big problem for the way this guy thinks the economy is supposed to work.

This certainly wins my first annual “Blame someone else” award.

On the up side, he seems to have come to the conclusion that high finance should be treated like a utility, especially if we’re going to constantly be there to bail them out & regulate them like they can never fail.

Fed’s “Easing” May Cost You

The Federal Reserve has gone on another grand monetary experiment in hopes of jump starting the recovery and creating jobs.  Unfortunately, one of the consequences of this second round of quantitative easing (QE2), might hit your pockets at the grocery store and gas station.

When the Federal Reserve uses new money to buy bonds from the government, they’re pretty close to just printing up money from nowhere.  The intended effect is to spark economic activity and new investment in the kind of productive activity that pays the bills, but until and unless that money is then taken back out of the economy there is a risk of prices going up in relation to the growth of the money supply.

Workers in America will be hard hit since there are no raises in sight and most people are just glad to have a job, but the biggest critics of QE2 have been from the international scene.  Developing nations from Brazil to China have protested the effects of this, calling it exported inflation and an unfair trade advantage.  As we live in a world of fiat currencies, there is really nothing to stop these other nations from entering a new “race to the bottom” with undervalued currencies.  If two or more nations got in to such a game of monetary chicken, the ultimate effect might be both of them falling off the cliff together while the onlookers enjoy clearance-sale prices on the land and labor of the devalued nations.

Bernanke Running out of Support

A lot of people (rightfully) blame the Federal Reserve and its member banks for causing and exacerbating the still unfolding financial crisis, and as a symbol of the Fed Bernanke has come under increasing fire from the grass roots, then media, and now from members of Congress themselves.

In a stunning revelation, it has been announced that Bernanke may not have the number of votes required to confirm his re-nomination by Obama.

Many liberals had blasted Obama for his decision to appoint Bernanke for a second term, and his party members in Congress are taking heed of this lesson in the wake of the unexpected Massachusetts Senate race.

The question then – if not Bernanke, who?

Federal Reserve Supresses Gold Prices – Poorly

The Federal Reserve has long been suspected of directly manipulating gold prices, but they’ve been able to deny this activity due to the secrecy that surrounds all of their monetary policies.

In response to the looming threat of a Congressional audit of the central bank, the Fed is now fessing up to some manipulations in the gold market.

Will the unlikely alliance of Ron Paul and Barney Frank deliver the votes needed to reveal what “our” bank is really up to behind the scenes?

Stay tuned, more news on the Federal Reserve audit is on the way.

Audit the Fed – I dare you

Just received an email:

This Friday, the House Financial Services Committee will meet at 9 am eastern to hold a hearing on Congressman Paul’s Audit the Fed bill, HR 1207.

Critics of the audit movement have complained that a full inspection of the central bank’s finances would inevitably lead to more direct Congressional regulation of our monetary policy.

Critics of the Fed say that auditing the bank will reveal decades of systemic corruption and collusion.

I guess there’s only one way to find out.  Let’s take a look at what our bank is doing with our money.

Get the full story here.