I love the way Bloomberg begins this article:
“Federal Reserve Board has rejected a request by U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner for a public review of the central bank’s structure and governance, three people familiar with the matter said.
The Obama administration proposed on June 17 a financial- regulatory overhaul including a “comprehensive review” of the Fed’s “ability to accomplish its existing and proposed functions” and the role of its regional banks. The Fed was to lead the study and enlist the Treasury and “a wide range of external experts.”
The Fed needs to be VERY concerned with maintaining their independence.
Regardless of your views about Ron Paul (his new book is called End the Fed), its the rest of the crowd of that scares me. Imagine what the dolts who run congress would do if they had access to the Fed’s authority.
The key to intelligent central banking is a clear charge (i.e., fighting inflation), a pragmatic (more Bernanke, less Greenspan) approach, and the willingness to make the unpopular necessary steps (Volcker).
Imagine what the giveaways would be like if the idiots in Congress were in charge . . .
>
Source:
Fed Rejects Geithner Request for Study of Governance, Structure
Craig Torres and Robert Schmidt
Bloomberg, Sept. 21 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=adjvXg1zP.zY
What's been said:
Discussions found on the web: