As the Treasury Department rolls out the results of its "stress tests" on major US banks, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke says the information "should provide considerable comfort to investors." If that's the case, ask Libertarians, why not subject Bernanke's own institution to an outside audit of "stress test" proportions?
"The biggest beneficiaries of the Federal Reserve's unchecked power have been Wall Street investment houses and commercial banks," says former Manhattan Libertarian Party chair Jim Lesczynski, now a columnist for the New York Examiner. "They benefited in the early part of the decade from artificially low interest rates set by the Fed. Now they're benefiting from massive TARP bailouts to make them whole for their bad decisions during that era of easy money. The taxpayers are entitled to an explanation of how their wealth and prosperity have been affected by the Fed's operations."
Such an audit would likely lead to public demand for thorough reform of the US government's monetary policy, says Libertarian National Committee member Rachel Hawkridge. "The Libertarian Party's platform calls for free-market banking and an end to the legal tender laws that have been used to vest control of our monetary system in an unaccountable, secretive monopoly," she says. "If we can pry open the can of worms and show America what's inside it, we believe that our position will resonate strongly with the public."
Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX), the Libertarian Party's 1988 presidential candidate, has introduced a bill in the US House of Representatives calling for a public audit of the Fed. The bill, HR 1207 (The Federal Reserve Transparency Act), currently boasts 143 co-sponsors. Libertarians urge voters to call on their representatives in Washington to support passage of the bill.
