The Fed: Servant or Master?

Government is instituted, not in order to seek its own profit at the expense of its subjects and to exercise its self-will on them but in order to provide for the best interests of its subjects.

– Martin Luther

In his book Christ & Civilization , John Robbins argues that the freedom and prosperity which characterize Western civilization have their roots, not in the political philosophy of ancient Greece and Rome, not in the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, but in the system of ideas found in the Bible.  What we call Christianity. 

One of the most significant  political ideas found in the Bible is the notion of the servant leader.  In Christian political thought, the governing authorities exist to serve the individual.  Of course because of sin, the world generally gets this exactly backward, tyrannically asserting that individuals exist to serve the polis, volk, or state.  In the words of Christ,

You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.

When we think of tyranny and rulers lording it over their people, it’s natural to call to mind the regimes of men such as Nero, Hitler or Stalin.  But tyranny has more subtle forms as well, one of which is central banking.  In the United States, this activity is carried out by the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States.  The activities of this organization affect the lives of every single person in the country, yet it arrogantly takes the position that it’s under no obligation to tell anyone what it does, instead demanding implicit faith in its wisdom to set monetary policy and manage the economy.  What is worse, there are many within the government and the financial community who agree. 

This financial tyranny, this lording it over people, is radically un-American. 

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Independence: The Last Refuge of a Counterfeiter

In this CNB Squawk Box interview, Ron Paul continues to press his case for an audit of the Federal Reserve. But with the exception of Rick Santelli, he is opposed by all of the panelists.  An audit, they say, is a threat to the independence of the Federal Reserve and will hamper its ability to effectively manage the dollar and the economy.

These poor folks just don’t get it.  But Paul counters their argument and exposes its foolishness by commenting that when people talk about Fed independence, “what they’re really talking about is secrecy.  What I’m talking about is transparecy.” 

There’s nothing in Paul’s bill (now admendment) that would involve Congress in monetary policy. Paul’s aim is to enable people to see what’s being done with their money, and the Wall Street community doesn’t like it.

Boo hoo.

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