Audit the Federal Reserve? A done deal? Where is Mr. Smith?

[WhiskeyGirl]

Let's audit the Federal Reserve[/b]

By TIM ZIMMER Bismarck | Posted: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 2:00 am

For too long we have had a Federal Reserve that's unaccountable to Congress and a Congress that's unaccountable to the people. You see, after regulating, taxing, spending, borrowing and printing us into what looks like the worst recession in decades, establishment politicians and power brokers are assuring us they're working hard to "fix" our economic woes. What is their solution? You guessed it. More of the same![/color]

What happened to change we could believe in?  A man who was president for everyone?

Trillions of dollars are being stolen from the U.S. taxpayer. Just think about the scope of the problem for a minute. The massive, outrageous amount of dollars committed to the economic bailouts in recent month totals more than all of the following combined...

As you know, the Federal Reserve is shrouded in secrecy. Their meetings are off-limits to the public. Their inner workings are off-limits to the public. The Federal Reserve has told Congress "no way" when asked to account for $2 trillion in taxpayer-backed loans. They know coming clean with Congress and the American people on how they doled out those $2 trillion would result in an anti-Fed firestorm.

With the piling up of trillions of dollars in out of control "bailouts" of Wall Street and international bankers, even many politicians in Washington want to show you they're "being responsible."

http://www.bismarcktribune.com/news/opinion/mailbag/article_a0719c6c-b842-11de-9971-001cc4c002e0.html?print=1

Maybe it time to abolish the Federal Reserve?  Take control of our monetary system from Wall Street and return it to the folks on Main Street? 

Return to our Constitution?  It seemed to work fine until the Federal Reserve, owned by banks, started managing our money supply...

[WhiskeyGirl]

From Russia Today -

"Wall Street puts profit over people"

Obama administration slogan?  Profit above Americans?  No jobs for Americans?  They can pay so other folks in foreign countries can work for their dreams?  The good life?  For some reason, Americans aren't worthy of a good life?

“The main driving force within any Wall Street company is the bonus and the profit. The bonus comes first and the profit later,” scorns Nomi Prins, former banker, author of ‘It Takes A Pillage’.

“It is not always even about the money that this bonus represents, it is about this idea of the game and the competition of various people going up the chain of command trying to achieve more power and better stature in the firm… The number of the bonus comes after, it’s like a stamp of approval,” says Prins.

Speaking about the US financial system, Prins notes that it is based on leverage and borrowing and that “they basically created this whole upside-down pyramid of debt to continue to push that debt throughout the world, selling it everywhere around the world to keep the process going.”

“In the end, when there is a problem at the bottom of the pyramid, with any of the sub-prime loans that ultimately catalyzed the crisis – everything else collapsed,” Prins says.

As for the start of economic recovery in the US, Nomi Prins thinks the “jobless recovery” gives false hope, because “the banks recovered, but largely because of that money that has been given to them by the government.”

Prins says that taxpayers gave up to $14 trillion for subsidizing the banking system and bailing out Wall Street.

What should have been done, instead of bailing out some of the banks, is to actually bail out consumer loans and mortgages at the individual level. That would have actually stopped this pyramid from spiraling out of control and toppling over. That would also help people stay in their homes and would help the general economy from deteriorating further,” she believes.

Hmmm...bail out Main Street?  Would that have meant no bonuses or jobs for Wall Street?  Maybe those folks would be on unemployment?

She insists that the Obama administration lacks reality if it chooses to congratulate Ben Bernanke for “heading us out of this recession”, instead of auditing the Fed, and dissecting the biggest banks instead of merging them.

“There is nothing coming on the horizon that will actually jump-start a major recovery,” she says. “There is still a tremendous crate of problems and tremendous unemployment and it will take a while to shake out.”

Such wisdom!!!

http://www.russiatoday.com/Top_News/2009-10-15/us-crisis-finance-prins.html

"It Takes a Pillage"  I wonder if they sell that at Amazon?

[WhiskeyGirl]

Who is Naomi Prins?

Nomi Prins is a journalist and Senior Fellow at Demos. Her new book is: It Takes Pillage: Behind the Bonuses, Bailouts, and Backroom Deals from Washington to Wall Street (Wiley, September, 2009).

...On Wall Street, she served as a managing director at Goldman Sachs. Prior to that, she served as Senior Managing Director running the international analytics group at Bear Stearns in London...She has a graduate degree in Statistics and Operations Research from New York University, and is a licensed Rescue Diver.

She is the author of Other People's Money: The Corporate Mugging of America (The New Press, October 2004)...

http://www.amazon.com/Nomi-Prins/e/B002J3NQJI/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

"If you want to understand why the Geithher-Summers plan won't solve the financial crisis, and why Wall Street is disgraced but still calling the shots, you can't do better than the brilliantly written and documented "It Takes a Pillage," by former investment banker and financial critic Nomi Prins," Robert Kuttner, co-editor, The American Prospect and author of "Obama's Challenge."

http://www.nomiprins.com/

What happened to change? 

[WhiskeyGirl]

Is Healthcare/Insurance/Uninsured reform a deception?  A diversion from the reality of financial problems?

[WhiskeyGirl]

The bottom line is our government and the American people have a need to know who gets loans, what the collateral is, what secret deals the Fed have with other central banks, what secret accounts they have offshore, what are their swap agreements, how much money they have created secretly that Congress knows nothing about and what inside information is the Fed passing along to their friends in banking and Wall Street.

Treasury Secretary Geithner, under the FOIA release, made 80 contacts since taking his job, with Goldman Sacks, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup and BlackRock. Some were by phone and some in person. Most calls were between Geithner and Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankenfeld. Can there be any doubt in your mind who controls our government?

Turning now to our government we find that its deficit now exceeds 40% of expenditures; or 40% or more is borrowed and not serviced by revenues. Historically this is the point at which hyperinflation begins. This situation is going to get progressively worse because there is not going to be a recovery and unemployment will worsen. The deficit is projected to increase by $1 trillion a year for the next nine years minimum. Even if 3% growth could be mustered in five years the national debt could reach $18 trillion, which is short-term debt, which would be 100% of GDP.

It seems like government health/insurance reform is a distraction, a pipe dream, an illusion.  Not based in reality.  Clean sweep in the aisles of Washington.

The dollar is also falling because that's what the White House wants. "It's important America continues to have a strong currency," said US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner last week. "We've made clear our commitment to a strong dollar," added Larry Summers.

These men insult our intelligence. The US government desperately wants a weaker dollar – so boosting exports while lowering the value of America's massive foreign debt.  The currency markets will keep betting against the greenback as they know the Federal Reserve will do nothing to stop a weaker dollar coming true. "Benign currency neglect" is the cornerstone of Obama's recovery strategy.

The destruction of savings, financial security and retirement futures for those on Main Street.  The Obama administration doesn't seem to care.  imho

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=15688

Some folks build great nations, others tear them apart.

[Edward]

Radio talk show recap..
Jerome Corsi, an expert on political violence and terrorism, discussed how both the left and the right are promoting policies which are detrimental to the future independence of the United States. As outlined in his new book, America for Sale, he believes there's a globalist agenda to install a one-world order or currency. These globalists, some of whom are investment bankers, don't cherish the freedom and values we have in our free enterprise system, and have deliberately manipulated the economic collapse, he said. He named Robert Mundell, the "father of world currency," as one of the globalists, and said he masterminded a plan to destroy the dollar.

America's sovereignty is being lost incrementally through the North American Free Trade Agreement, and the Security and Prosperity Partnership, said Corsi, who added that decisions are made by a shadow government without congressional oversight. The United States is now bankrupt if you consider that there's a total of $65 trillion in debt from future obligations and social welfare, he claimed. That's why people are speaking out at town hall meetings and Tea Parties to protest the massive debt that will be handed down to their children and grandchildren, he noted.

Americans can "say no to a global new deal," and the ability citizens have to be heard shouldn't be underestimated, Corsi stated. He also suggested (as advocated by Ron Paul) that we close down or audit the Federal Reserve, as well as shut down the IRS, and create a structure that doesn't tax income, like the Fair Tax.