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Posted on 08/03/2011 1:18:07 PM PDT by ex-Texan
Rep. Ron Paul on Monday introduced legislation that would lower the federal government's debt by canceling the roughly $1.6 trillion in debt held by the Federal Reserve.
Paul has argued for the last few weeks that the idea represents a quick way to make the growing fiscal crisis more manageable. Under his bill, H.R. 2768, the $1.6 trillion that the Treasury owes to the Federal Reserve would disappear.
The Federal Reserve began buying Treasury bonds in earnest late last year as part of its effort to keep long-term interest rates down. But Paul has argued that Fed purchases of Treasury debt represent a debt that the government owes to itself, and one that also leads to an unwanted and inflationary increase in the money supply.
Paul has also said the Fed is allowing the federal government to continue a spending binge it otherwise would not be able to afford, and is forcing the Fed to print money to keep up.
"If the federal government cannot cut spending and bring the budget back into balance, the Fed undoubtedly will be forced to simply monetize trillions of dollars in Treasury debt, which is nothing more than a stealth form of default," Paul said back in May.
Paul is highly critical of the debt-ceiling agreement that the House approved Monday, and said that rather than require real cuts in spending, the bill mostly cuts planned spending levels in the future. According to the legislation, discretionary spending in 2012 would be just $7 billion less than in 2011, and in 2013 it would be just $3 billion less than 2011 before allowing increases above 2011 levels.
"No plan under serious consideration cuts spending in the way you and I think about it," Paul wrote in a piece that appeared on The Hill's Congress Blog. "Instead, the 'cuts' being discussed are illusory, and are not cuts from current amounts being spent, but cuts in projected spending increases."
We could also eliminate much debt by talking China into forgoing payback thereof in exchange for, well, Taiwan.
</sarcasm>
Just because a bill doesn’t solve every problem doesn’t mean we should keep it from solving any problem.
Rumors abound on the Internet about Obama massing a huge fortune in off-shore trading accounts:
UPDATE: OBAMA OFFSHORE TRADING PROFITS EXCEED 3 BILLION DOLLARS !
If true -- Impeaching BO is the only way to move forward. But today our entire Congress is corrupt. Both the Dems and GOP have been taken over by shills and profiteers. In my view, both political parties are fake. Even our elections are fake for the most part, with voting machines pre-programed to substitute ones for zeros on a controllers' cue.
So this is how our Repubilc ends -- "Not with a bang, but a whimper."
“Isn’t that esentially debt we owe to ourselves?
It doesn’t make whole lot of sense to keep paying it.”
Your proposal would make skimming operations impossible.
Lots of Democrat crooks and cronies would be out of a flow of money!
Impossible!
That would clear the way for the surrender monkey to put in for more ear marks the ear marks he says he is against, but loves so much.
The Fed is NOT a non-governmental organization. It is a hybrid e.g. part governmental/part private. If you can name one other “non-governmental organiztation” which has its head appointed by the federal government, I’ll eat my words. Of course, no other “non-governmental organization” has the power to print money or write checks backed by nothing.
We wouldn’t have to “talk” China to do anything. A better option is simply to repudiate the bonds. Of course, this might mean that nobody will want to lend any more money to Uncle Sam but that would be a net-benefit for us.
3,524,229,075 lbs?
We are called terrorists after settling for fake cuts! Terrorists don't ask for a fraction of a percent of their goal. They demand total compliance. Of course, I am totally against terrorists of all sorts, but I can tell you this. If I am going to be called a terrorist it is not going to be after settling for a total horse crap deal!
If Joe Biden wants to see real terrorism, I say AUDIT THE FED! CLOSE THE IRS. CLOSE THE DEPARTMENTS OF EDUCATION, COMMERCE, ENERGY, HHS, and HOMELAND SECURITY.. THEN!! We'll discuss cuts in the remaining departments.
“It would be better to just delete the Federals Reserve...................”
Hopefully, this is the first step. If we can just dissolve the Fed outright, then maybe we can chip away at it.
I have a bad feeling that if it passes the House, it won’t make it through the Senate. It probably won’t get to the President’s desk so he can veto it.
I have to give Dr. Paul some credit for being one of the only conservative out there with brass ones. At least he’s trying.
Hmmm...sounds like a great idea...
How about General Motors? Daniel Akerson advanced to the CEO position directly from the Board of Directors, where he was the representative of the U.S Treasury ( which owns 61% of GM).
Didn't you get the message? We've learned our lesson. We don't do that any more. I heard it straight from the most powerful pantywaist mama's boy in the wolrd.
What ever became of the picture of ABC’s ‘practice’ vote tally that was accidentally published days before the election? In it every case except perhaps two were called to the exact final percentages. I never understood why that didn’t make news. Maybe no one wants to know what is going on?
>>cuts in projected spending increases.”<<
Why is there spending increases when there is zer0 inflation?
What ever became of the picture of ABC’s ‘practice’ vote tally that was accidentally published days before the election? In it every case except perhaps two were called to the exact final percentages. I never understood why that didn’t make news. Maybe no one wants to know what is going on?
Can anyone tell me why this would be a bad thing?
The biggest negative I can think of (and I am not an economist) is that then the Congress can say “Hey, we just cut $1.6T from the debt, just like we promised. Now let’s keep spending and raise taxes.)
"I wish it were possible to obtain a single amendment to our Constitution ... taking from the federal government their power of borrowing."-- Thomas Jefferson (Letter of November 26th, 1798)
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