Ron Paul To Ben Bernanke: "People Lose Trust In The Government Because You Lie To Them About...

zerohedge.com ^ | 2/29/12 | Tyler Durden

[Aquamarine]

Anytime Ron Paul sits across from Ben Bernanke you know sparks will fly. Sure enough, they did: starting 50 seconds into the clip below, Ron Paul, guns blazing, asks the Chairman if he does his own shopping, if he is aware of what true inflation is, and if he knows that Americans don't trust the government because they are being lied to about inflation. And it only gets better, once Paul starts brandishing a silver coin. The punchline: "The Fed will self-destruct anyway when the money is gone" - amen. And ironically letting the Fed keep on doing what it is doing will achieve that in the fastest possible way. In fact, letting the system cannibalize itself with no further hindrances may be the best option currently available - just go to town.

[Olog-hai]

Easy target for Paul.

[JPG]

The government doesn't factor in the price of food or energy when calculating the inflation rate. How convenient.

[GOPJ]

Is it true the fed is paid based on a percentage of money printed? And if so, doesn’t that create a perverse incentive to print more?

[SECURE AMERICA]

Ron Paul To Ben Bernanke: “People Lose Trust In The Government Because You Lie To Them About...

Actually I lose trust in the voters because they put nutcases (Ron Paul) and socialists (Obama) into the Government!

[TPOOH]

BINGO!

[Aquamarine]

Be sure to watch the video at the link.

[FerociousRabbit]

People don’t need food or energy so the rising prices of these luxuries is irrelevant. /s

[KarlInOhio]

It calculates both a "core" CPI which doesn't include food and energy and a total CPI which does. The Social Security COLA is based on the total CPI, which is why it had a big jump in 2009 (after the gas price bubble in the summer of 2008), followed by the 0% COLA the next two years because energy prices dropped back down.

The more important number is probably the housing costs. They tried everything they could to avoid counting the housing bubble prices as inflation before the 2008 crash, but now claim that drops in housing prices counteract any other price increases. You can't have it both ways, not counting it on the way up but counting it on the way down.

[6SJ7]

You can't have it both ways, not counting it on the way up but counting it on the way down.

The Fed does more baking than Betty Crocker.

[Jack Burton007]

Paul should just STFU and go away. Go back to the libertarian party where he belongs. Or go sit in a OWS camp with his cult of followers.

This is one guy that would make me sit out the election and let Obama win. I’m glad this non-conservative idiot isn’t winning the nomination. It’s bad enough we have Romney in the race.

[JPG]

You can't have it both ways..

Ah-ha, that's where you've made your mistake. Obama specializes in having 'it' anyway he wants, anytime and anywhere. You must have missed the memo. :-)

[BfloGuy]

Is it true the fed is paid based on a percentage of money printed?

Not directly, but it does create money and lend it to its member banks at interest. And, yes, that is a perverse incentive to print money.

[SaxxonWoods]

It’s unfortunate when a person with good points on an issue comes across as a nut and has trouble presenting his points in an articulate manner.

The result is a negative for those trying to explain the fiscal crisis to the public.

Ron Paul is the Orly Taitz of the monetary problem.

[khelus]

The government doesn't factor in the price of food or energy when calculating the inflation rate. How convenient.

The BLS calculates inflation with and without the price of food and energy. Core inflation does not include two essential food and energy and yet is used as a measure of how well the Fed fulfills its mission of stable prices. You're right that's very convenient.

What's even more convenient are the modifications to the CPI which have changed it from measuring the cost of a set standard of living to measuring the cost of a declining standard of living. Included in these modifications are use of the substitution effect, hedonics index, owner's rent equivalence, and chained dollars.

[khelus]

People don’t need food or energy so the rising prices of these luxuries is irrelevant. /s

Well there's always your iPod.

[EVO X]

They tried everything they could to avoid counting the housing bubble prices as inflation before the 2008 crash, but now claim that drops in housing prices counteract any other price increases. You can't have it both ways, not counting it on the way up but counting it on the way down.

BLS uses rent or equivilent rent for the housing component of the CPI. As far as I know BLS hasn't altered that metric. If your a long term renter the data looks accurate. If your a homeowner, it is WTF over.

I saw Paul bloviate at Bernanke. It is too bad he wasn't a bit more inquisitive in trying to pin him down on how the FED analyzes housing data. Bernanke seemed to support BLS housing data in the clip I saw this week..

[exit82]

I saw Paul bloviate at Bernanke

RP sounded unhinged. He kept talking and talking, asking questions, and then talk some more.

Bernanke just looked at him smugly, like he would look at someone not worth his time.

RP needs to retire. After 33 years in DC he hasn't done anything anyway.

[EVO X]

RP needs to retire. After 33 years in DC he hasn't done anything anyway.

It doesn't matter if the constituents are republican or democrat. If they think your bringing home the bacon, they are likely reelect..

[John D]

It doesn't matter if the constituents are republican or democrat. If they think your bringing home the bacon, they are likely reelect..

And there is nobody better at bringing home the bacon than the surrender monkey.
If he would just practice what he preaches.