Stossel has done hundreds of TV shows, but always avoided the Fed. It's too boring. But now Fed chairs, appointed by both Republican and Democratic presidents, have increased central planning of our economy more than ever before. It's time to look at the Fed. Since it can destroy your savings, and affect whether you have a job, or a future.
THE FEDERAL RESERVE: This year, quietly, the Fed bought gov't bonds, bank paper and lent money to banks, raising its balance sheet (our balance sheet) to $3.6 trillion dollars, just as much as the entire government spent. And most people have no clue about it.
When Stossel asked in Times Square, people didn't even know what the Fed was.
INFLATION: The dollar has lost 96% of its value since The Fed started. It takes $23 to buy what a dollar bought 100 years ago. By printing so much money, the Fed risks causing vicious inflation.
After World War I, Germany's central bank started buying German bonds to fund reparations and other spending. Sound familiar? German marks became worth less and less... so much so shoppers needed wheelbarrows to carry cash to the store to buy groceries. Could that happen in America?
"FED" UP: Ron Paul says we need to abolish The Fed. He used to be the only politician saying that. But for this week's show, Stossel struggled to find a guest to support it.
FUTURE OF THE FED: Over the next few weeks, we'll hear more about Janet Yellen, the President's nominee for Fed Chair. Some will praise her; others will attack her. Stossel doesn't much care who the chair is, all the candidates share the same belief: they, a dozen old white people, can manage our economy.
What conceit! No 12 people, however knowledgeable, can know enough. Knowledge is dispersed throughout our economy. When central planners try to manage an economy, they usually make things worse.
