Audit The Fed

There have been editorials regarding Congressman Ron Paul’s push to have the Fed audited like every other government department. The opinion was the Fed should be left independent. A little lesson is needed. The Fed was formed by the large banks for one reason – so they could become “too big to fail”. After the government had to borrow from one of those banks, bankers realized they too could fail. The Fed acts as a banker’s bank. They are the lender of last resort. They are also tied directly to the government since the Fed chairman is a political appointee.
The Fed is also tied to the government through the Treasury. The Treasury prints and distributes the money the Fed uses to raise or lower the money supply which determines interest rates and inflation.
The reason banks are not lending to small businesses is because they do not need to. Instead of investing in small businesses they decided to invest back in the government. The bank can borrow money from the Fed at zero interest (the current Fed Fund Rate) and buy a 10 year Treasury which pays 4.5% interest.
Rather than taking a risk with business loan they can get a guaranteed 4.5%. Did you notice the 4.5% is being paid by the same people that loaned them the money in the first place? Did you also notice that 4.5% is being paid with tax dollars and is being added to the national debt?
Did you question how GM could pay back their TARP money while still not making a profit? They borrowed money directly from the Fed to pay back the Treasury. That’s like paying your Mother back with money from your Dad. They still don’t have the money but you got to use it.
That’s why Ron Paul’s bill should have the support of all taxpaying Americans. Where is that transparency we were promised?

Let Their Be New Taxes

One day man made a car – and it was good. Ford begat GM who begat Chrysler who begat Dodge, etc. But, lo – a road was needed. A politician from the mountaintop declared users should pay and a gas tax was born. All paid to the mighty gas tax was to be for roads and bridges to carry ourselves to and fro without the dreaded ruts.
But one day Mr. Politician was in need of re-election and needed money to buy barrels for the pork. No one would know if he just took a little out of the gas tax fund. After all, roads take years to get approved and built and surely another tax will raise the money to pay it back. Let the robbing of the highway fund begin.
One day Mother Nature became angry because we were hurting her air. Mr. Politician in need of campaign dollars declared the Earth in need of our help. More efficient cars will save our resources and clean the air and get him re-elected.
Now cars are more efficient, Mother Nature is happier. But all is not happy. With less gas being bought there is less tax money being paid to the highway fund. Since the money borrowed for other things is not returned, a problem has arisen.
How do we build more roads for more cars needing less gas which provides fewer tax dollars to fund the new highways and bridges and all the other projects that have nothing to do with highways not to mention pad the politicians re-election pockets? I sense a new tax coming.

Global Warming/Cooling/Climater Change, Whatever

While driving to work in the snow I was reminded of a story in our newspaper over the weekend. It concerned the fact that not a single hurricane made landfall this year. This was the year, if you will remember, that climatologists around the world predicted multiple Katrina-like hurricanes as a result of the continual raping of the earth’s resources. Oops, wrong again!!

What I have missed, however, is any mention of the hundreds of emails that have surfaced recently from the same “scientists” that have determined “global warming” is real. The emails are between “scientists” who found “indisputable evidence” (Obama) about the “inconvenient truth” (Gore) that the ozone we use in hairspray on earth is destroying ozone hundreds of miles in space. Common sense would tell you to spray more to clsoe the gap, but I digress.

It appears in the emails that the entire basis of global warming is based on the tree rings of a particular tree in a particular part of the world – sort of. Actually, according to the emails, it was three trees that had a ring structure that “proves” global warming is occurring and mankind is the cause. Please note more trees were examined but only the ones that "proved" the scientific fact were used.

That’s right - three. Out of the hundreds of millions (dare I say “billions and billions” - Sagan) of trees on earth, three have “scientifically proven” manmade causes are destroying the planet as we know it. These “scientists” suggested to one another that they be prepared to alter or destroy their results. No doubt fearing they will reveal the inconvenient truth that this has been a giant hoax.

Once again, if enough people repeat the same lies it will soon become the truth. Just like the “scientific truth” of evolution.