Ron Paul Liberty Report - Weekly Update --- The Last Fed Chairman?
Aired: 2018-01-29
Duration: 05:02


=== Powell's Confirmation Crisis (04:53) ===

[00:00:08]  Hello, everybody, and thank you for tuning in to the weekly report.
[00:00:13]  Last week, the Senate confirmed Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve Chairman by a vote of 84 to 13.
[00:00:20]  This is in contrast to the contentious debates and closer votes over Janet Yellen's confirmation in 2014 and Ben Bernanke's confirmation for a second term in 2010.
[00:00:33]  Powell benefited from a perception that the economy's recovery from the 2007-08 meltdown proves that the Fed is a capable manager of monetary policy.
[00:00:46]  However, the perceptions of economic recovery and Federal Reserve competence are both far from the truth.
[00:00:56]  The economy may seem to have recovered, but the recovery is not built on a firm foundation.
[00:01:04]  Instead, it rests on Fed-created bubbles in areas such as automobile sales, credit card debt, student loans, debt, stocks, and even a new housing bubble.
[00:01:18]  The most dangerous bubble is the government debt bubble.
[00:01:22]  The Fed facilitates deficit spending by monetizing the federal debt.
[00:01:27]  The desire to enable Congress's spending, addiction, is a major reason why the Fed cannot significantly raise interest rates, as increasing rates could increase federal debt payments to unsustainable levels.
[00:01:46]  This may be one reason why President Trump has reversed course and endorsed low interest rates.
[00:01:52]  Of course, all first-time presidents want low interest rates since they believe the low rates boost the economy and thus help them win re-election.
[00:02:06]  One of the issues Powell will face is increasing challenges to the dollar's World Reserve currency status.
[00:02:14]  China is pressuring Saudi Arabia to price oil in Chinese won instead of in American dollars.
[00:02:21]  China and other countries may take other steps such as halting purchases of Treasury bonds that could weaken the dollar.
[00:02:29]  The threats to the dollar's World Reserve currency status will increase as concerns about U.S. government and private sector debt, as well as resentment over U.S. militarism and protectionism, grow.
[00:02:46]  The dollar still maintains its reserve currency status, not because the dollar is strong, but because other countries' currencies are weak.
[00:02:55]  However, unless the U.S. gets its economic house in order, that may not long be the case.
[00:03:02]  A new challenge to the dollar status is emerging from the private sector as more individuals seek alternatives to government-created fiat currency.
[00:03:13]  The dramatic increase in the value of bitcoins may very well be another Fed-created bubble, but it is one fueled in part by a desire to be free of the Fed's ever-depreciating paper dollars.
[00:03:29]  Another sign of the people's rejection of the Fed is the passage of state laws recognizing gold and silver as legal tender.
[00:03:38]  Arizona passed such a law last year, and Wyoming will soon consider a similar bill.
[00:03:45]  As the failure of our current system becomes more apparent, more states will give their citizens freedom from the Fed's money monopoly.
[00:03:57]  Much to new Fed Chairman Powell's chagrin, support for the Audit the Fed bill remains high.
[00:04:03]  As knowledge of how the Fed endangers prosperity grows, the pressure on Congress to pass Audit the Fed will prove irresistible.
[00:04:14]  Jerome Powell may seem to be assuming the Fed chairmanship at a time of increasing prosperity and renewed respect for the Fed.
[00:04:23]  However, the prosperity is an illusion built on a series of Fed-created bubbles whose bursting will cause a major economic downturn.
[00:04:34]  This will increase both the growing challenges to the dollar's World Reserve currency status and the number of people seeking alternatives to Federal Reserve-created fiat currency.
[00:04:48]  Powell could be the last Fed chairman if the next Fed-created economic crisis leads the people to force Congress to audit and then end the Fed.
[00:04:59]  Thanks for tuning in to the weekly report.