It seems just yesterday that Ben Bernanke was rehearsing for the role of the Alzheimer's patient antagonist in Joel Schumacher's latest mad scientist-becomes-insane global dictator B-grade movie, before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, after firing back with a catatonic "I don't recall" after catatonic "I don't recall" when asked to remember even one of the events in what historians will likely one day consider among the most critical 24 hours for modern capitalism. Many thought that this spectacle was merely a way for politicians to score populist points in a McCarthesque witch hunt sequel of the villain de jour play. It seems they were wrong.
A letter submitted yesterday by members of Congress is now demanding an in-depth investigation into whether the "Federal Reserve has overstepped its authority and abused its power under current law (where it already wields considerable regulatory strength and broad authority)" especially now that the President, under the guidance of certain individuals of his financial advisory committee is hell bent on "concentrating extensive new power in the hands of one regulatory entity with little to no direct accountability to the public."
In a fashion comparable to the fate of HR1207, which started off as a small snowball (in hell, of all places) and has the potential to become an avalanche, so does this petition deserve the support of all the same cosponsors of the Audit The Fed bill. Zero Hedge applauds the initial efforts by the following members of Congress: Garrett, Carney, Grayson, Kaptur, Price, W. Jones, Duncan, Paul, McCotter, Blackburn, Burgess, Adrian, Smith, Bachmann, Gohmert, Burton, McHenry, and Posey; we are certain that hundreds more will eventually stand behind this petition. The Fed's time as an unaudited and unaccountable institution is at an end - it is now just a matter of time.
The President now faces a major choice: do the right thing, avoid the several conniving voices that whisper sweet manipulative nothings in his ear, and expose the Fed for the nebulous and crony mechanism it has become in the hands of a select few, or do nothing and let his successor be forever remembered in history for doing this one critical and righteous act.
Final Letter to Obama on Fed Reserve Authority 7-9--09 Sphere: Related Content
