A pattern of "what's campaigned on is forgotten when elected."

Single Payer? Public Option? Green Energy?

is a load of crap. It is a meaningless phrase up there with finding Obama's birth certificate. The GAO already Audits the Fed. And in fact because of the wingnuttery is currently in midst of 19 projects underway involving the Fed to look into this and that (any birth certificates??). A total of 14 of them have been launched at the request of Congress.

The Fed is also audited by the reserve Board’s Office of Inspector General — a private accounting firm — to review (audit?) financial statements and compliance with laws. The Board also audits all 12 regional reserve banks.

What would they find???

That TARP has made money
that it saved the auto industry in the United States
that it turned around the worst financial crisis in about seventy years

What I want is an audit of all those warehouses owned by the Federal Government in Nevada. I want to know where they keep them black helicopters and the space aliens they get outta those ships I keep seeing.

than the continued attempt by right wing wackos to destroy the Fed

It would basically begin the politicization of the Fed, and subsume decision making by politics. It would ruin the independence and ability to make needed decisions for rational and financial reasons. Congressional meddling would be a freaking disaster. Giving Fed decisions over to a group that can't even begin to make good choices in matters of even a modicum of fiscal policy.

It is nothing more than a thinly veiled first step to wipe out the Fed, which is what Ron Paul has always wanted. It is at minimum an attempt to influence Fed decision making by political meddling. It would take us to an absolutely non functioning U.S. central bank. Taking one of the few well functioning institutions (unless you are a gold standard or conspiracy nut) that could now be open to being ruined.

I'd think long and hard before interfering with one of our most important regulatory institutions on theplanet. Top of the list it would guarantee disastrous inflation.

I don't know any economist anywhere that would be in support of something like this.

http://blogs.reuters.com/james-pethokoukis/2009/08/03/6-economists-on-why-ron-pauls-fed-audit-idea-is-wrong/?cp=1

I would use the word "continuing" when describing this pattern.

I remember when it became clear that GHW Bush was not electable for a second term. The financial interests who had supported him were profiled, very briefly, and the gathering of those people, mainly their arriving and shaking hands for a meeting with Clinton, somewhere in Georgia I believe, was broadcast on network television. Gore had been ahead. Shortly after the meeting of the "Big 7" (or whatever they were called) with Clinton, Gore began to lose credibility due to continued attacks and Clinton surged ahead. The money was behind Clinton.

So the question hangs there in air, "How does one become elected to the presidency of the US?" Having enough of the right people on one's side seems to be a major factor. What was the price Obama paid for their support? Possibly it was having two safe people, Summers and Geitner, in key positions to protect the financial sector that was aware that some degree of shit hitting the fan was waiting somewhere down the road.

There are some signs of some willingness in the Congress to limit the amount of corporate money allowed in all elections, and to force transparency by having all contributions clearly labeled so that everyone would be able to see who is giving how much, where, and to whom. That would be sunshine.

It is time for Summers and Geitner to move on. They were there to rescue people who then walked off with huge bonuses and are still trying to game themselves to new riches using other people's money. That is one thing that the conservatives were right about, that the companies should have been allowed to fail -- except it would have had to be receivership to protect all of the pension funds (would that have been possible?). There is no way to make it simple.

I continue to have confidence in Obama, although his style has required me to have far more patience than I find comfortable.

Channing
Ventura CA USA

Congress wants to get their mits on the rate setting agenda and money supply. Pump up the money supply and goose rates down you can pay down the deficit with inflation. Let the dollar fall and goods are cheaper for export. Inflation is also thought to help housing by inflating price relative to debt and keeping interest too low would overheat the economy and bring unemployment down faster. The Fed wants to hold the line on inflation and has compromised a little by allowing a 1.5% as target.

If they succeed we get the 1970s all over again. The days of a pre Volker weak Fed.

Go for it!! Nothing like taking money away from the old (the creditors) and giving it to the young(the debtors). That it destroys savings and the stock market is small potatoes.

The most transparent White House ever? NOT. Obama’s DOJ seeks FOIA exemption for visitor records

Pandagon, By Pam Spaulding, April 30

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press reports that the Obama administration through its Justice Department, is continuing to argue that it has the right to shield White House Visitor Logs, citing they should be exempt from the Freedom of Information Act.

Now as we saw yesterday, the administration is currently complying with the law, having released hundreds of thousands of WH appointments. That is why you learned that there were 88 visits by various HRC board members, along with Joe Solmonese and David Smith, who traipsed through the WH doors over the last year—and we have zero major LGBT legislation passed so far.

No wonder the Justice Department wants your eyes off of who is getting face time with key WH figures. It’s pretty sad when we’re on the same side as Judicial Watch, the conservative thinktank that filed a public records lawsuit over this in 2009—and won.