Taking delight in deception: former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan admits deception, but Big Media embraces his "purposeful obfuscation" and continues gushing adoration

New American, The, Oct 29, 2007 by William F. Jasper

Mr. Greenspan: "Congressman, as I have said to you before, the problem you are alluding to is the conversion of a commodity standard to fiat money. We have statutorily gone onto a fiat money standard, and as a consequence of that it is inevitable that the authority, which is the producer of the money supply, will have inordinate power."

A good example of Rep. Paul's ability to cram several important lessons into a brief question/comment opportunity is his exchange with Fed chairman Bernanke during a House hearing on July 18, 2007. Dr. Paul points out that the growing income gap between the rich and the poor and the continuing decline of the American middle class is the result of the "deliberate debasement of the currency" through the Fed's monetary policies. He also unmasks the Fed's deceptive use of constantly changing weights and measures (MZM, M3, CPI) to hide the true extent of inflation its policies are causing. He notes it is only through fraudulent accounting and constant redefinition of the money supply that the Federal Reserve can claim the annual inflation rate is currently only around 2 percent, when it is actually in the double digits.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Later in the same hearing, Dr. Paul disparages the Federal Reserve System that creates "money and credit out of thin air" and points out that this is going to lead us to more economic crises. He asks Bernanke if he is concerned that this might soon take us to another monetary crisis like that of 1979-1980. When Bernanke responds with Greenspan-like obfuscation, Dr. Paul pins him down: "So you're not answering whether or not you anticipate a problem?" Mr. Bernanke: "I'm not anticipating a problem like 1979-80, no." Dr. Paul: "With your fingers crossed, I guess."

Congressman Paul's challenge to the "purposeful obfuscation" Greenspan and Bernanke engaged in during their congressional testimony was certainly newsworthy, and the news media should have reported it. Instead, the same media that have recently treated Greenspan to an orgy of media hype in connection with his new book have essentially censured Paul's views on the Fed. Thankfully, Americans can access Paul's views as well as Greenspan's on the Internet.