This is not a perfect bill, but it is the kind of legislation that could push us toward a more democratic central bank. What I find intriguing is the way the Republicans have signed on to legislation they never would have endorsed — have never endorsed in the 20-some-odd years that Ron Paul has been proposing it — mostly because Barack Obama’s financial team is opposed.
Now, being on the opposite side from Larry Summers and Tim Geithner is not necessarily a bad thing, but you know that their motivation has nothing to do with policy and everything to do with politics.
In any case, why stop with an audit. Let’s take it a step — or many steps — farther. Let’s smash the current arrangement and craft a new one that will be responsive to the American people rather than the banks.
William Greider, in The Nation, offers a list of prescriptions that have merit, legislation on the table in both houses that could become law if enough lawmakers are willing to break with the banks and do their jobs. They include:
- Sen. Chris Dodd’s proposal to “strip the Fed of its regulatory functions because of its ‘abysmal failure’ to protect the public, and to replace it with an overarching regulatory administration.”
- Sen. Richard Shelby’s interest in “eliminat(ing) bankers’ insider influence over regulation at the Fed.”
- Several plans to tax Wall Street — including an excise tax on financial transactions to pay for the bailout, proposed by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.).
- Breaking up the big banks so they no longer will be “too big to fail.”
So, whatever happens to the Paul plan, let’s hope it is the first step toward real reform of our distorted financial system.
Hank Kalet 