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THE Federal Reserve's independence is a topic of heated discussion today, based in part on a Congressional effort to audit the Fed, a measure being pushed by Ron Paul. Ron Paul doesn't much care for the Federal Reserve, or indeed for fiat money. He's a supporter of the gold standard; a curious passion in these times, given the extremely harmful effects the standard had on the global economy during the early years of the Great Depression. But Mr Paul has long given Ben Bernanke a hard time when the chairman comes to visit the Capitol. Only now it seems that he has others offering criticism alongside him.
Mr Paul is aiming for greater transparency at the Fed, as are his colleagues, but their goals are somewhat different. Most lawmakers are concerned by the outsized role the central bank has played in supporting the financial system during the crisis, offering unprecedented access to funding to banks and near-banks. These concerns are often valid—many economists would like to know how the Fed will unwind many of these programmes (here's part of the answer)—and are occasionally silly, but they're generally of a different character altogether from Mr Paul's complaints
How free is the Fed? | Free exchange | Economist.com
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