Ron Paul and our Big, Fat Fed

George SelginRegular readers ofAlt-M don ' t need to be told that yours truly isno fan of the Fed ' s gigantic credit footprint. Even before the recent crisis, he lamented both the extent to which the Fed went from merelyregulating this nation ' s short-term money market tobeingits short-term money market, and the switch to an abundant reserve or" floor " operating system that made a bigger Fed footprint inevitable.By the time the Great Recession ended, the Fed ' s balance sheet was more than four times as large as it was in mid-2008. And now, thanks to the COVID-19 crisis, it has doubled in size yet again, to just shy of $7.6 trillion.And Ron Paul is partly responsible for it.What? Ron Paul, the retired Texas Congressman who was throughout his long career a constant thorn in the Fed ' s side? The man who, far from wanting to see the Fed get bigger, led a famous campaign toend it? Yes,thatRon Paul, believe it or not. As paradoxical as it may sound, were it not for one of Paul ' s earliest attempts to limit the Fed ' s money-creating powers, it might be as much as $1.3 trillionsmaller, as of this writing, than it is in fact.The TGA BalanceAssuming they aren ' t already heading my way with a barrel of hot tar and a bag of feathers, Ron Paul ' s many admirers will no doubt demand an explanation for what will seem to them a preposterous charge. And an explanation they shall get. They may perhaps find it easier to swallow if they bear in mind something most of them already know, t...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs