Ron Paul to Examine Gold Bullion Programs at U.S. Mint

Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, has scheduled a meeting on April 1 for his U.S. House Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy to take a close look at the bullion programs at the U.S. Mint.

Last week Paul introduced H.R. 1098, the Free Competition in Currency Act of 2011, that would repeal legal tender laws in order to prohibit taxation on gold, silver, platinum, palladium and rhodium bullion. The bill has been referred to the House Committees on Financial Services, Ways and Means, and Judiciary.

Paul is a strong advocate of currency backed by precious metals and a U.S. gold standard.

The Mint is now setting the stage for a major overhaul of the metals composition of coins and how the Mint is going to manufacture them. The Coin Modernization, Oversight and Continuity Act of 2010 gives the Mint greater flexibility in meeting the demand for bullion coins as well as meeting the demand for gold and silver numismatic items.

Congress used to regulate the qualities and quantities of U.S. bullion coins.




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Federal Reserve Ordered to Provide Judge with 20 Gold Documents for Private Review

In what is considered a small, but important victory for the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee (GATA), the Federal Reserve was ordered to provide U.S. District Court Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle 20 documents related to gold for her personal review.

GATA cautioned concerning the decision on its Website that "While Judge Huvelle still could grant at any time the Fed's motion to dismiss GATA's lawsuit, her ruling today at least implies a little skepticism about the Fed and its tactics."

The lawsuit by GATA was filed in order to have the records of the Federal Reserve concerning gold exchanges with foreign banks and institutions. They want records from 1990 onwards to be opened for public scrutiny.

GATA believes the Federal Reserve has engaged in manipulating the market through its policies and actions.

Ron Paul stated, "It is high time Congress insist on getting complete information on what the Fed has been doing and for whom."

Paul chairs the Monetary Subcommittee of the Financial
Services Committee, which has oversight of the Federal Reserve.

The Federal Reserve claims the gold swap agreements aren't subject to the U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Ron Paul, Bernanke's Worst Nightmare, Heading Fed Oversight Panel

In what has probably kept Ben Bernanke up in cold sweats since Republicans took control of the house, were fears nemesis Ron Paul would be named as head of the House subcommittee that oversees the Federal Reserve, and by extension, Bernanke.

Paul isn't going to waste any time in his new role, saying he's going to hit the ground running and have a plethora of hearings on U.S. monetary policy.

He added he's going to renew his effort to have the Federal Reserve undergo a full audit.

Jim Bunning, Senator from Kentucky, whose seat will be taken by Ron Paul's son Rand, said this, “Congress must act to rein in Chairman Bernanke and the Fed before they destroy our currency and permanently damage our economy and financial system. Public awareness of what the Fed is doing is increasing while public opinion of the Fed is falling.”

The Federal Reserve, which has largely received a free pass for decades as to its secretive actions and deals, can't be happy about the renewed interest and focus on them, which is a worst case scenario from their point of view.

Add Ron Paul, who has written a book called "End the Fed" to the mix, and things aren't going to be boring over the next several years concerning the Fed and the increasingly nervous and defensive Ben Bernanke.

Goldman (NYSE:GS) Supports Bernanke Debacle as World Opposes it

Anyone who understands the cause-and-effect of printing money, or as Fed chairman Ben Bernanke now likes to label it: quantitative easing, knows the consequences of inflation, debasing the dollar and creating unsustainable debt levels. For some reason Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has come out in support of Bernanke in this matter. Figures.

Even though Bernanke admits the debt in the U.S. is indeed unsustainable, he continues to create it through printing his money. As commodity investor Jim Rogers has stated a lot: he doesn't know how to do anything else.

Major economies like China, Germany and Brazil have been highly critical of the decision.

Goldman chief economist Jan Hatzius said in a note to clients, "The move will spur gross domestic product growth and reduce the risk of deflation.

“The widespread hostility to the Fed’s actions is misplaced,” Hatzius wrote. “Downside risks to the economic outlook have declined significantly. U.S. inflation is unlikely to become a problem for years.”

Of course it's simplistic to imply the only concern is inflation, as there are many other concerns, including the fact it didn't work before, and is playing havoc with the economic recovery in emerging economies in relationship to their currencies.

Hopefully Ron Paul and a few of his new allies in Washington will work hard to help people understand the disaster the Federal Reserve is, and successfully force an audit upon the central bank.

For gold investors, it's just another good reason to remain faithful to the yellow metal, as it's going to continue to go higher because of the poisonous monetary policy of Bernanke and the Fed.

Fed Admits “Gold Swap Arrangements”

Ron Paul has been pressing the Federal Reserve concerning its outrageous practice of interfering in the gold market through “gold swap arrangements” with foreign banks.

Not only is this an outrage to investors, but the entangling alliances brought about through these arrangement aren't currently under any oversight; one of the reasons the Federal Reserve has been battling Ron Paul so hard on not being audited.

Federal Reserve Board member Kevin M. Warsh recently replied to a request from a lawyer of GATA under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act. concerning these gold swaps, saying, "In connection with your appeal, I have confirmed that the information withheld under Exemption 4 consists of confidential commercial or financial information relating to the operations of the Federal Reserve Banks that was obtained within the meaning of Exemption 4. This includes information relating to swap arrangements with foreign banks on behalf of the Federal Reserve System and is not the type of information that is customarily disclosed to the public. This information was properly withheld from you."

We need to get information from the Federal Reserve on these gold swaps, and also find out what else they are hiding.