Ron Paul Confronts Ben Bernanke

Although the topic is grim and admittedly boring to most, I still enjoy watching Congressman Ron Paul interrogate/lecture Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. In the clip below, Ron Paul (again) demonstrates why he is the only Presidential candidate who truly understands economics and the disastrous effects the Federal Reserve's policies will have on the economy.

It's a pity that the Paul/Bernanke question-and-answer periods are limited to such short blocks of time. Congressman Paul's line of questioning was beginning to get to the core of Bernanke's flawed economic policies, despite Bernanke's re-phrasing of Paul's questions.

During the first part of the clip, Congressman Paul alludes to increasingly intimate relationship between big business and government, a philosophy defined by Benito Mussolini as "fascism" or "corporatism." Certainly, given the recent bailout of Bear Stearns and the Treasury's proposed increases in Federal Reserve power, one would be hard pressed to make an argument to the contrary.

For a more in-depth examination of the parallels between the notorious fascist governments of the 1930's and 40's, see Lawrence W. Brit's article, "Fascism Anyone?" or, for a prettier version of the same article, see here.

Regardless of whether or not you agree with Congressman Paul's opinions on other issues, he deserves your attention when it comes to economics. As a man well-versed in the writings and teachings of the Austrian School of Economics, his advice and analysis deserves a much larger audience.