Funny you should mention this, SB. Just last weekend, I was at a party with some Republican friends of mine. I am more less an outcast within this group due to my vocal support of RON PAUL. A bright crowd, but young, and too loyal to The PARTY. We talked of deficits, and the looming economic problems. We talked about interest rates, the housing bubble etc. One person said, "I think the Democrats will try to politicize the Fed if Obama gets in." (Translation, everyone rally now behind McCain!).

I said, "Look at what Greenspan did in the 1990s, particularly 1996. He refused to take away the punch bowl, though he knew it was inflationary. But he was castigated roundly by Congress for his "Irrational Exuberance" quote, and cynically reversed course. Then, when everything melted down in 2000-2001, he created the housing bubble with low interest rates."

"I thought the housing BOOM was caused by sub-prime borrowers."

"No, the low interest rates below market clearing levels caused the bubble. It artificially cheapened money. The subprime borrowers just made it worse when they piled on."

"Well, if we got rid of the Fed, what body would regulate or set interest rates?"

"The market. You see, interest rates are nothing more than the price of money. When they are set by the Fed, it is central planning of monetary policy. You see, we haven't had a free market in the price of money since 1913, when the Fed was created."

This was a new concept for many present.

At this point, someone complimented me, "You sound like Ron Paul or Bob Barr!"

As Dines said in his interview with Eric King, "We're too stupid to survive." Something to that effect. And it's true. We deserve what we're going to get, whatever that may be.