Rand Paul

I'm more convinced that there aren't more systemic events than there are systemic firms.

The true definition of 'inflation' is when you increase the money supply.

So you are saying, if you buy $300 billion worth of U.S. Government debt, that is not inflationary.

It has nothing to do with monetary policy or interest rate manipulation.

The Federal Reserve, in collaboration with the giant banks, has created the greatest financial crisis the world has ever seen.

I would hate to think of a scenario in which CRA responsibility and duties don't continue to reside over on the regulatory side also.

According to government statistics, but not according to the consumers. Private sources say that the consumer price index is much higher than what the government reports.

Inflation is a monetary issue and we just doubled the money supply in a short period of time.

I argue there is a real challenge to the consumer in two points. One, the consumer is always losing purchasing power.

Right now, there is a big grass-roots effort by consumers, who are saying that the Congress has not fulfilled its responsibility in knowing exactly what the Federal Reserve does.

I find it rather fascinating that we are talking about where the regulations will go, whether it is going to be in the Fed or a new agency.

No other industry has that much power to select its regulators.

It is absurd to have a government agency with this kind of power be the agency immune from such audits.

This is an affront to the Constitution which will be exacerbated if we transfer more power to the Federal Reserve without mandating that all its Governors be appointees of those who are elected by the voters.

But here in this country, if you happen to want to use silver and gold as legal tender, you go to jail.

The middle class gets wiped out because the value goes down.

Who suffers? The consumer, the people who lose their jobs, the poor people, the middle class.

The Federal Reserve is hardly a protector of the consumer when it distorts the interest rate that is paid to the savers.

The systematic destruction of the value of our money has not helped our consumers; our consumers are destroyed by the loss of their purchasing power.

But when you prop-up policies that are bad, ultimately the consumer is hurt by these regulations because the market doesn't hold them in check.

I am concerned about the history of regulation. We don't have a real good record that regulations prevent problems.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank you for holding these hearings because I think they are very important.

The Fed is a government unto itself. You know, they hire and make their wages and it doesn't go through the ordinary process.

Didn't you find out that we are not supposed to do that around here? We don't have that much concern about it.

So transparency, how can you be against transparency? But I believe the Congress would be more effective in its oversight of the Federal Reserve if it concentrated much more on outcomes and much less on process.