Lee Metcalf: “I would like to speak on the topic, Interested in the Interest that Americans Pay for Their Own Currency, and I hope we…”

“I would like to speak on the topic, Interested in the Interest that Americans Pay for Their Own Currency, and I hope we are. I think we should be. The interest owed on our national debt to the Federal Reserve System is a disgrace. One day it will be the single largest budget item in our national budget. It ranks number two presently, but not by much. And Americans pay interest also on their currency. I will repeat that. Americans pay interest also on their currency; indirectly, of course, but it is still true. Currency is borrowed into circulation. Actually, we pay interest on the bonds that needlessly back our currency. The U.S. Treasury could issue our cash without debt or interest as we issue our coins today. Member banks must put up collateral, U.S. interest-bearing bonds, when they place each request for Federal Reserve notes, according to the Federal Reserve Act, section 16, paragraph 2, in the amount equal to that request. The cost to each American is about $100 each year to pay interest on these bonds, or really the cost of renting our cash from the Federal Reserve. So we actually pay a tax on, or a rental fee, to use the Federal Reserve's money. To repeat, our Treasury could issue our currency debt- and interest-free just like we issue our coins debt- and interest-free.”