Posted by Andrew Ward on 08/13/09 8:02 PM Last updated 08/13/09 6:58 PM [Newer: Health Care, Whole Foods, and Consumer Choice] [Older: The kind of Change that brings me Hope]

Folks, you've done a great job spreading the word about Audit the Fed.  We've come a long way in demonstrating to the nation that monetary policy is a critical issue, and every day more and more people are waking up to the harm that the Fed has caused our economy.

But we've still got aways to go: there are more people to educate, more signatures to collect, and more work to be done to combat the "big guns" that have come out against HR 1207. That's why we've taken the next step in our efforts by launching AuditTheFed.com, a focused, coalition website with one purpose: to pass the Audit the Fed bill.  Digg the site here.

This website was designed to put you, the liberty-loving activist, in a position to efficiently and effectively promote Audit the Fed to family, friends, neighbors, and strangers alike.  We hope that you find it useful in spreading the word about the central bank's secrecy.

Stay tuned for more from Campaign for Liberty.

Posted 08/13/09 6:27 PM Heather D Port Byron, IL

Woo Hoo! It looks great!

Posted 08/13/09 7:13 PM MRoCkEd Cheshire, CT

Incredible site!

Posted 08/13/09 10:15 PM Matt In Hoboken Cedar Knolls, NJ

I'm very impressed. I signed up and found that it automatically brought up my three federal reps - my congressman and the two senators and it gave all of the pertinent information: whether or not they've cosponsored and how I can contact them. On top of that, there is a sample letter all filled out. Perfect! Very good organization! Thanks.

Posted 08/13/09 10:55 PM Heata Jonesborough, TN

How do we get the bill out of commitee in the House? Getting more co-sponsers is nice, but will that get it out on the floor? If half the House can't do it, what will? How does this work? What can I do? My Rep has co-sponsored it. Does he play a part in getting it to the floor or just the commitee members? I wish there were some kind of action plan so that we could see what needs to be done. I'm starting to get antsy.

Posted 08/14/09 12:52 AM illuminati hater Las Vegas, NV

The site is awesome! Like Matt, I appreciate the fact that the site brings up your Reps, tells you if they've supported HR 1207, and gives you their contact information if they haven't.

Posted 08/14/09 11:10 AM viper88 Riverdale, NY

I'm all about auditing the Fed, but even after watching many videos and reading blogs, I don't know how to convince someone that the bill is important. I hear a lot of "the Fed is privately controlled" rhetoric, but is there some sort of website that has FACTUAL reasons about the Fed being private and why we should audit them? We need to have clear cut evidence and reasons so we don't sound like we are just spewing propaganda like the opposing side does.

Posted 08/14/09 1:19 PM steve5044 New York, NY

Before you all jump on this bandwagon, have you thought about the consequences of what auditing the Fed will bring? Do all of you understand what role the Fed plays in the global economy? The Fed has become increasingly politicized and less independent over the years (thank you Mr. Greenspan) and an audit only further clouds its independence. The Fed should be stripped of all responsibility, except what it was originally created for – setting short term interest rates to maintain price stability. By the way, if you took the time, you can do your own audit of the Fed. Financials are posted on their website...

Posted 08/14/09 1:59 PM Glenn Cumming, GA

Audit the Fed, then End the Fed! The time has come.

Posted 08/14/09 4:28 PM Matt In Hoboken Cedar Knolls, NJ

steve, you're being sarcastic, right?

Posted 08/14/09 7:27 PM take your stand Carlsbad, CA

Sites good for ease of the abitility to contact your representatives. I do have 2 complaints though... The first is I REALLY wish it had a lot more, and detailed information about WHY people should be calling there reps. I posted this as a link, and I can see a lot of people who don't know anything about The Fed not getting enough information to really bother caring... I wish it had a detailed breakdown in laymens terms of the origins of the fed and how it causes bubbles, and how it's been devaluating currency and how the current audits aren't sufficient. Give people a detailed reason to sign the petition, get them informed. Link to books on amazon about the Fed. Maybe have some media articles and essays by prominent and trustworthy people. I think it just doesn't give enough info and it feels more like it was made for people already in the know at the moment. I hope it becomes a resource to teach people new to the Fed the reasons behind the movement and maybe motivate them enough to start doing some readearch themselves. The second complaint is much more minor and there's less to do about it now, but since the site is so new, the petition counter is skewed as far as showing the real support this has.

Posted 08/14/09 7:54 PM gmassi001 Des Moines, IA

A great book to direct people to for more information about the history of central banks and our present Federal Reserve System is "The Creature from Jekyll Island" by G.Edward Griffin. The "Creature" is Fractional-reserve banking, and "Jekyll Island" is the historic resort in Georgia where the Federal Reserve System was conceived in great secrecy in 1910. This book is VERY ENTERTAINING and INFORMATIVE, about the TRUE PURPOSE of the Federal Reserve, without becoming a boring read about a subject that could be "as dry as the dust in a mummy's pocket!" I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!

Posted 08/14/09 9:24 PM ready2makeadifferenc Pearisburg, VA

Several months ago, there was a video about the beginning of the Federal Reserve and how it basically works on c4l website. I think it was from the Mises institute. This is excellent information and maybe should be added to the new site. I would like to be able to find this video again.

Posted 08/14/09 10:53 PM Glenn Cumming, GA

Is this what you were looking for, ready2makeadiffernc? http://mises.org/story/2870 Transcript and video.

Posted 08/15/09 05:54 AM ChadSweigert Annville, PA

Mises made a video I have permanently affixed to my blog here. The link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYZM58dulPE it is approxomately 45 minutes long. If you have trouble with the link, click my name and scroll down a little, there is 2 videos, the first one, or the one on the left is it. This is an extremely proffessional and well informing video. It is FILLED with facts and examples of the Feds origins, history of fractional lending and not just a bunch of gray area information. Lew Rockwell, Joe Salerno, Edwin Vierra, Hans Hoppe and even Ron Paul are all very prominent names in economics. I reccommend this video above all for a first time primer. If you watch it and agree I can set you up with a handfull of other videos and a very short reading list that is easy and powerful to digest. The thing you have to be careful about in my experience when trying to convince people to read Free market or Libertarian literature is they instantly get defensive and imply Social Science, matter of opinion type arguements. I have found that it is always great to utilise situations where you can point to a piece of literature and explain that if you apply the arguments to a specific situation, people become intrested. At work I was able to get 3 people to read Economics In One Lesson by explaining the broken window theory and actually applying it to workplace practice.

Posted 08/15/09 1:58 PM steve5044 New York, NY

Matt - no. If you believe the Fed should be eliminated then you more than likely do not understand the Federal Reserve System and the role central banks play in global economy's. Independence is what a functioning central bank needs, not more political influence. And if you believe the Fed is a government agency, you are wrong. And yes, you can do your own audit of the Fed. Take the time and go to their web site you will find a balance sheet, and some other useful information And to be clear, I am not defending the Fed. They need to be held accountable. Dissolving it is not the solution

Posted 08/15/09 3:26 PM ChadSweigert Annville, PA

Having a central bank to compete in global economics is merely taking away independance of the individual in order for a central bank to be independant to the global economy. Taking away one persons property to give to another is not a solution. Thats what the government does to every american in order to pay back the credit it purchases from the federal Reserve. We can make international trade and investment without a middle man. One bank does not need a central bank to exchange currency. One man does not need a bank to exchange goods. It is a veil that requires you to believe without a global competion our government would be poor, but in this confusion you find the bank impoverishes us to make the government wealthy. It is age old politics my friend. No matter how much a man means well, if he wishes to Rule the people, it is still that he wants to Rule the people. I'd like to make a comparison quick about a type of business in the transportation industry. There is a business of Brokering for customers their transportation services. These "middle-men" who do exactly what our salespeople do, basically get a tarriff from numerous transport companies then offer a service to a customer from a company that they feel best fits their needs. They take care of the research and the paperwork, and all the customer has to do is write the check. While this sounds lucrative, the real loser is the customer. They never interact with the actual service provider. They rely on the broker to tell them what is best for them. Their "salesman" is not directly affilliated with the service provider and communication is cumbersome. The responsability to operate good business deteriorates and problems never result with respectful answers. It just simply shows that totalitarian idealism is an aspect of business, economics, government and society. As Hayek said in a Forward, "Only if we understand why and how certain kinds of economic controls tend to paralyze the driving forces of a free society, and which kinds of measures are particularly dangerous in this respect, can we hope that social experimentation will not lead us into situations none of us want." [Road To Serfdom] A Federal Reserve being a middle man to the global economy, and a destructive force to the value of the united states currency should be abolished. It does us no good in either direction. Still, many adhere to the thought that they are paying for this service. The fact is we have a choice, we just have a totalitarian monopoly on our exchange occupying the pivot. Should you also be intrested, Murray Rothbard makes a simple yet well compelling and fully historical account of how we as a global economy have done without the Fed for hundreds of years before just 100 years ago and how the powers converged to become what we call "The" central bank. Have a read of The Case Against the Fed. Also a link to the book Hayek's quoted from: http://mises.org/store/Case-Against-the-Fed-The-P69.aspx http://mises.or g/store/Road-to-Serfdom-The-P252.aspx

Posted 08/15/09 4:06 PM steve5044 New York, NY

I've read The Case Against the Fed. Rothbards thinking is flawed. His premise that inflation is a function of the money supply and money supply only is incorrect. Inflation is a function of velocity and output, as well as money supply. I have also studied Hayek. His theory of free banking is inefficient and not applicable in a world of banking super markets and 30:1 leverage. And why do you compare the services of a middle man to a tax? if the customer does not want to 'lose', he does not hire a middle man. If he does not have the time nor expertise, he hires the middle man, and the middle man gets paid for his service. Sounds efficient to me

Posted 08/15/09 5:33 PM ChadSweigert Annville, PA

The scenario is dirived from, that when a middle man monopolizes the service people tend to not see what they gain by choice. The silent takeover of that liberty is bound to a future generation unwillingly. The particular example was something I observed where I work. The broker was not communicating issues clearly from the customer and their business suffered. The broker actually lost the business and we gained it, even though the customer used us before, and after, they changed services. Once they dealt with us direct they found that when they communicated needs they were met with swifter and greater response and personal intrest. If I run a business and i'm not intrested in learning how the services I employ generally work, I am bound to fail. I wouldn't retain a man who is hired to deliver mail from office to office if I find he cannot ever deliver the mail to the right place. A service should be performed if I understand what it does for my business, not blindly allow someone to operate an importand function who claims they do it the best, and charge x$. Accountability for failure to do a job or service is termination of employment or service. So in hindsight, when poster says: "They need to be held accountable. Dissolving it is not the solution" the phrase is an oxymoron. The service needs to be terminated if it is insufficient at performing it's function, or in this case the law needs abolished. We cannot tolerate failure and slap it on the wrist with a wet noodle! If another central bank wants to compete in the world market so be it. But stay out of the pockets of congress who is ultimately responsable for the legal tender. Quit regulating a national intrest rate that serves special intrests and not the people. "Inflation is a function of velocity and output, as well as money supply." In a fiat exchange I can buy into the theory and debate, BUT the worlds central banking system has in 150 years proven it does not work with bubble's and busts, deflations and hyper inflations and the midst of a possable 2nd great depression. However under a commodity backed issuance it would be nearly impossable. Remember where Mr Rothbard brings his arguement from. A stable commodity that has historicly remained valuable such as precious metals or gems can eliminate the need of fractional lending, and let it become a private market that is independant again. Unless Poland found a 1 ton vein of gold tomarrow, Gold is pretty much a strong valued commodity. "inefficient and not applicable in a world of banking super markets" This is built from the principal of a free people as well as the free bank. It implies the bariers internally. It takes a society that is not bound by the forces of a socialism agenda for the success. We had at one point that possability but after the 1920's it remained only theory because the only place without Socialism began its own socialist program after the central bank destroyed the economy, the National Recovery Act, under the Roosevelt administration. This is pretty much what Obama is going to recreate, and we'll be plunged into another war, or worse, america will defy the leaders and commit to violent revolutionary change which will divide america in civil war.

Posted 08/16/09 04:42 AM galtgulch Southborough, MA

The Ludwig von Mises Institute website is a awesome source of information. There is a search feature there and if you enter federal reserve you will find links to pdf files which are enlightening. www.mises.org

Posted 08/17/09 12:17 PM Glenn Cumming, GA

Excellent article to support ending the FRS - it is a Ponzi scheme. http://tinyurl.com/ov9pse

Posted 08/17/09 4:30 PM steve5044 New York, NY

Are you seriously advocating a return to the gold standard? You do realize this means the Chinese and Indians would dictate our monetary policy? There is no such thing as a stable commodity. And to the poster earlier that said "But stay out of the pockets of congress who is ultimately responsible for the legal tender. Quit regulating a national interest rate that serves special interests and not the people.". This is exactly what I advocate when I see we need a completely independent Fed. The last time this occurred was in the early 80's with Reagan and Volcker. Auditing the Fed only puts Congress deeper into the Fed's pocket.