Rand Paul Has $186 Billion Problems and the Fed IS One - THE One

That's how much the institution sent to banks in 2024 NOT to loan money to you and me. #41

Ron and Rand Paul understand the critical need to shield your assets from government-engineered inflation.

The debasement of the dollar originates from a single source — the Federal Reserve.

Isn't it time to safeguard your wealth and secure your family’s legacy?

Like his father Ron Paul, Sen. Rand Paul has been pushing for an audit of the Federal Reserve since he first entered the Senate in 2011.

Sen Paul wrote on X in late July, “The Federal Reserve Transparency Act, famously known as ‘Audit the Fed,’ isn’t just legislation. It’s part of a movement my father, Ron Paul, started to bring sunlight to the most secretive institution in Washington.”

‘No Other Institution Has So Much Unchecked Power’

For years, Paul has made the point that the Federal Reserve does so much damage and no one is allowed to see what they’re doing.

The senator recently wrote at Fox Business, “The Federal Reserve (the ‘Fed’) is a behemoth agency with the ability to manipulate and control the entire American economy. Our jobs, our finances, our savings and, ultimately, our livelihoods — all of them are subject to the decisions made at the Fed.”

“But the Fed’s deliberations and operations happen behind closed doors,” Paul noted. “It’s time for us to know how the Fed makes its decisions. Congress must take immediate steps to provide transparency for the American people.”

“No other institution has so much unchecked power,” he added.

Paul noted that the Fed wielded its unlimited authority during the COVID-19 pandemic to rack up $5 trillion in debt on its balance sheet.

Just ‘poof.’

Shouldn’t elected officials at least know about what they are up to? Shouldn’t all Americans?

Did you know part of how the Fed manipulates money is pay banks not to loan money to businesses and individuals? So the banks just sit on the money?

The Fed Paid Banks $186 Billion in 2024 to NOT Loan Money

The senator broke down how the Federal Reserve’s inflation manipulation through bank payments has done so much harm in recent years (emphasis added).

Paying interest to banks for holding Fed funds was originally intended to control inflation. And from 2008 to 2016, the interest rate on reserves was a paltry 0.25%, and annual payments averaged $5 billion.

But the situation quickly became dramatically different. Today’s interest rate is over 4% and, subsequently, the Fed’s subsidy to banks skyrocketed. To be clear, what this means is that the Fed has paid hundreds of billions of dollars to banks for not lending money to consumers.

In 2022, the Fed paid nearly $60 billion to banks. In 2023, the Fed payments to banks rose to over $176 billion, and in 2024, the Fed’s subsidy to banks rose to about $186 billion. And 44% of these subsidies are paid to foreign banks.

$186 billion to block bank loans to Americans who might need them and do things for the economy to boot. The free market. Capitalism.

The Fed is in the way.

“It gets worse,” Paul added.

Uh-oh.

“The Fed is not profitable and hasn’t been profitable for several years,” Paul noted. “In fact, I have argued that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the leviathan agency that infamously receives funding from the Fed, should be shut down because the Fed has been operating at a loss since 2022.”

Yes, shut down that bureau.

Ending the Fed altogether would also be a good solution.

An Audit on the Horizon?

One light of hope is Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying in late July that the Federal Reserve needs a “thorough” audit.

Bessent said we need to "examine the entire Federal Reserve institution and whether they have been successful[.] Has the organization succeeded in its mission?”

“All these PhDs over there, I don’t know what they do."

As noted, Sen. Rand Paul already has the legislation to get this done.

Support from the Treasury Secretary and this administration could be helpful, to say the least.

End and/or Audit the Fed. Any particular order works.

This needs sunlight. Badly.

With Trump back in office, there’s fresh hope for economic growth. But can he really protect American retirement savings?

Major challenges that lie ahead — rising debt, inflation, and global trade issues — are beyond the control of any single leader.

Where have many Americans turned when times get tough? Gold.