Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke
Congress woman Susan Davis (CA-D)
“The Reserve has this autonomy because you do not want politics to influence monetary policy best left to the academics and economists. Current Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, for example, graduated from Harvard and later earned a Ph.D. in economics. The system was designed to give the most educated and best trained to make crucial decisions.”– Susan Davis’s exact words written to me justifying Federal Reserve secrecy.
Logging in to check my e-mail today I was surprised to find an e-mail addressed to me from San Diego based Congress woman Susan Davis. At first I thought I had accidentally placed my self on a mailing list, to which I then sputtered inappropriate comments at the innocent computer screen. I despise unwanted mailing lists. Anyways I opened it to find it personally addressed to me regarding the Federal Reserve.
Reading the first paragraph of the e-mail, my memory was spontaneously jogged back into remembering that I did indeed write to Davis nine months prior. About nine months ago, I wrote an investigative paper in my critical thinking class at San Diego City College about the economically damaging private practices of the Federal Reserve. Part of my paper included an interview aspect, so I thought, “what the hell, lets see what Davis has to say about it.” Before writing to her, I had no real hope in her reading the questions that I posed to her about the Fed, since it had become blatantly obvious that she denies many issues concerning the Fed and does not support any real transparency between Congress and this institution. She does not support H.R 1207, “The Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009,” and refused to co-sponsor the bill even though many San Diego residents have urged her to do so.
Needless to say I was surprised that Davis, or one of her interns, even wrote me back. However my enthusiasm for this response shortly turned into disappointment when I realized that I would never get my questions answered, especially from her. This was a chance for Susan to redeem herself, to prove to me that she cared, to persuade me to believe in the system. Sadly it was uninspiring and downright insulting.
Davis’s responses to my questions were laughable, immature, and ill conceived. Either she should brush up on her politician books or fire her interns. Considering the fact that she did not even answer my questions, it made me even more outraged when she unsuccessfully tried to justify no transparency and oversight by implying that Americans should just trust the Federal Reserve and all business men for that matter because, according to Susan, “The system was designed to give the most educated and best trained to make crucial decisions.” I may not hold a degree in economics from Harvard, but I am sharp enough to know when a private corporation like the Federal Reserve is abusing its power and refusing to let congress investigate exactly what they did with the TARP money.
So Susan, if you really are saying what I think you are saying, then what you are ultimately suggesting is that American citizens are too ignorant to understand the mechanics of this institution and should just tune out. If we did exactly what you are suggesting, which would be leaving important decisions up to the people who are more educated and powerful in that area, would that not totally defeat the whole purpose of Democracy?
However, I should not feel so maddened by this, American politics today no longer engage in conversing intelligently with citizens. My experience is just another prime example among many where our representatives just want us to shut up and deal with it, instead of trying to open up the table for serious discussion.
Go watch some more reality TV and don’t worry about a thing, because we have wealthy,ivy league scholars to make vital decisions for you, that will directly influence the course and well-being of your life!
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