The Federal Reserve - A Study In Fraud

In a previous article entitled “Government: ‘A Seedy Circus … Perpetually In Debt’,” government was likened to Larsen E. Whipsnade, the character played by the one-of-a-kind W. C. Fields in the 1939 movie “You Can’t Cheat An Honest Man.” Characterizing Leviathan government as an individual, even one as large as Whipsnade, was a stretch. Fields’ fans objected because he was reasonably harmless, likeable and entertaining, certainly not adjectives one would apply to our modern-day State.

Ben Bernanke as Larsen E. Whipsnade

If comparing government to Fields’ character is improper, then why not compare individuals in that institution to Whipsnade. Surely there is no shortage of characters (clowns?) that could qualify as circus employees. The commonality between the Fields’ character and most high government officials is that both are out to dupe the people.

Barack Obama doesn’t make the cut, only because he is unlikeable and a genuine fool rather than pretending. Jay Carney is bumbling enough, but only haplessly acting on the orders of others. Eric Holder is too unlikeable and probably too devious to be a carnival barker. His aspirations could not be satisfied in small circus towns. Additionally he is too easy to see through. Timmy Geithner might have qualified, but he’s gone now.That leaves Ben Bernanke.

Mr. Bernanke fits the role quite nicely. He is bumbling, likeable and reasonably harmless, at least as a person. He seems a victim of circumstances, a man out of his comfort zone. But his clinching qualification is his modus operandi which is identical to that of a “carnie.” [For those unfamiliar with the term "carnie," Wikipedia defines it as follows: "Carny or carnie is a slang term used in North America and, with showie, in Australia for a carnival (funfair) employee, and the language they use, who runs a "joint" (booth), "grab joint" (food stand), game, or ride at a carnival, boardwalk or amusement park."]

Like a carnie, everything Mr. Bernanke says and does is aimed at deception. A modern day Federal Reserve Chairman must be like a carnie. The primary difference between a carnie and a Fed Chairman is the veneer of sophistication and false omniscience. Gary Dorsch contrasts what the Fed used to do with what it has become:

More