C-SPAN-Wed July 16th 10AM EST: Bernanke vs Ron Paul

Posted July 16th, 2008 by Michael Nystrom

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke continues with his semi-annual testimony before Congress Wednesday morning. Bernanke will face Dr. Paul and the Congressional Committee on Financial Services on Wednesday July 16 at 10:00 a.m. EDT. Be sure to tune in on CNBC, Bloomberg, or CSPAN. To watch online, tune into CSPAN.org.

It was six and a half years ago that I first saw Ron Paul, live on CNBC, during Greenspan’s February 2002 Monetary Policy Report to Congress. Dr. Paul began by comparing the US financial system to Enron! I simply could not believe my ears. Here is an excerpt of the exchange:

Ron Paul to Greenspan (2/27/2002): In many ways I feel that the system you have been asked to manage is similar to being asked to manage an Enron system, because Congress is notoriously in favor of deficit spending. We are currently expanding the national debt at $250 billion per year, and we have nearly a $6 trillion debt. Now we create that debt by buying votes. We spend a lot of money....

Truer words were never spoken. I realized immediately that Dr. Paul was a bona fide hero for going head to head with the then near god-like figure of Greenspan. I was so impressed that I transcribed the whole exchange from CSPAN's video system later that evening (there was no YouTube back then, kids). The complete transcript of that exchange remains, for posterity’s sake on my super old blog, Depression2.tv.

Some things have changed in those 6-1/2 years, and some have not. Greenspan is gone from the scene and mostly disgraced, but Ron Paul is still here and more respected than ever. The national debt has grown by over 50%, and is now closer to $9.5 trillion! And as recent events indicate, we're that much closer to a systemic financial crisis.

When I think of how I randomly heard Dr. Paul that morning on live TV, I can’t help but wonder how many new supporters he'll pick tomorrow, and how far that influence will extend. Be sure to tune in, and let your friends know.

http://www.dailypaul.com/