The (relative) nobodies who provide most of the written material i.e. propaganda for the Fed may or may not be true believers, but how could you ever tell? It would be as damaging to their careers and financial prospects if they expressed doubts about the Fed, as it would be to a Catholic bishop who rolled his eyes and asked if anyone seriously believed any more in the perpetual virginity of the mother of Christ.

But I’m pretty certain that the people who actually count at the Fed, the ones who influence policy rather than being apologists for it, are not in any way what you would call “true believers”. If they were true believers, they would not be fighting in the courts to maintain the secrecy of their decisions. They would be proudly publishing their meeting minutes and accompanying data and analysis, rather than announcing, “We’re launching QE2 with $600 Billion to, um, create jobs and no we won’t provide any calculations or deliberations as to how we arrived at that precise figure, see you, bye.”

The smoking guns will probably not be revealed until long after the fact. This follows the pattern of the previous Great Depression, where memos and diaries eventually surfaced revealing some comments by NY Fed insiders to the effect that, “The public would certainly roast us if they ever suspected what we’re doing in here.” See Rothbard’s America’s Great Depression, e.g.

On [head of the Bank of England] Norman’s appointment as Governor during the War, Strong hastened to promise him his services. In 1920, Norman began taking annual trips to America to visit Strong, and Strong took periodic trips to visit Europe. All of these consultations
were kept highly secret and were always camouflaged as “visiting with friends,” “taking a vacation,” and “courtesy visits.”

What amazes me is how many economists truly just do not get it. Or, if they do, how many are willing to be complicit as the Fed effectively robs from all of us by inflating our dollar.

interesting post, thanks for Shearing, ………..