End the ECB

Ron Paul, the Republican congressman from Texas, is currently trying to launch a bill to audit the Fed. Better known as HR 1207 it has already 280 co-sponsors including over 80 Democrats. This clearly proves the need amongst the representatives of the American people to better monitor all the potentially destructive actions that the Fed is conducting at the moment. Although the ultimate goal of Dr. Paul is to end the Fed, I'm glad to see that the basics of his ideas are finally gaining momentum. Like no other Ron Paul understands the wrongdoings of the Fed and central banks in general. Having mastered the sound economic insights of Austrian economists such as Ludwig von Mises he has acted as a lone warrior against the Keynesian establishment for over 30 years. As a free market proponent from Holland I am also in favor of establishing a 100% reserve requirement banking system including a gold standard. Changing the legal code and making sure that fractional reserve banking (check for the fun of it the reserve ratio of ING as of 30-6-2009, Dutch taxpayers should be very afraid) is fraude would make institutions like the ECB as well as deposit insurance redundant. Although the ECB is not privately owned like the Fed, which money to use and against which price should always be for the free market participants to decide, not some central planning agency. Socialism has failed and that has been proved, so why socialize money? Central banks and fractional reserve banking create inflation, moral hazard and boom-bust cycles and should seize to exist. The current financial crisis is a direct product of those disruptive forces. Dishonest or blatantly naive politicians are unfortunately blaming the free markets and ought to read philosphers like Mises, Hayek, Rothbard, Menger and Locke in order to get a smart view on how to deal with a free society. It is depressing to realise that at this very moment millions of young adults worldwide are taught mainstream erroneous Keynesian/Friedmanite economics with all its shortcomings. Reviewing for example the latest Dutch economy exam for the VWO of 2009 one can see that nothing fundamental is taught about money. People take it as given and don't realise how the banking cartel and our politicians have been tampering with money for hundreds of years. Let us Europeans too begin to redesign our financial destiny and join the courageous Ron Paul in his fight against the current monetary system.

Paul Buitink, 22-08-2009