Retraction and the Fed

I have a former student who lives in Iowa and reads my blog regularly (thanks, Karen!) She diligently took it upon herself to check in with Senator Charles Grassley after reading my "Audit the Fed is dead" post from a couple of months ago. I am happy to stand corrected on this. I reported what I remember reading at the time, which was that Grassley had blocked DeMint's efforts on "Audit the Fed." In fact, Grassley had sponsored a similar piece of legislation, the Federal Reserve Sunshine Act. I was correct, unfortunately, in citing Senator Richard Shelby, also a Republican, as the culprit who essentially neutered the bill by very narrowly defining its potential auditory functions to a few specific tasks.

Charles Grassley, in spite of the fears of some conservatives, has proved to be a stalwart, refusing to give an inch on the so-called "public option" in the Senate health care negotiations. I don't ever want to convey mistruth, but in this case, I am more than happy to retract my unwarranted criticism of such a determined advocate for transparency in government.

The Federal Reserve will be getting its share of attention in the coming weeks, with the recent release of a book by one of the Fed's harshest critics. Ron Paul's End the Fed will hit bookstores this week. In celebration of that event, I want to highlight this article, in the "Huffington Post", of all places, a site which I normally do not recommend, but which, in this instance, provides a fascinating look at the destinies of those intrepid economists who have departed from Federal Reserve orthodoxy in recent years. Credit where credit is due; Ryan Grim has assembled a fantastic research piece here, which makes for scintillating reading.