Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Federal Reserve Loses Secrecy Suit, May Have to Prove Just How Accountable it Is (hint: not at all)

The Federal Reserve lost an appeal March 19 in a bid to keep hidden the details of its estimated $2 trillion in bailouts to bankers around the world, prompting celebration among anti-Fed campaigners and promises of a continued fight from the banking cartel.

A lower court ruled in August last year that the central bank must release the information under a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the Bloomberg media empire. But the Fed refused. Bloomberg had argued that the public had a right to know what was going on since U.S. taxpayers were “involuntary investors.”

“When an unprecedented amount of taxpayer dollars were lent to financial institutions in unprecedented ways and the Federal Reserve refused to make public any of the details of its extraordinary lending, Bloomberg News asked the court why U.S. citizens don’t have the right to know,” said Bloomberg editor-in-chief Mathew Winkler after the lower court’s ruling. “We’re gratified the court is defending the public’s right to know what is being done in the public interest.”

Don't worry, they're appealing and they'll likely win because they're the Fed and they're not really accountable to anyone. Sure, on paper there is Congressional oversight, but would you trust Congress to oversee something as confusing (well, it shouldn't be, but it is) as our monetary system? (They've done SUCH a good job so far!)

Posted via web from thepete's posterous

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