On Friday, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke gave a speech claiming that the economy is finally headed on the right track. He stated at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s annual economic symposium that "despite this recent slowing, however, it is reasonable to expect some pickup in growth in 2011 and in subsequent years."

Back in June, the Washington Times reported on what seemed then to be a straightforward exchange between Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke:

As lawmakers continue to question all involved in the 2008 deal that brought securities firm Merrill Lynch under the command of Bank of America Corp., questions arise as to the legality of the Federal Reserve's role in the negotiations.

Stanford economics professor and creator of the Taylor Rule, John Taylor, had an interesting article in the Financial Times on Tuesday.  He explores options for government to find a way out of its monstrous debt and what effects those options might have on the United States' credit rating and tax burden.  He writes,  

Beyond the $1.75 trillion in mortgage related assets and treasury securities the Federal Reserve already has committed to buying, the board said in its April meeting that it was not ruling out buying even more private assets.  Further intervention in the market to purchase more private assets will only prolong the recessionary pain we're feeling now.  The Fed should never have purchased any of their assets and the sooner it discloses what it has bought and how much it's lost, the better for the economy.  Those privileged banks should face market tests of profit and loss rather than receiving bailouts for bad decisions from the Federal Reserve.

As of Dec. 31, the Federal Reserve faces $9.6 billion in unrealized losses on $74 billion in assets from Bear Stearns and AIG.  An unrealized loss represents the current value of the asset versus its face value.  The central bank will realize the losses if the principle is not returned.  According to Bloomberg, "The central bank lent $2 trillion to financial institutions and has not disclosed information about most of the collateral backing those loans."  While it's unlikely that all $2 trillion of the collateral the central bank has accepted is as risky as the assets taken from Bear Stearns and AIG, the Fed may still face substantial risk.  

Across the country in various towns, people are printing private currencies backed by American dollars.  USA Today reports that there are at least five different private currencies circulating in the country.  

The Treasury released their plan on Monday to clean banks' balance sheets.  A five page document distributed by the Treasury offers some limited details.  It looks like the plan has the government becoming the largest hedge fund with potential to invest up to $970 billion in risky assets.  $30 billion more will come from private investors who will, according to the Treasury, accurately price the assets because their own money will be involved.

Ron Paul explains to Congress that we can't re-inflate the housing bubble.

Ron Paul has introduced H.R.1207: Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009 to Congress and it's been referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.  According to Campaign for Liberty, "The Fed has so far resisted attempts to provide information on how it is spending the bailout money and currently dictates how accountable it will be to Congress.  Since its creation in 1913, the Fed's control of money and credit in this country has resulted in a 95% devaluation of our dollar and the piling up, just in the last year, of almost $10 trillion in bailouts and loans."