I tuned into Bob Brinker's AM show while doing my errands on Saturday and caught a spiel in which he denigrated the anti-central banking views of "a congressman," whom he refused to name but obviously meant Ron Paul, contending that monetary policy would revert to Congress in absence of the "unpoliticized" Federal Reserve. His concern seems to be that we'd experience hyperinflation rather than the insidious monetary dilution under the thumb of the Reserve chairman. I applaud Brinker's distaste for Congress, but he seems eager to assume it's one or the other.
Is he right? Would any powers relinquished by the Fed fall to Congress, or would Congress need to annex them legislatively?
Don't fall for the limited options ploy. It is similar to the straw man arguments for war. BB is giving two options on the monopoly creation of money and credit in society. What about a third option like allowing competing currencies? Or a better option which is to have government get completely out of the money and credit creation business and let private parties pick up the slack?
Legally speaking, I think that only Congress or one of its receivers of delegated power can print money. You'd have to look at the legal tender cases of the late 19th century and the language of the federal reserve act of 1913, but I'm fairly certain that if the Fed didn't have the power to print money that Congress would have to have that power unless the laws were changed and of course it says in the Constitution that only Congress can coin money and regulate its value, that power is expressly denied to the states and individuals.
Should the Fed actually become e branch of treasury (Alex Jones certainly wants that, and he has quite some followers) then hyperinflation would come within five years. As stupid as central banking is, at least a semi-private-bit-highly-regulated central bank minimizes the damage being done not unlike Hoppe’s monarch minimizes the damage his taxes do as compared to what an elected assembly would.
But of course, as it has been said here, there are more than two options. The best, form my point of view, would be to just abrogate legal tender and fully privatize the Fed, turning it into just an other bank.
If, besides that, one would also eliminate supervision and IP laws, the laws would indeed have n way to stop people printing their own dollars, and the good old piece of paper would go down the toilet. But I see that three miracles are just too much to ask.
IP is in the Constitution too though.
"To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries."
Either way, it doesn't matter. Only Congress has the power to coin money and by extension print bills of credit. They can delegate that power to independent or dependent agencies but they cannot give it to the states or individuals by law.