When the Federal Reserve and five other central banks announced on Wednesday that they would inject liquidity into the global financial system, markets around the world cheered, but Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, the chief Fed-hater in the Republican presidential field, called the move “sort of a reflection of a panicky-type reaction to get everybody doing this.”
“They must really be worried to get together like this, but it can’t be good in the long run,” Paul said on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street Wednesday. “All they are doing is a form of worldwide quantitative easing.” Markets, which soared on the announcement, are just reaping a “temporary benefit” of the action before the dollar takes a hit and inflation goes up, he said.
Greece should have liquidated its debt and defaulted two years ago, Paul argued. “They shouldn’t be propping this up.”
Paul added that there was a “one out of 20 million” chance he would follow in Texas businessman Ross Perot’s footsteps and run as an independent as Perot did in 1992, citing the country’s bias towards Democrats and Republicans. “You can’t get on ballots. You can’t get in the debates…. We have a very undemocratic system,” he said.
Get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox. Sign up for National Journal's morning alert, Wake-Up Call, and afternoon newsletter, The Edge. Subscribe here.
Leave A Comment