GOP presidential hopeful Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, took some time off the campaign trail to confront one of his most frequent targets: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
The two men sat face to face at a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Wednesday in which Bernanke delivered his semiannual monetary policy report to Congress. And while Paul took a pass at criticizing Bernanke himself and focused on the institution in his opening remarks, he quickly laid into the Fed chairman in the question period.
“Do you do your own shopping?” Paul asked Bernanke, who affirmed that he did.
“So you’re aware of the prices,” Paul said before launching into his familiar criticism of inflation and the depreciation of paper money. He held up a silver ounce and touted its sustained purchasing power, and urged Bernanke to consider competing currencies.
Both men acknowledged their adversarial relationship.
“I have criticized the Fed on occasion,” Paul joked in his opening statement. And Bernanke drew laughs from the committee when he followed a string of criticism from Paul with, “First of all, good to see you again,” before responding to the Texas congressman. He got in few words but said he'd be happy to talk with Paul about his ideas.
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