Gary North

April 26, 2006

This is going to make your day. If it does, send this page to someone else who will also get the joke. Most Americans wouldn't, which is the problem.

The Federal Reserve System, a private corporation with a President-appointed Board of Governors, is the classic monopoly in action: "for the good of the people," of course. It controls the money supply, which in turn influences everything else in the economy.

This makes Professor Ben Bernanke of Princeton America's monopolist numero-uno.

The video keeps repeating this line: "I'll be watching you." That is very good advice. If you value your net worth, you will keep watching Bernanke and his colleagues. That's why I have created these FED-monitoring departments.

But watching is not enough. We need a little satire to get the message across to others, who know nothing of how the FED works. Some grad students at Columbia University's business school have provided a gem. This video does a great job. It takes the Police's "Every Breath You Take," and re-works it. It's better than the original.

Video glossary:

BPS or "bips" refers to a basis point: a hundredth of a percentage point of the yield or the interest rate.

The lyric, "CBS is great," doesn't refer to the TV network. It refers to the Columbia Business School, where Glenn Hubbard is dean. The video is attributed to Dean Hubbard, who was formerly Chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisors, and who was on the short list to become the Chairman of the Federal Reserve System. The inside joke is that Hubbard is supposedly bewailing his missed opportunity. The student doing the lip-sync hing even looks like Dean Hubbard. The outside joke is that Bernanke is a schnook. At one point, "Dean Hubbard" holds up Bernanke's textbook on macroeconomics and moves his lips inaudibly. Look closely. Is he saying what I think he's saying?

I hope you have a high-speed internet connection.

After you see the video, don't forget to return to my site and sign up for my free report, Gary North's Tip of the Week. It's like getting free money in your inbox every Saturday morning. The subscription box is here: www.garynorth.com. (Right underneath the subscription box is a link: Tip of the Week Archive Click it. There, you can read all of the back issues. You will see their practical value.)

Now, crank up those desktop speakers. It's video time! (Then read my final words.)

The student video is better than the original, which is here.

After you see either or both music videos, you will be ready for another one, also on the Federal Reserve System, and a kind of music video. It's on the FED's song and dance. It was produced by the Mises Institute. This is the best introduction to the FED that I have ever seen. Click here.