Ron Paul: Still no fan of the Fed, but OK with Bernanke briefing

Paul, the author of a book titled End the Fed, currently chairs the House Financial Services subcommittee that oversees the Fed, and has pushed for an audit of the central bank. 

His CNBC comments followed up on a statement he released Wednesday, in which he was not so positive on Bernanke’s performance in the news conference and continued to criticize the Fed for devaluing the dollar and causing inflation.

“Although Mr. Bernanke predictably provided no substantive information, the American people want real answers about Fed bailouts, lending to foreign banks, and most of all inflation,” said Paul, who formed an exploratory committee this week for another potential run for president. “Mr. Bernanke continues to ignore his culpability for the inflation all Americans suffer due to the Fed’s relentless monetary expansion.”

In his news conference, Bernanke noted that inflation had increased of late, which he blamed on higher prices for gasoline and commodities. But he also said that, while the Fed will be watching closely, the central bank expected inflation to return to more normal levels. 

Bernanke also called his briefing a next step in the Fed’s attempts to become more transparent, noting that it was only within the last 20 years that the bank publicly announced when it changed interest rates. 

Paul, in his appearance on CNBC, stressed that he did not approve of the Fed’s old way of communication.

“I think it’s great that you didn’t have to wait till next week,” he said. “I remember when they wouldn’t release anything for weeks and the markets, you know, agitated — ‘What did they decide? What did they decide?’ “