This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Monday, November 21st, 2011.

I'm Caleb Brown.

The Federal Reserve is an immoral institution. So said Texas Congressman

Ron Paul during his keynote address at the Cato Institute's 29th annual

monetary conference. This is a portion of Congressman Paul's remarks.

Today the big talk about on the campaign trail around the country and on the hill is the unemployment problem. People want jobs and they say 9% unemployment, 9% unemployment.

And the people feel a lot in the country feel a lot worse than 9% unemployment.

That's serious. but once again they fudge the

figures you know there's no reason to fully trust everything our government

tells us especially when things are going, whether it's on foreign policy or monetary policy, because they use the fear tactic to frighten people into, boy, yeah, the whole world's going to collapse unless we bail out the big banks and the big corporations.

Yes, you know, if we don't invade Iraq, there's going to be a Holocaust and they're going to attack us and drop bombs on us.

And that is endless, the endless fear-monters. to attack us and drop bombs on us.

And that is endless, the endless fear-mongering

to scare the people and the Congress into spending money.

Now, if you didn't have a Federal Reserve,

it would come to a halt.

It wouldn't happen if you weren't able to monetize

debt. You weren't always to have this backstop in saying, well if you haven't taxed

enough and you can't borrow anymore, what would happen if you couldn't

monetize debt?

Interest rates would go up.

And the Congress would say, hey, we have to watch it.

...