Do we need the Federal Reserve System?

November 22nd was declared “End the Fed” day by a group of bloggers who support the passage of Representative Ron Paul’s legislation which would repeal the Federal Reserve Act — thereby putting an end to the Federal Reserve System; H.R. 2755.

The Federal Reserve branch in Jacksonville is located on Water Street and was one of 39 target locations nationwide. A massive crowd gathered outside the Jacksonville Landing today as part of the national rally.

The organization said in a press release today that the Federal Reserve Bank, through its inflation of the money supply and the distortion of free markets resulting from its intervention, is responsible for the current financial and economic crisis.

They also hold that the current round of “bailouts” and federal government nationalization of large segments of the financial sector further inflates the US dollar and disrupts the proper functioning of the markets and will ultimately serve to plunge the nation into an even more severe crisis, quite possibly even into a serious depression.

It is becoming obvious now that everyone is trying to get a piece of the $700 billion bailout which is supposed to help bolster the financial services industry. I am certainly not the first to question the efficacy of such a plan.

When I read yesterday that Citigroup is likely to fail if it doesn’t find a buyer — despite the fact that it just laid off over 50,000 employees, I have to ask myself …. isn’t Citigroup the one who was just in a cat-fight with Wells Fargo Bank over Citi’s failed plan to buy Wachovia? Oh, that’s right. They were buying Wachovia with FDIC money and other federal guarantees. Now it looks like they are “priming the pump” for their own piece of the direct bailout extravaganza.

So is there any surprise that organization of everyday citizens are forming to picket and protest what they see as a fundamental weakness in the nations financial system?

Ninety-eight years after the formation of the Federal Reserve System, the “End the Fed!” organization is announcing the initiation of a grassroots, unfunded, transpartisan movement for Sound Money with rallies at every Federal Reserve Bank and office in the country.

Activists will demand an end to private banker control over the nation’s money supply and the return to a hard, commodity backed monetary system. Their slogan is simple and direct: “End the Fed! Sound Money for America!”

In addition to Representative Ron Paul, some other early supporters include Sen. Mike Gravel, Presidential Candidate Chuck Baldwin, Gov. Jesse Ventura, G. Edward Griffin, Gary Franchi, Adam Kokesh, Constitution Party Vice Presidential Candidate Darrell Castle and Cindy Sheehan.

Whether their movement gains any traction remains to be seen. The mission to eliminate the Federal Reserve System is a bit overwhelming for an individual citizen to grasp — first because of the size of the system and secondly because the Fed has been a part of American credit policy for nearly a century.

There is plenty of room for finger-pointing when it comes to the state of our economy. None the less, you have to admire those who are willing to ask the tough questions and take the risks necessary to follow an uncharted path.