Why Not Audit the Federal Reserve?

Amidst all of the debates over health care and stimulus and the Sotamayor nomination is a surprising and growing movement to pass legislation that would authorize an audit of the Federal Reserve. Ron Paul's HR 1207 Audit the Fed bill currently has 277 co-sponsors in the House, including every House Republican, and the companion Senate Bill has 13 co-sponsors, including the self-described socialist Bernie Sanders and one of the most conservative members of the Senate, Jim DeMint.

The video below shows a speech recently made by Senator DeMint regarding this effort. {It's worth watching not only for DeMint's speech, but also to see how a rules gimmick can prevent an amendment from being voted upon).



I think we would all like to know what assets were purchased by the Fed with its trillions in newly created money, and just as important, from whom those assets were purchased. How anyone who claims to believe in free markets, limited government and decentralized power could not be in favor of this is beyond me, yet most mainstream Conservatives seem to be silent on the issue or opposed to the idea.