Ron Paul grills Ben Bernanke, calls for return to gold standard

Texas Congressman and Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul grilled Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday, accusing him of debasing the currency and destroying America’s wealth.

Mr. Paul, a passionate critic of the Fed, slammed the Federal Reserve chairman Wednesday, calling on his congressional counterparts to limit the powers of the monetary institution.

“I guess over the last 30 or 40 years I have criticized the Fed on occasion,” Mr. Paul admitted as he began his opening remarks. “But the Congress deserves some criticism too. The Federal Reserve is a creature of the Congress.”

The Texas Republican then pulled out a silver eagle, a silver coin that has nominal face value of one dollar that is legal tender. Mr. Paul told Bernanke that in 2006, as he took the top spot at the Federal Reserve, an ounce of silver bought about 4 gallons of gas. Today, said Mr. Paul, it buys about 11.

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