By Peter D. Schiff Guest Columnist Last week the U.S. Federal Reserve moved one step closer to acknowledging reality. Unfortunately, it didn’t let that admission move it from a policy course firmly guided by fantasy - meaning the central bank opted to stand pat on interest rates, despite the clear escalation of inflationary pressures. In the policy statement that accompanied that decision last week, Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and the other members of the interest-rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) took an important step in noting that inflationary concerns had taken hold in the country at large. But as it asserted that it expects inflation to moderate this year and next, the Fed gave no indication that these heightened expectations are gaining traction within the FOMC itself. As a result - with Richard Fisher, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, ...

By Peter D. Schiff Guest Columnist Throughout history, governments have always used crises to justify blatant power grabs. All too often, the "expanded government powers" that resulted from the moves remain in place - even after the crisis subsides. This tendency has come into sharp focus here in America recently. Congress signaled that it is preparing to perpetuate the Bush Administration’s domestic wiretapping program, and has even abandoned the pretense that warrantless surveillance be confined to terrorism. Similarly, even though our financial crisis has yet to reach full flower, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson has announced plans to give the U.S. Federal Reserve new and explicit powers to oversee and regulate the financial services industry. However, a sober look at his plan reveals that it is tantamount to giving the fox complete autonomy to guard the henhouse. What few ...