From: The Daily Bell, Bob Chapman on gold, silver, a bank holiday and the monetary elite

Daily Bell: What is the biggest financial challenge the world faces in your opinion?

Chapman: Exposure of the Fed. Who really owns the Fed and what they have been doing since 1913. How the banks and brokerage firms make billions via inside information and the complicity of the SEC in scams, such as Madoff. As I’ve said, along with many others, it all begins with the Fed and a handful of wealthy, unelected bankers meeting in private in a room somewhere deciding on the value of money for you and me.

Daily Bell: Are gold and silver markets manipulated?

Chapman: Gold and silver markets are manipulated, but so are most other markets as well. Under Executive Order 12631 the government does as it pleases in markets. I have the order right here. It is entitled “Working Group on Financial Markets” and it came into force on March 18, 1988 signed, unfortunately, by Ronald Reagan. It’s very short and you could reprint so that your readers understand the full extent of what’s going on. This is by no means a dead letter. When you combine this authority with the authority of the Fed to create money, you are basically dealing with a fairly well-controlled system. It’s certainly not what it was.

By virtue of the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, and in order to establish a Working Group on Financial Markets, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Establishment. (a) There is hereby established a Working Group on Financial Markets (Working Group). The Working Group shall be composed of:

(1) the Secretary of the Treasury, or his designee;

(2) the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, or his designee;

(3) the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or his designee; and

(4) the Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or her designee.

(b) The Secretary of the Treasury, or his designee, shall be the Chairman of the Working Group.

Sec. 2. Purposes and Functions. (a) Recognizing the goals of enhancing the integrity, efficiency, orderliness, and competitiveness of our Nation’s financial markets and maintaining investor confidence, the Working Group shall identify and consider:

(1) the major issues raised by the numerous studies on the events in the financial markets surrounding October 19, 1987, and any of those recommendations that have the potential to achieve the goals noted above; and

(2) the actions, including governmental actions under existing laws and regulations (such as policy coordination and contingency planning), that are appropriate to carry out these recommendations.

(b) The Working Group shall consult, as appropriate, with representatives of the various exchanges, clearinghouses, self-regulatory bodies, and with major market participants to determine private sector solutions wherever possible.

(c) The Working Group shall report to the President initially within 60 days (and periodically thereafter) on its progress and, if appropriate, its views on any recommended legislative changes.

Sec. 3. Administration. (a) The heads of Executive departments, agencies, and independent instrumentalities shall, to the extent permitted by law, provide the Working Group such information as it may require for the purpose of carrying out this Order.

(b) Members of the Working Group shall serve without additional compensation for their work on the Working Group.

(c) To the extent permitted by law and subject to the availability of funds therefore, the Department of the Treasury shall provide the Working Group with such administrative and support services as may be necessary for the performance of its functions.

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