Crypto Critics' Corner

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Episode 166 – End the Fed

End the Fed – Crypto Critics' Corner

Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey discuss their fear that Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and DOGE will destroy the dollar by going after Federal Reserve independence.Additional resources: Coverage of Elon Musk imagining problems at Fort KnoxFederal Reserve AuditsAdditional episodes mentioned in this episode: Episode 163 – What the Elon Musk coup means for FinanceEpisode 164 – CFPB RIP 🪦Episode 165 – Elon Musk’s Valentine’s Day MassacreEpisode 55 – Company Towns – Past, Present, and Future (feat. Dr. Ángela Vergara)This episode was recorded on February 19th, 2025.

Cas Piancey and Bennett Tomlin discuss their fear that Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and DOGE will destroy the dollar by going after Federal Reserve independence.

This podcast was recorded on February 19th, 2025.

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English Transcript:

00:00:05:04 - 00:00:12:12
Cas Piancey
Welcome back everyone. I, Bennett, and I are doing double duty right now. I know how he's doing. I know how I'm doing. As usual. Whatever.

00:00:12:12 - 00:00:28:21
Cas Piancey
But we're we're doing another episode, and this episode is going to be about the possible end of the fed, or at least the end of Federal Reserve independence, which, I, you know, the fed has been a villain for a long time.

00:00:28:22 - 00:00:30:17
Cas Piancey
I think they're an easy target.

00:00:30:17 - 00:00:35:11
Cas Piancey
It's hard to defend them, I guess, is what I'm saying. I understand why people would,

00:00:35:11 - 00:00:42:12
Cas Piancey
side eye us a bit with the idea of being like, we need to maybe pause this and think about it a little bit more. So,

00:00:42:12 - 00:00:51:02
Cas Piancey
the reason I'm bringing this up is because the DOGE team is trying to get into the fed as like their this is their next move, the Treasury, the fed.

00:00:51:03 - 00:00:59:10
Cas Piancey
They want to be involved in these important parts of I don't even know if you call the fed a part of the US government, I guess so, but like it's almost supposed to be separate.

00:00:59:10 - 00:01:28:21
Bennett Tomlin
is supposed to be separate, right? It was very explicitly set up as, like this vehicle where, like, the Federal Reserve Board has this small amount of government oversight. But each of the member banks are, like, basically fully independent of the federal government. For those who are unaware, the Federal Reserve sets many of the monetary policy decisions of the United States, including in large since setting like the rates for debts that are going to be issued.

00:01:28:23 - 00:01:32:22
Bennett Tomlin
They also participate in important major market

00:01:32:22 - 00:01:53:21
Bennett Tomlin
features, regulating certain liquidity actions, providing certain liquidity. They are a major bank regulator, especially for, larger banks, banks that have master accounts at the Federal Reserve, which is where banks, the Federal Reserve is the bank for banks, like it's where the bank stored their reserves. They put it at the Federal Reserve Bank.

00:01:53:21 - 00:02:20:14
Bennett Tomlin
the reason we're talking about the Federal Reserve is because, like we mentioned, they are in large part responsible for the United States's monetary policy and the United States dollar is evidence of how pervasive and effective American hegemony has been around the world. It is the unit for a massive account of trade. Our debts are part of most countries.

00:02:20:14 - 00:02:43:13
Bennett Tomlin
Like reserves, most banks, reserves. The dollar is held by almost every single country is like part of their foreign exchange reserves. It is the global reserve currency, and our fear is that the cruelty and avarice of the two headed king is going to result in

00:02:43:13 - 00:02:50:01
Bennett Tomlin
a massive destabilization of the dollar, because the independent of the fed will be threatened.

00:02:50:02 - 00:03:16:17
Bennett Tomlin
And once the independence of the fed is threatened, the globe that depends on the fed. For a stable ish dollar stable. It's stable. It's stable compared to every currency. So a stable dollar once people cannot count on that. A ton of different pieces of like global trade and stuff can fail to function as expected.

00:03:16:17 - 00:03:30:02
Cas Piancey
Will fail. Will fail. Not. Can. Will. There's no doubt that, like, we don't know the amount of destruction it would cause. But it would absolutely wreak havoc on the entire financial system globally. Globally.

00:03:30:02 - 00:03:38:09
Cas Piancey
Now, to be clear, a couple things. I just want to clarify. The Federal Reserve has not been around forever when it comes to American monetary policy for a long time.

00:03:38:11 - 00:03:41:18
Cas Piancey
Even at the beginning of the nation, you had different states issuing money.

00:03:41:18 - 00:04:02:20
Cas Piancey
And then you had, you've had all different kinds of money. We've had Angela Vergara on, to discuss, company towns issuing their own money. Right. So, like, monetary policy is weird, but the Federal Reserve has done a really amazing job. And it's really difficult to say that because I know how hated they are.

00:04:02:22 - 00:04:13:11
Cas Piancey
But they've done a really good job since 1913 of stabilizing the dollar and making it really useful for the rest of the world. So credit where it's due, right? Credit where it's due.

00:04:13:11 - 00:04:38:03
Bennett Tomlin
And they're really interesting as a central bank in, like, their current degree of independence, they predate date, like the transition off the gold standard for the United States. And like, managed and handled that transition relatively well during the period, like, the interregnum between World War one and World War two.

00:04:38:03 - 00:04:45:10
Bennett Tomlin
And the fed has also also often been a target of Elon Musk's ire.

00:04:45:12 - 00:04:56:02
Bennett Tomlin
Over the years, he has frequently tweeted, especially during the Biden administration, his insistence that the Federal Reserve needed to cut rates immediately.

00:04:56:02 - 00:05:00:21
Bennett Tomlin
I think there is space for criticism of the Federal Reserve's policies,

00:05:00:21 - 00:05:13:03
Bennett Tomlin
during the Biden administration. But I also think, broadly compared to a lot of other developed economies, the United States saw a faster recovery from Covid and had a like better landing than a lot of other currencies in countries.

00:05:13:05 - 00:05:31:12
Bennett Tomlin
And at least part of that can be attributed to Federal Reserve policy. And I understand that's not. Listen, we're defending the Federal Reserve, and we'll have some criticisms of the Federal Reserve as a regulator in in other roles later in this episode. But we got to get through the important part, like the threatening the global financial system part first.

00:05:31:12 - 00:05:32:06
Bennett Tomlin
Okay, you guys.

00:05:32:06 - 00:05:49:05
Cas Piancey
Right. Right. And let's do that. So. So I was talking to Ben at the other day, and I basically was like, I think they're going to destroy the fed. And he was like, I don't know about that, Cas. I'm not sure. I don't maybe take a chill pill. And I was like, hold on, let's talk about this. Let's play it out.

00:05:49:10 - 00:06:10:06
Cas Piancey
So the Federal Reserve had has its own like independent police force. The US Federal Reserve police. Right. And so Bennett basically said to me, like, oh, the police would arrest the DOJ's team members trying to come in. And I said, okay, they take them, charge them. And then what? Like, what is the next thing that happens?

00:06:10:06 - 00:06:13:06
Cas Piancey
Like Bennett, do you want to play this out a bit or should I, like, just keep going?

00:06:13:07 - 00:06:13:22
Cas Piancey
How do you want to?

00:06:13:22 - 00:06:35:20
Bennett Tomlin
Sure. Well, there's a few things I think we can talk about here. One, we can kind of identify that this is going to be one of their targets. Because Elon Musk has already, in the last couple of weeks, been tweeting conspiracy theories about how the Federal Reserve is unaudited, which is not true. The Federal Reserve publishes their audits on their website.

00:06:36:00 - 00:06:50:23
Bennett Tomlin
You can read them. They use different accounting standards because they're a central bank. And so like the way their assets and liabilities work are a little bit different. But there's audits from accounting firms. You can find them. They're there I promise.

00:06:50:23 - 00:06:53:11
Bennett Tomlin
But it seems similar to his,

00:06:53:11 - 00:07:04:13
Bennett Tomlin
infatuation with Fort Knox. Like he wants to go to where all of America's gold is and make sure the gold is there and definitely not take it like a cartoon villain.

00:07:04:15 - 00:07:07:06
Bennett Tomlin
He's he's definitely got good plans for the gold.

00:07:07:06 - 00:07:27:01
Bennett Tomlin
our fear is he's going to use this pretext of auditing the fed. Is it looking for fraud at the fed, trying to get the fed to cut rates to negative things so he can get more money? It's always about getting more money with Elon and send the Doge boys in there, and in so doing, precipitate global panic.

00:07:27:01 - 00:07:44:00
Cas Piancey
In the name of finding waste and fraud. Right. So? So they will say that they're. They're planning on finding a bunch of waste and fraud in the Federal Reserve System. I don't even know how they would be qualified to. I don't think 19 to 22 year olds, like, I don't think they have any concept of what money even is.

00:07:44:00 - 00:07:57:15
Cas Piancey
Truly, I don't I really do not think they understand it. The idea that they're going into the fed, and telling them what to do, I think, is, is terrifying and should scare people. Okay. If we had experts going in there and and by experts, I don't mean one expert.

00:07:57:15 - 00:08:06:18
Bennett Tomlin
These are the guys who went into the nuclear agency and fired the people who keep the nukes safe. Like you can't put them into the money place.

00:08:06:18 - 00:08:19:23
Cas Piancey
so many other things like USAID. Right. They go in there, they destroy that. And then China's like. Great job. We love it. Good job. Why do you think they're happy about that? Why do you think Russia is happy that we're we're.

00:08:19:23 - 00:08:26:02
Bennett Tomlin
They can do, belts and roads at 50% the cost. Because there's no competition for global foreign aid.

00:08:26:02 - 00:08:45:12
Cas Piancey
Yep. Like they're super stoked about it. So I like this. Dismantling the Cfpb doesn't help anyone dismantling USAID. Like, maybe there's waste and maybe there is waste and fraud in these agencies. I'm sure. Like, I'm sure there is, but but the idea that it is so monumental that we need to shut these agencies down is a lie.

00:08:45:12 - 00:09:02:20
Bennett Tomlin
like, if you actually thought that's what was going on. You would empower the inspectors generals instead of firing them. You would like, hire a special counsel that you can't fire to, like, look into these things and produce a report to Congress. Right. Like there are avenues and mechanisms. There are like ways to root that out.

00:09:02:22 - 00:09:25:11
Bennett Tomlin
And I also expect that the like degree of government fraud, like the percentage of fraudulent payments, is much smaller than other businesses. Elon Musk has been involved in, like, this is the guy who, when he ran his payments company, said we should stop collecting people's addresses and social Security numbers. It's taking them too long to sign up.

00:09:25:11 - 00:09:35:20
Cas Piancey
Look. So I think what I don't want to do a prediction, but I do want to say this out loud. My fear. My personal fear is that the DOGE team, these 19 to 22 year old idiots,

00:09:35:20 - 00:09:40:16
Cas Piancey
with no life experience, try to go into the Federal Reserve and do something there.

00:09:40:21 - 00:09:54:07
Cas Piancey
Now, I suspect they will be met with either the Federal Reserve Police or, you know, Jerome Powell or one of the other Federal Reserve Board members being like, fuck right off.

00:09:54:07 - 00:10:05:03
Cas Piancey
And then they're going to say, well, then I'm going to talk to daddy, and then they're going to call Elon Musk, and Elon Musk is going to call Donald Trump, and then they'll issue some fucking executive order or some shit.

00:10:05:05 - 00:10:28:13
Cas Piancey
And basically it will force Jerome Powell hand. And again Jerome Powell not someone I ever thought I would be defending on Crypto Critics Corner. But here we are saying like, well, I really hope that Jerome Powell doesn't resign because he's forced to and be like, hey, Federal Reserve is up for grabs now so that the world knows what's going on here, which is my genuinely my fear.

00:10:28:15 - 00:10:59:08
Cas Piancey
And if that happens, we're in trouble. Now, this is not the same as a bank run, because if Elon Musk and Donald Trump don't do it, there's we're good. But this is in their hands now. And I need people to understand that, that they want access to all of this stuff. And if they fuck the federal Reserve, if they fuck Swift, if they destroy the entire system, as we understand it, on an international global scale, as the Bank of Settle International Settlements understands it, we're fucked.

00:10:59:11 - 00:11:28:15
Cas Piancey
We're just so fucking fucked. People who were like, burn the fucking system down. You don't get it. You do not get it. You don't. There's no you have no we no one in generations not not probably like five generations has a remembrance of what? Something like this could be. It's been forever. It is a disaster. Don't let it happen.

00:11:28:16 - 00:11:57:12
Cas Piancey
Do not let it happen. Call your senator. Tell them you are concerned. Call your congressman. Tell them you're concerned. Subscribe to journalists. Make sure that you do the think. Talk to your friends and family. This would destroy the dollar, okay? And it isn't hyperbole anymore. This is a real thing that could actually happen. Okay, I there's no reason for it except there's a bunch of idiots in charge.

00:11:57:14 - 00:12:08:17
Cas Piancey
It's it's called Kakistocracy. It is the definition is government by the least suitable or competent citizens of a state. And that is what we are living through right now.

00:12:08:19 - 00:12:09:17
Bennett Tomlin
Yes.

00:12:09:17 - 00:12:39:18
Bennett Tomlin
There are so many, like, big red buttons in the federal government that you're just never allowed to touch. And, like, going after the Federal Reserve is one of them. And it was a problem in Trump one when he, like, was jawboning and basically using the bully pulpit to go after, Jerome Powell in the fed. This is like, yeah, this would potentially be an order of magnitude worse.

00:12:39:20 - 00:12:41:04
Bennett Tomlin
And so hopefully.

00:12:41:04 - 00:12:43:14
Cas Piancey
100 or orders of magnitudes worse. To

00:12:43:14 - 00:12:55:03
Bennett Tomlin
Yeah. And like to the degree where like the monetary currency collapse, I'm terrified would be on the like realm of the Weimar. Right.

00:12:55:03 - 00:12:55:16
Cas Piancey
Yes.

00:12:55:16 - 00:13:16:20
Bennett Tomlin
Which also I'm going to get moderately conspiratorial here for 90s or so. Elon Musk is lying about Fort Knox. He's pretending the gold isn't there and acting like no one's been in there for 50 years in Trump one Mitch McConnell, Stephen Mnunchin, a bunch of Kentucky politicians went into the Fort Knox.

00:13:16:20 - 00:13:41:04
Bennett Tomlin
The gold is still there. The gold is still at the Federal Reserve Banks. Two the office, the Treasury Office of the Inspector General inspects the Seals on their gold reserves every year. There's a process for these things. But like, I can't shake this crazy feeling that like they're out if they blow up the dollar is to do like, Schacht in the Weimar Republic in Germany and start issuing a second currency.

00:13:41:08 - 00:14:02:13
Bennett Tomlin
Right. Like he was issuing the rent in Merc, which was backed by the mortgages or something and property in Germany. And I can imagine them convincing themselves that if they gain physical possession of the United States gold, they have an insurance policy. If they blow up the dollar, they'll still be able to pay their soldiers an issue like, some other kind of currency.

00:14:02:18 - 00:14:19:11
Bennett Tomlin
And again, you can't just you can't, you can't. There's not enough gold to back, like the amount of dollars in circulation without like, incredible devaluation. Like there's not there's not enough. And gold doesn't fucking matter. It's a shiny fucking metal. You fucking dumbasses.

00:14:19:11 - 00:14:39:14
Cas Piancey
Sure. That's a whole other discussion, but I just want to make sure everyone understands to the dollar for almost like, like, almost entirely is not backed by gold. There's like a very small percentage of the Federal Reserve like has some some loans out and some gold to back loans and to like the it's it's minimally used.

00:14:39:16 - 00:14:41:07
Cas Piancey
It's minimally used for the

00:14:41:07 - 00:14:44:22
Bennett Tomlin
Well, and it's we we have a lot of gold,

00:14:44:22 - 00:14:51:11
Cas Piancey
But we have but we have the most gold in the world. We have the most gold in the world. And so

00:14:51:11 - 00:14:54:01
Bennett Tomlin
Unless you believe conspiracy theories about China.

00:14:54:01 - 00:14:56:06
Cas Piancey
or any other number of countries, I'm sure.

00:14:56:06 - 00:15:01:02
Cas Piancey
do think Elon Musk is like a cartoon villain with a shiny rock in front of him. I do think,

00:15:01:02 - 00:15:05:09
Cas Piancey
that the Federal Reserve is in, like, serious, serious danger here.

00:15:05:09 - 00:15:17:16
Cas Piancey
is one of the most concerning things happening right now. I know it's a slew of concerning things. I know we're talking about, Cfpb, USAID, the Treasury, the Social Security insurance, a

00:15:17:18 - 00:15:20:16
Bennett Tomlin
The president declaring himself a king.

00:15:20:16 - 00:15:29:00
Cas Piancey
coup, okay. I understand that if they get to the fed, it means it means trouble for every single person in America.

00:15:29:00 - 00:15:32:19
Cas Piancey
So I just want everyone to be aware of this and concerned.

00:15:32:19 - 00:15:44:02
Bennett Tomlin
It is. It is one of those red buttons that makes the path to recovery like both for the United States and for the global order. That much harder, that much longer and that much bloodier.

00:15:44:02 - 00:15:53:06
Cas Piancey
And sadly, burrito has assured me she has the ear of Donald Trump. And CasCoin is probably going to be used in the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve.

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