Rand Paul: “I don’t know a lot about him, although I think he was the one that wanted to insert [a] metal strip in the currency or something?” Paul told reporters outside the Senate chambers, when asked about Goodfriend. “Doesn’t sound very exciting to me, so I’ll be a no.” Oh, please....please....one of you libertarian Lords of the Forum, tell me why this statement by Rand Paul makes sense. How can Rand Paul state that he doesn’t “know a lot about” Marvin Goodfriend and that “he doesn’t soun d exciting to me” be a logical and intelligent reason for Rand Paul to vote “NO” on Boodfreind’s bid to become a member of the Federal Reserve board Can anyone explain this?

There are a lot of demons out there. No one in Congress would ever admit to making an up or down vote contingent upon whether or not the nominee was "exciting" to them. Maybe some teenage girl voting for class president. But not a congresscritter. I call BS on this report.

Goodfriend suggested the idea, which would decrease the value of dollar bills depending on how long they’d been outside of a bank, while he worked at the Richmond Fed. During his nomination hearing, he said he would not advocate for the tax if confirmed.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Thursday he will vote against Marvin Goodfriend's bid to become a member of the Federal Reserve board, a move that could sink the nomination on the Senate floor.

Rand gets it right again.

Cometh The Hour, Cometh An Insane Cash-Hating Fed Governor - Nobody's "Goodfriend"

Bloomberg notes that Goodfriend was invited to present his ideas at last year’s (2016) Jackson Hole get together.

Trump’s nominee hasn’t tried to hush-hush his views on this controversial topic. Far from it. Goodfriend presented a paper on it in 2016 in Jackson Hole, Wyo., at a high-profile annual conclave of central bankers. His title: “The Case for Unencumbering Interest Rate Policy at the Zero Bound.”

To make it less convenient for people to hoard cash, he says in the paper, the government could phase out high-denomination bills or charge banks and the public whenever paper money is paid out or received. But even those steps might not be enough to suppress the use of cash, Goodfriend surmises. So he weighs three stronger measures.

Sadly, we disagree with Bloomberg that Goodfriend’s views on abolishing cash will be an “issue” in his confirmation hearings. However, we are pleased to see that highlighted several voices which are sounding the alarm (even though it will be futile).

Goodfriend’s dislike for cash could become an issue in his confirmation hearings, which are not yet scheduled. Senators could soon be getting an earful from constituents who fear that taking away paper money is a step toward socialism or totalitarianism.

Those voices are already being heard. “Is Marvin Goodfriend the Worst Fed Nominee of All Time?” asks a Dec. 1 post on the website of the Mises Institute, a think tank for the Austrian school of economics. An earlier Mises post in which Goodfriend’s name was first raised said, “Given his radical views on monetary policy, it’s not hyperbole to suggest that Goodfriend’s nomination would represent a genuine danger to the economic wellbeing of every American citizen—or at least those outside of the financial services industry.”

It’s not just the Mises people who want to hang onto paper money. “Cash Means Freedom, Which Is Why So Many Officials Hate It” was the headline on a post by the libertarian Reason Institute last year. Last year, in the Wall Street Journal, financial commentator James Grant attacked a book called The Curse of Cash by Harvard’s Kenneth Rogoff, writing, “The author wants the government to control your money. It’s as simple as that.”

Typical Globalist Puppet. Hates Cash.

Good on Rand.

Oh, please....please....one of you libertarian Lords of the Forum, tell me why this statement by Rand Paul makes sense. How can Rand Paul state that he doesn’t “know a lot about” Marvin Goodfriend and that “he doesn’t soun d exciting to me” be a logical and intelligent reason for Rand Paul to vote “NO” on Boodfreind’s bid to become a member of the Federal Reserve board

Can anyone explain this?

It can be no surprise that Rand, Ron Paul's son, would oppose this kind of individual at the Fed.

Wired: Cash and the 'Carry Tax', 1999

He's a wacko going way back. Exactly the kind of person who should never be allowed to make policy.

I hope Rand manages to really stick it to them. This is a truly lousy nominee.

Be that as it may, and I do thank you for your response....I still would like it explained how it possible that Rand Paul can vote “no” on a guy because he “hardly knows” him and that the guy “doesn’t sound very exciting?”

That is what Rand Paul said he was doing and why he was doing it.

This sounds utterly bizarre.

Trump has had at least three very marginally qualified federal judge nominees withdraw after just a bit of scrutiny. Including one with virtually no courtroom experience whatsoever.

Frankly, they need to do a better a job of vetting all these positions. They hit a home run with Gorsuch and seem to think they can nominate even very lame candidates just because they got rid of the judicial filibuster.

I agree with everything you said in both of your post.

But I still remain puzzeled by Rand Paul's comment and will let it go at that.