Asked Rob Portman about the G-3 on C-span this morning!!(update! HELP! He wants me to call back!!)

[Boxerfan]

I was amazed I got through!. Frankly I wish I could have told him how well this economy was working for this unemployed mechanic-But...
I was able to get right in & ask him why the government stopped reporting the G-3. From my limited knowledge this is the hard accounting of paper currency printed by the government.
I also explained if we put America to work on jobs & energy independence we wouldn't be having such a hard time of it would we?.

What suprised me was he actually DIDN'T deny the G-3 was not being reported. He also aske I write C-span for a follow up. So I did.
"I called asking about the reporting(or lack thereof) in the reporting of the G-3 economic index. I'm no brainiac regarding finances but isn't this a recipe for hyper inflation?.

I appreciate your program & hope he can follow up on his promise to answer this question "offline".
Thank you."

I won't hold my breath-but if he does get back to me I'll post about it.....Sheesh-ME talking finances!. I will just say this is not my forte-I'm better off working with my hands.

[tnlefty]

1. I heard you and you sounded very well spoken!

Paul didn't know what the hell you were talking about! I thought you presented and explained the situation well. :thumbsup:

[Boxerfan]

2. Thanks!. I just hope a few eyes were opened...

I have gotten through 3 times & it is never easy speaking on air...So I appreciate your comment. Also I could not have picked a worse topic. My freeper brother is a financial analyst & advisor-Hope he was watching(snark).

[snappyturtle]

3. We heard you too....good job! n/t

[Boxerfan]

4. HELP!!!!! OMG He asked me to call him back!! It's a trap isn't it-Am I going to Gitmo??

Seriously folks-I need help. I have been asked to call him back & I'm in so far over my head I fear I won't present myself as well as I should. On the tinfoil hat side am I going to Gitmo now??

Oy... Anyhow-Should I call back? If I do what the heck should I say? I do have a hell of an economic tale to tell-Having risen from homelessness to having a family. Many lay-off's & opinion related firings due to managers that only listen to the bottom line....Where would I start??

[bonito]

5. Kick for help n/t

[Nimrod2005]

6. ROFL...Call him and let us know what is said and/or decided!!!

[elehhhhna]

7. stop tripping and google the money-supply thing

breathe. google. breathe.

[Boxerfan]

9. This dude was Pnac before there was a Pnac is my guess...He worked for B1

I am sure I won't get anywhere confronting him. Besides he's a proffesional liuar.
I am curious as to his motivation to engage. I do have "advice" for him that I can speak calmly about-The need for energy independence & the jobs it would create is my favorite example.

How can I be constructive here?

[acmejack]

8. You sounded great to me.

Talk from your heart, I don't think he expects you to be an economist. Just do what you can.

[Boxerfan]

10. Ok- I called...He actually had talked to his assistant about it

I explained my question regarding the G-3 again in as a specific manner as I could.Said " Just a curious citizen etc... Had the opportunity to ask & thought it was a pertinent questrion etc...". He said they would do some research & e-mail me back.
Once again, the fact it is not being reported was NOT denied & I phrased the question to allow for some doubt!

That was too funny talking to the "I'm sorry he's at a meeting in the White House now" Sheeesh. I ended the call with "God bless America" so hopefully I won't be indoctrinated to some fine detainment facility.

[acmejack]

14. Not to worry.

I used to visit GTMO regularly, it has a great beach, a low priced, well stocked liquor store, great fishing, outstanding diving, and before this current imbroglio, many family types actually sought duty there. I had a friend and business partner who did two tours there and loved it.

on edit: Just avoid letting them put you in a cage! When I used to go there they didn't have any Camp Deltas or such, no Army presence...

[Boxerfan]

11. Gadz what a nube I feel like...It's M3, not G3...(wicki link)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_supply

[halobeam]

12. don't feel that way. you deserve credit for calling and speaking out.

you drew attention to the matter also, which is what is needed. Don't sweat the details.

I heard you too. You were wonderful.

[elehhhhna]

13. I thought you meant M3...

pick a point and stick with it. FOCUS! You'll be fine. Think "soundbytes". Practice out loud. Breathe. Don't forget you can and should use notes on phone/radio. You'll be mahvelous. Breathe.

:toast:

[Boxerfan]

15. Here is the reply I recieved....Not very convincing but they did answer!

We assume you were asking about the M3 measure of the money supply on C-SPAN this morning. The Federal Reserve stopped publishing M3 in March of 2006, but it continues to publish the other leading monetary aggregates M1 and M2. The Chairman of the Federal Reserve has explained that the reason for stopping the publication of M3 was because the benefits of the information it added to the other aggregates did not justify the costs of collecting and processing the information. This was a decision by the Federal Reserve, which is an independent Federal agency.

In the press release announcing the decision, the Federal Reserve stated: M3 does not appear to convey any additional information about economic activity that is not already embodied in M2 and has not played a role in the monetary policy process for many years. Consequently, the Board judged that the costs of collecting the underlying data and publishing M3 outweigh the benefits.

In Congressional testimony, Chairman Bernanke was asked about the M3 decision.

His response: "My understanding is that the Federal Reserve decided to discontinue publication of the monetary aggregate M3 because the costs of collecting and processing the underlying data were judged to exceed the benefits. The Federal Reserve will not withhold the M3 data from the public; rather, it will no longer collect and assemble that information. The Federal Reserve will continue to collect data for and publish the monetary aggregates M1 and M2 and their components.

The benefits of continuing to publish M3 appear to be minimal, because M3 has not been actively used in the formulation of U.S. monetary policy and, at least within the Federal Reserve, has not been found to have much value for economic forecasting. Discontinuing publication of M3 will allow the Federal Reserve to terminate certain reporting forms that currently must be filled out by depository institutions, lowering the costs of such institutions. Costs at the Federal Reserve Banks and the Board will similarly be reduced as these particular reports will no longer need to be processed and analyzed.

I view the periodic reappraisal of the costs and benefits of reports as a useful discipline to ensure that the reporting burden on financial institutions is kept to a minimum."

For further information, we recommend that you contact the Federal Reserve.

Best,

The Office of Management and Budget