The Cardinals, Herman Cain and the Fed

Last night I, a St. Louis girl since 1964, watched my team clinch the division title and head for the World Series for the 18th time in franchise history.  The Cardinals, at one time 10 ½ games out of first place, won 30 of their last 43 games.  They earned the wildcard position on the last day of the season.  Their first post-season task was to beat the Philadelphia Phillies, who had been leading the league for most of the season.  They did.  Then they managed to beat Milwaukee in six games.  On Wednesday the Cards will play the Texas Rangers in St. Louis.

How did they do it?  Well, it was a wonderful combination of team work, fundamentals, discipline and hard work.  The stars were both the superstars, Pujols, Carpenter, and Molina and some fresh, new faces, like David Freese and Jason Motte.   This team played the game well and played by the rules.  They earned their way to the series and, while I hope they win—even expect them to win—none of this changes the fact that they deserve to win because of who and what they are. 

Hold that thought while I segue to the field of Republican nominees for President.  [Yup, you’ve got it.  My, you follow well.]  While my guy in this is Jon Huntsman, and my second choice is Mitt Romney, the person that I consider most like the Cardinals is Herman Cain.  Everyone treated him like an interesting and worthwhile man, but not a contender for the title.  Well, look at Mr. Cain now! 

Herman Cain is frequently referred to as a pizza mogul.  While someone who can become successful in the retail fast food industry is impressive, what needs to be given much more attention is the fact that Cain was chairman of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank.  You don’t get that position by being a lucky merchant.  Herman Cain was director and chairman of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank from 1992-1996.  According to Drew Jennings, a lawyer who served with Cain, “Inflation was always the big bugaboo, and when it came to monetary policy, he was an inflation hawk.”  Anyone who has studied economics knows that inflation is much more dangerous and difficult to mitigate than depression.  Cain may not be a professional politician, but he does have an impressive intellectual pedigree.  This man is not center stage by accident. 

Our Federal Reserve System is one of the reasons this country has a stable currency.  If you think our problems are bad now, they are nothing compared to what they would be without the steady hand at the economic helm provided by the Fed.  We get to thank President Woodrow Wilson for the Fed.  He jumped on a bandwagon started by Senate Republican leader Nelson Aldrich.  Aldrich met with representatives from the houses of J. P. Morgan, Rockefeller and other leading financiers at Jekyll Island, GA for 10 busy days in 1910.  Despite the conspiracy theories of some recent books, the group did not create the Fed, but they did present a structure that was melded into the current Federal Reserve System by both Democrats and Republicans on December 23, 1913. 

The Fed is the central bank of the United States.  It is divided into twelve districts (Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Richmond, Atlanta, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Cleveland, Dallas, Kansas City, San Francisco, and Chicago), each with its own bank.   This becomes a small team to play for.  Herman Cain made that team.  He deserves to be listened to. 

Listen to Cain, and keep the faith. 

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