Investors and political analysts should keep a sharp eye on the congressional assault on Federal Reserve independence. This is a transparent effort by members of Congress to use the financial-reregulation bills as a means of applying political leverage to stop the Fed from any 2010 midterm-election-year exit strategies that might raise the federal funds target rate, stop the purchases of mortgage-backed bonds, and drain cash from the economy.

In an interview with CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo yesterday, Richmond Fed president Jeffrey Lacker refused to offer any clear sign as to when the central bank might finally end its zero-bound policy and begin raising rates. When asked whether he was worried about future inflation, Lacker said he thinks “we’re in a good place with inflation right now.”

My friend Dan Mitchell explains in this CF&P Foundation video why Washington's healthcare proposals will result in bloated government and higher deficits.