’Twas two nights before Christmas
When all through the House
Not a Representative was stirring
’Cause they’d already voted the previous day
When all through the House
Not a Representative was stirring
’Cause they’d already voted the previous day
Now it fell to the Senate, and they deliberated with care
In the hopes that a new central bank soon would be there
The citizens were nestled all snug in their beds
While visions of responsible politicians danced in their heads
Well Congress did pass it, and Wilson did sign
And except for one little war, for a while, all seemed fine
But far from taming busts (or booms, for that matter)
The stock market tumbled, and made a helluva clatter
All across the country, it spread like a flash
But in then-central bankless Canada, not one bank was dashed
Then came more war, but then, wealth to the nation
When the wheels fell off that bus, they called it stagflation
Then in dotcoms, in houses, cheap money was poured
Gave the lustre of growth, and the economy soared
When what, to our wandering eyes, should appear
But another boom busted, recession and fear
Would that those who created the Fed had been able
To see that the currency would be less, not more, stable
To see that a dollar, a hundred years hence
Would be worth next to nothing, just a few measly cents
And Greenspan, that sly one, so lively and quick
I should have known in a moment, it must be a trick
He said he liked gold, but he went straight to work
Keeping interest rates too low just like any other jerk
His rep mostly salvaged, up the pantheon he rose
But behind all our backs, I bet he’s thumbing his nose
And I bet he’s exclaiming, as he fades out of sight,
“Happy 100th to the Fed, and to all lucky bankers a good night!”