Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke almost suppressed a grin at a House Financial Services Committee hearing in mid-July when a lawmaker noted Rep. Ron Paul's plan to retire after he finishes this term—but the smile spread to both ends of the chairman's face. The Texas Republican congressman, who is retiring to focus on his presidential run, would like to abolish Bernanke's agency and return the United States to the gold standard. "Someone had told me that announcement would put a smile on Chairman Bernanke's face," Paul said, laughing giddily. Then he assailed Bernanke about the rising cost of living and the Federal Reserve's injections of cash into the economy—and the chairman's smiling face changed to a furrowed brow.
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