For a schematic of why people are so angry at the Federal Reserve, feature the endorsement by the Financial Times of the third round of quantitative easing. It is published in this morning’s paper under a headline that says “Romney is wrong to accuse Fed of ‘bailing out’ Obama.” The pink paper is entitled to its opinion, no doubt, but listen to what passes for its logic. “The Fed,” it argues, “is acting because Congress has so far refused to.”

Savor that sentence for a moment. “The Fed is acting because Congress has so far refused to.” What is the Congress, chopped liver? It may be that Congress doesn’t want to act, thinks it is best not to act. The Financial Times mightn’t like the reasons for Congress not acting. Chairman Bernanke mightn’t like the reasons that Congress has decided not to act. But on what basis does an arm of the American government get authority to preempt that decision?

After all, it was the Congress that created the Fed. Congress was created by the Constitution. It is established in Article One. In section nine of Article one, the Constitution lays out a list of things that may never, under any circumstances, be done by our government. It may never grant a title of nobility, for example, or give preference to the ports of one state over those of another. One of these prohibitions is that “[n] o Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.”

No doubt it will be pointed out that the Fed isn’t drawing money from the Treasury of the United States but, quite the opposite, lending money to the Treasury of the United States. But those advances are creating claims on the United States for the payment of which Congress has made no appropriation. What the Fed is doing, and the British are cheering, is trapping Congress into future appropriations for which no majority exists. No wonder people are angry.

The Europeans are upset because Mr. Romney has said he will replace Mr. Bernanke at the end of his term. One of the things Mr. Romney will be looking for is a Fed chairman who has more regard for the institution, the Congress, that created the Fed. No congressman wants to attack Mr. Bernanke personally. No one questions his personal integrity. But it’s hard to think of a Fed chairman in recent generations who has exuded such a disdain for the Congress.

No wonder the House eventually voted, over Mr. Bernanke’s objections, a bill to audit the Federal Reserve — and included in that audit bill a full brief, extending into how it formulates its monetary policy. No wonder that vote was made by a large, bipartisan majority. No wonder such establishment figures within the Congress as Kevin Brady, vice chairman of the joint economic committee, are advancing a Sound Dollar Act calculated to start reining in the Fed.

It is said that the refusal of Congress to act — i.e., raise taxes in the lingo of the Left — is making the economic crisis worse. Yet Congress — meaning the people — is sovereign in this country. Maybe it doesn’t want to act. Maybe it has good reasons for not acting, for desiring to bring this crisis to a head. It is faced with a President who keeps proclaiming he will act if Congress won’t, a Fed that is well-launched on such a strategy, and a European chorus cheering them on. The Constitution, however, gives Congress plenty of tools with which to get its way in the end.