Looks like payback for political help, not ‘change’:
Members of the Transition Economic Advisory Board:
- David Bonior (Democratic member of the House of Representatives, 1977-2003)
- Warren Buffett (chairman and CEO, Berkshire Hathaway)
- Roel Campos (former commissioner at the Securities and Exchange Commission)
- William Daley (chairman of the Midwest, JPMorgan Chase; former secretary, U.S. Dept of Commerce, 1997-2000)
- William Donaldson (former chairman of the SEC, 2003-2005)
- Roger Ferguson (president and CEO, TIAA-CREF and former vice chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve)
- Jennifer Granholm (governor, state of Michigan)
- Anne Mulcahy (chairman and CEO, Xerox)
- Richard Parsons (chairman of the board, Time Warner)
- Penny Pritzker (CEO, Classic Residence by Hyatt)
- Robert Reich (professor, Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley; former secretary, U.S. Dept of Labor, 1993-1997)
- Robert Rubin (chairman and director of the executive committee, Citigroup; former secretary, U.S. Department of Treasury, 1995-1999)
- Eric Schmidt (chairman and CEO, Google)
- Lawrence Summers (managing director, D.E. Shaw; former president of Harvard University; former secretary, U.S. Department of Treasury, 1999-2001)
- Laura Tyson (professor, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley; former chairwoman, National Economic Council, 1995-1996; former chairwoman, President’s Council of Economic Advisors, 1993-1995)
- Antonio Villaraigosa (mayor, city of Los Angeles)
- Paul Volcker (former chairman, U.S. Federal Reserve 1979-1987)
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Reich doesn’t seem so bad. Listened to him on kudlow over the past year and he seems to have enough vision to see that the problem is not enough aggregate demand (he’s halfway there) and that the solution is stimulative fiscal policy in the economy unlike the Kudlows of the world -so called supply-siders- who want to stimulate investment, cut business taxes only, and limit government spending except for bomb-making.
A lot of big corporate interest represented here, which is disappointing. They already have deep representation via lobbyists. Very disappointing list.
But it should have been obvious to all Americans that his “change” message was phony when he selected Biden as his running mate. That was about a safe as you could go.
His administration is likey to be characterized by token bits of change, with lots of the status quo remaining.
The American electorate is incredibly gullible.
sad but true
One of Obama’s campaign promises was the end of crony capitalism, the google boy is the only one I would say is part of the new vanguard and I also am sad to see this list of the same old politics as usual. We still have a government model that concentrates too much power into too few people, we need 250 states and many more representatives to disperse this concentrated power.
Warren, have you taken that plane to washington yet? Al Franken was a comedian and he has potentially won minnesota, stop trading securities and go do something that really makes a difference to the big picture Warren – your personal example is disgraceful.
Something else that really bothers me about you Warren is you keep saying to give subsidy to infrastructure investments. I don’t want the borg of this nation educated to building roads and working to do that – I want the Borg working on bigger issues and want those issues subsidized.
Let china build roada and bridges, that is so last century, quit being a luddite Warren – we are supposedly higher up maslow’s hiearachy and can work on stargate atlantis and star trek stuff, less shopping mall building, and more genetic research and experimentation. Let China do the grunt work of infrastructure while we do the higher order work of nanotech and biotech.
People like you who advocate putting the idle BORG to work on roads and bridges and not on nanotech and biotech are just as much a problem as the crony paid off obama types.
You remind me of some ancient egyptian economist worried about sustaining unemployed nile river farmers by talking about new canals and more crops and birthing more horses trying to save the empire thinking in old backwards ways. That did not get nuclear cities and rocket ships that landed on the moon – free your mind.
Stop reading journals and thinking in terms of nile river water levels and new equestrian birthing techniques and really advance mankind and start doing something grander and advance science and technology that can give us all unlimited lives in an unlimited age of prosperity. I personally challenge you warren to stop being a luddite and advocating a policy that builds infrastructure (like we need more shopping malls and more roads connecting them) and to think of policies that put our Idle BOrg working on nanotech and biotech. Sink GM and Chysler, let asia have it, sink Deere and Caterpillar, let asia have that too, let us start working on stargate atlantis – it won’t happen until people like you Warren stop advocating infrastructure as the BIG GOAL and think outside the box to something more important.
Quit sitting around with Mr. Masters trying to figure out ways to beat obama’s new taxes and start reading some science journals, the time people have put in here to analyzing currency swaps has done nothing for the big problems of humanity. The best economist in the world and his 5 underlings is not going to make the difference that the best bioscientist and his 5 underlings will make.
Cutcheon, the next time you see larry kudlow, will you ask him why a socialized military is OK with so many free market capitalists? I would think they would want the best mercernary army that money could buy – then you get rid of all those silly soldiers who have religious issues or natioal pride issues when you need your forces to do something that may cross those moral/national issues. I want my soldiers to shoot their mothers if that is what I need to get my objectives accomplished, and as long as I am paying the most why shouldn’t I get that kind of soldier? Right now I have friends in Alaska who say they don’t want their sons and daughters to be able to be used to defend warren and sada in the virgin islands if the russian pirates show up to rape and pillage them, but if we had a well paid mercernary army – they won’t have those feelings will they?
Now that I think of it I want soldiers that will shoot each other too and even shoot themselves if I pay them enough, free market capitalism is the best path to prosperity. If all civilized society rests on a thug with a gun willing to shoot you, then we need to bring free market capitalism to the lynchpin that makes all our civilized lives possible.
I hear the government and megacorps of the world are working on robot tanks and drone airplanes that will shoot themseleves and each other if their capitalist masters order it – GAME OVER DUDE! How does one socialist military soldier with religious issues and morals and nationalist pride compete against a mercernary well paid robot army that will do whatever is commanded? I kept shooting at the automated turret on top of the robot tank but it had no fear – terminator baby!
I want to know what happened to Jamie Galbraith. Now that he’s won, he’s bringing in the same old cast of morons Clinton had. Not a one that has even a basic understanding of modern money. Arrrrgh.
I guess at this point the best we can hope for is a Japan-style anemic deficit-led recovery, (accompanied, its true, by some needed reregualtion) followed by a contraction when they decide to get “responsible”. Not the worst thing in the world, and certainly better than what McCain would have delivered, but I was hoping for so much more…
And of course, we still have the ticking time bomb of the swap lines out there. which are bound to blow up sooner or later. I hope the blowback from them won’t be too bad in this country, but I’nm not holding out too much hope.
Jamie Galbraith is not a household name, that’s why he’s nowhere to be seen. Obama went with all the “safe” names, but all very status quo. There’s going to be very little change about this guy; a disappointment to many Americans who voted for him on that idea. (I didn’t.)
In fact, this list is almost shocking in its staidness. For a guy who preached changed, what a yawn.
Agree on Reich a bit though his (mis)understand of federal debt seems par for the course.
I too think Obama’s gonna be a big disappointment. Pelosi and Reid will dominate him which guarantees nothing substantial will get done.
Sadly, “safe” describes Obama to a T.
More of the same and most likely nothing major will be accomplished. Taking up residence in Europe, etc. is looking more appealing everyday. I’ll give the President-elect until spring to straighten the economic mess out. If the crisis isn’t improving by then the public will want him out of office as bad as they want Bush out. How did we ever let things get so far out of control?
I watched Rahm Emmanuels Roast today on C-span – it was recorded in 2005 – I did not know this new chief of the white house elect was an Isreali Defense Force member in his youth or what a hot head he is constantly criticized by everyone as being.
Ted says: “How did we ever let things get so far out of control?”
My god, I watched this movie with Eve Marie Saint and Paul Newman called EXODUS about the founding of Israel, and I kept asking myself during the whole movie why did this American Nurse get herself in the middle of religious idealogues who will be fighting even after the 3rd and 4th coming of Jesus!! I lived in Hawaii like Obama in my youth, the biggest conflict was wether to have poi or conch salad for lunch. I cannot relate to extreme idealogues about magic men in the sky who will burn you forever in hell if you don’t act right and I am not comforted by the fact that Rahm Emmanuelle is going to be in a key position of power from his friends all saying what a cussing raging hothead he is, but maybe we all will be pleasantly surprised?
However as one of the jokes in the Roast related – It is SO EASY to reach across the AISLE in a bipartisan manner when you are a MOSSAD spy who wants to exploit BOTH THE LEFT AND RIGHT dumb american suckers to do your bidding and annihilate your religous enemy from 3000 years ago isn’t it?
There was this episode of star trek where this EVIL alien fed off the hate of the klingons and the federation, it wanted to exploit them both for its own gain – ugg. I guess Soros bought the best stooge white house money could buy – that should overjoy all the free market capitalists – money at work 😉
Warren I personally blame you because you recognize the idiots running the show on a personal level and are still on the USVI living the jimmy buffet lifestyle and not up in washington doing something about it on a more direct level.
Warren I like your idea that ultimately fiat money regimes and even the governments themselves backing them can go BOOM as long as the humans existing under both are going towards a better future. However I bet Obama and Rahm (as all people who get too much power) would choose their government positions and power over doing the best good for the people if it meant blowing up the government. sad.
None of these monetary memes any of you guys have will bring change, no new elections will bring change, the root problem is too much power in our current government system concentratred into too few human beings that can be lobbied and bought or brainwashed by marketing overlords. Until we fundamentally change the structure of government and disperse the power it currently possess amongst many more people, you are just rearraging the deck chairs on the titanic.
You blame Warren? Hell, I may move down that way and join him. He’s got the right idea living where he does!
Its almost comical how everyone hear is panning these choices, while on NPR I hear nothing but praise. Since no one in the mainstream understand reserve banking or the nature of soft money, I’m not sure who Obama was supposed to pick.
But all is not lost, or maybe I’m just an optimist. Check out this op-ed by Rubin, co-written with Jared Bernstein. Its full of incorrect thinking as I’m sure Warren will point out, and Rubin may still think deficits are bad, but he’s clearly ok with them right now. And between calling for more infrastructure spending and universal health insurance, it doesn’t sound like getting the budget balanced is a high priority.
Like I said, maybe I’m just an optimist.
As for Obama getting rolled by Reid and Pelosi, I think Emanuel as Chief of Staff implies that that is not happening.
Sorry I forgot the link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/03/opinion/03rubin.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Or maybe they don’t understand the nature of bankruptcy: consumer, business, and government bankruptcy that is. John Maynard Keynes would be proud! Yes, of course, lets keep going into debt forever. The best example I can think of at this moment is 1920’s Germany. Hyperinflation and the rise of Hitler. Economic theories work in the college classroom but not in the real world friend. What works for trading bonds doesn’t make it on main street. Do a little more research on the history of bankrupt nations.
floating fx substitutes ‘inflation’ risk for solvency risk.
hyperinflation most often comes from failure to enforce tax liabilities
if i recall correctly even a country like turkey that ran deficits of something like 100% of gdp, saw currency depreciation of maybe 50% per year, and ‘inflation’ of around 100% for extended periods of time also saw double digit real growth for a considerable period of time.
Hi Warren. This post is off the topic but I wanted mention it. I recently bought a Mosler Economics baseball jersey and coffee cup from your online store. Great stuff. The shirt is made of high quality material and the coffee cup is also. And reasonably priced. Just wanted to let you know I’am a very satisfied customer. Also, I love this website. Even if one doesn’t agree with the posts 100% of the time it is a wonderful place to exchange ideas. Keep up the good work. Ted
I guess like most things its a trade-off. You have to take a little economic pain to enjoy a decent/robust economy. Point taken.
Vipul Says: “I’m not sure who Obama was supposed to pick.”
He was supposed to pick Warren of course, but he looked around washington and Warren wasn’t there, so where was Warren?
thanks, Ted!