Dear Friends,
The New York Times just reported that Larry Summers has withdrawn himself from consideration to be nominated as the next Federal Reserve Bank Chair. He must have read my blog post and decided he could not continue. Now let's hope that President Obama nominates Janet Yellen.
Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Federal Reserve Chair Nominee
Dear Friends,
President Obama will soon be nominating someone to become the new head of the Federal Reserve Bank. It is widely reported that Larry Summers is on or perhaps even at the top of the short list for potential nominees (here). I cannot understand why President Obama would even consider Mr. Summers as a candidate. The editorial board of The New York Times made a very clear, cogent and convincing argument against Mr. Summers being the nominee (here). I find a couple of points raised by the editorial particularly persuasive:
First, Mr. Summers temperament is unsuited to lead the Fed. He is dismissive, abrasive and lacks consensus building skills. These traits could certainly lead to institutional dysfunction which we cannot afford.
Second, Mr. Summers has shown an incredible disdain for and aversion to reasonable and necessary financial regulations. He was critical in the drive to eliminate the regulations put into effect by the Glass-Steagall Act, and he has resisted regulation of derivatives. But most important even after seeing the carnage brought by a failure to properly regulate the financial industry, he refuses to acknowledge that the policies that he promoted lead directly to the Great Recession.
Three Democratic Senators on the Banking Committee, Senators Testor (MT), Brown (OH) and Merkley (OR) have all indicated that they would not vote to confirm Mr. Summers. Senator Warren (D. MA) is also reported to be very concerned about Mr. Summers (here).
There are others who are very well qualified and should be nominated instead of Mr. Summers. Here is a link to an excellent article making a strong case for nominating Janet Yellen.
Please write President Obama to encourage him to nominate Janet Yellen as the next Fed Chair, not Larry Summers. You can reach President Obama here.
Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal
President Obama will soon be nominating someone to become the new head of the Federal Reserve Bank. It is widely reported that Larry Summers is on or perhaps even at the top of the short list for potential nominees (here). I cannot understand why President Obama would even consider Mr. Summers as a candidate. The editorial board of The New York Times made a very clear, cogent and convincing argument against Mr. Summers being the nominee (here). I find a couple of points raised by the editorial particularly persuasive:
First, Mr. Summers temperament is unsuited to lead the Fed. He is dismissive, abrasive and lacks consensus building skills. These traits could certainly lead to institutional dysfunction which we cannot afford.
Second, Mr. Summers has shown an incredible disdain for and aversion to reasonable and necessary financial regulations. He was critical in the drive to eliminate the regulations put into effect by the Glass-Steagall Act, and he has resisted regulation of derivatives. But most important even after seeing the carnage brought by a failure to properly regulate the financial industry, he refuses to acknowledge that the policies that he promoted lead directly to the Great Recession.
Three Democratic Senators on the Banking Committee, Senators Testor (MT), Brown (OH) and Merkley (OR) have all indicated that they would not vote to confirm Mr. Summers. Senator Warren (D. MA) is also reported to be very concerned about Mr. Summers (here).
There are others who are very well qualified and should be nominated instead of Mr. Summers. Here is a link to an excellent article making a strong case for nominating Janet Yellen.
Please write President Obama to encourage him to nominate Janet Yellen as the next Fed Chair, not Larry Summers. You can reach President Obama here.
Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal
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