Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Obama Picks Krueger as Economic Council Chairman

Obama Picks Krueger as Economic Council Chairman; The New American

President Obama has nominated Princeton University’s Alan Krueger (left) for Chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), and if approved by the Senate, Krueger, a labor economist and the Treasury Department’s former chief economist, will replace Austan Goolsbee. "I am very pleased to appoint Alan and I look forward to working with him," Obama stated, shifting his eyes between two flat-screen teleprompters during a statement on Monday. "I have nothing but confidence in Alan as he takes on this important role as one of the leaders of my economic team."


Supporters of the President’s appointment regard Kreuger as one of the nation’s leading labor economists, an "expert" who has studied every facet of the economic landscape, with unparalleled expertise in the fields of education, unemployment, and the minimum wage. "With 25 million people unemployed, it’s fitting and appropriate that one of the country’s preeminent labor economists heads the CEA," asserted Robert Reich, a Labor Secretary in the Clinton administration.


Conservative congressional Republicans will likely protest the nomination, as Kreuger’s record suggests a government-intensive approach to economic recovery — an approach they believe will inevitably lead to another fiscal stimulus. But liberal economists such as Reich praise the President’s appointment, while emphasizing that swift government action must trump political stature and appeasement. "This is the worst labor market since the Great Depression. It’s time for bold action, and the president needs to know what must be done regardless of political feasibility," Reich advised. ...


Read the rest here.


Comment: It's highly likely he'll sail right through the Senate confrimation hearings and we'll continue to live in this Kenysian depression era. I gotta bang the drum...if the states had a place at the table would this guy be confirmed?

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