Obama's visible list of economic advisers has some breadth and gravitas and wet blankets (Summers?), who collectively have a staggering amount of real-world experience.
My only question is, "Where are the idealists?" Who, in this crowd, is going to stand up to a man with the physical stature of Volker and the intellectual stature of Summers and say, "You guys aren't reaching far enough, you aren't taking enough risk(s), and here's why"? Rubin? Does he grasp the possibilities on the table right now? I don't know...
Afterall, in recent times, it's a lot easier to be a conservative leaning political-economist. All you have to do is buy into the idea that cutting taxes is the solution to just about everything and you can join the club, with chevrons for how well and loudly you can sing the tune, right?
Members of the board include:
* David Bonior (Member House of Representatives 1977-2003
* Warren Buffett (Chairman and CEO, Berkshire Hathaway)-will participate via speakerphone
* Roel Campos (former SEC Commissioner
* William Daley (Chairman of the Midwest, JP Morgan 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 (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. Dept of Treasury, 1995-1999)
* Eric Schmidt (Chairman and CEO, Google)
* Lawrence Summers (Harvard University; Managing Director, D.E. Shaw; Former Secretary, U.S. Dept of Treasury, 1999-2001)
* Laura Tyson (Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley; Former Chairman, National Economic Council, 1995-1996; Former Chairman, 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
No other personnel announcements are planned for the day.
Friday, November 7, 2008
In Search of One-Handed Economists
