Barack Obama has appointed a replacement for Austan Goolsby to head the Council of Economic Advisers. While I would prefer someone more activist than Alan Krueger, I think I understand why Obama appointed him, and in that light, the appointment makes sense.
President Obama is moving to install labor specialist Alan Krueger as chairman of his Council of Economic Advisers in an effort to bolster the depleted White House economic team as it girds for a political campaign expected to focus on jobs and growth.
In nominating Krueger, a Princeton University professor, Obama picked a highly respected specialist in employment and the workforce who served as chief economist at the Treasury Department in the first two years of the Obama administration.
During that time, Krueger, 50, worked on tax incentives to encourage employment and programs that sparked auto purchases (“Cash for Clunkers”) and municipal building projects — the kinds of plans Obama is expected to unveil soon to spur job creation.
While Krueger would clearly add weight to an economic team hit by a raft of departures, he is relatively unknown and his appointment signals a continuation of the White House middle-of-the-road course on economic policymaking, despite some Democrats’ call for more aggressive action, including additional government stimulus, to boost the flagging economy… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <Seattle Times>
In his defense, Krueger does favor stimulus through infrastructure spending, but I think the reason Obama appointed him is simple. He has already weathered the Senate confirmation process, and Republicans who approved him before cannot oppose him now without appearing to he the hypocrites they are. A true progressive would never survive the confirmation process.
8 Responses to “New Head for the Council of Economic Advisors”
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Sad when a candidates qualifications for the position have to start with his/her ability to weather the confirmation process ;– At least this man seems to be capable
Too true, Phyllis, and he does.
christy romer, larry summers, & austan goolsbee returned to teaching, & jared bernstein turned to blogging…
seems economists havent been making much headway in this whitehouse…
You have that one right, RJ.
I don’t have much faith in Krueger. His past record regarding labor issues isn’t very strong, in the sense that he seems to take the management side all too often. But then, who else could fit in with an administration that can’t do enough for the corporations while ignoring their employees?
I thus don’t see any reason to be celebrating Krueger’s appointment. To me, it smacks of image over substance, putting in a guy who is allegedly focused on jobs at a time when Obama is out of rabbits to pull out of his hat. His polling numbers continue to be weak, and this appointment just confirms (to me at least) that the administration is scrambling to find anything that they believe we will fall for and reverse this decline. With the House in GOP hands, he can’t push through any legislation that will do any real good, so he has to resort to flash and tricks. I begin to feel that this won’t be enough for the American people, especially those U6 folks, not with signs that the media has begun doing to him what they did in 2000 to Al Gore to benefit Dubya, who needed all the help he could get.
I’m not celebrating it. I understand it.
But why did all these economic advisors return to teaching or blogging? Was it because of relations in the Whitehouse, or was it that they were sick of hitting their heads against the wall battling the Republican hordes in the Congress who would put up barriers to anything and everything?
I’m Canadian learning a lot about American politics but I’m not always sure of some of the background stuff. Would welcome any input. Thanks
Lynn, I can’t speak for them, but my best guess is frustration that Obama is listening to bankers from the Clinton camp, nit economists.