Friday, August 2, 2013

NYT: Obama Narrows Field for Fed Chairman to 3




Annie Lowery at NYT reports:
Mr. Obama is now in the process of interviewing three candidates for the position at the helm of the central bank: Mr. Summers; Janet L. Yellen, the vice chairwoman at the Federal Reserve, who had generally been considered the front-runner for the job; and a dark horse for the post, Donald L. Kohn, a former Fed vice chairman.

In his meeting on Capitol Hill, Mr. Obama stressed that he had not yet made up his mind. People close to the process said the White House is trying to tamp down on the feverish speculation that the race had come down to Mr. Summers and Ms. Yellen and deflect some of the attacks on Mr. Summers.
The proof that none of them deserve the job is that they all want the job. Given that interest rates are climbing, that price inflation is not far behind, that we are likely headed for stagflation and that there is  $2 trillion in excess reserves overhanging the economy, you really have to be clueless to want the job. There is no way the next Fed chair is going to look like anything other than a bumbling incompetent. It is dumb to want the position.

2 comments:

  1. The eventual successor to Helicopter Ben will simply "pull an Obama." Obama inherited a mess from George W, then managed to blame him for every bit of bad news that emerged and has done so for years. Any hint of good news was Obama's doing, of course!

    The new Fed chairman will do the same. If the economy craters and the dollar tanks, it'll be Bernanke's fault. And to a certain degree, he/she will be right, but there won't be an admission that they were part of the problem.

    Those achieving high office have elevated shifting blame to an art form. Given the public's atrocious lack of awareness about economics and current events, I suspect the criminals who have brought us to this sorry state will get away with it.

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  2. You could say the same thing about being President. People always want positions of power though.

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