Given that Yellen is being labeled as a liberal dove who is backed by the liberal wing of Dem senators (with the WSJ whining about the danger of a "female-backed currency," eeeek!), this makes Summers the centrist, supposedly making him acceptable to liberals if Kohn appears to be the real alternative to Yellen.
So, there it is. I think that Gene Sperling has convinced Obama that bringing in Kohn will help the candidacy of Summer, and I think they may be right. The game is getting dirtier by the minute.EconoSpeak
The Don Kohn Shuffle
Barkley Rosser
Obama is already finished with all progressives but the die-hards. Appointment of Summers would probably drive many if not most of them over the edge, too.
This would also be bad for a HRC or an other New Democrat candidacy in 2016. I think it will be very difficult of most progressives to back a Clinton-Obama Third Way aka "triangulation" clone, and many will either not actively work for the Democratic Party, sit out the election, or vote third party in protest.
It is becoming apparent that change cannot come from within the system from the left and that radical change is likely to merge from the far right if the GOP candidate prevails in 2016 and the GOP wins Congress, too. If the GOP were not so disorganized, I think this would be a highly likely outcome at this point. But it is much too early to tell.
How about abolishing the Federal Reserve that would be an excellent start, than you wouldn't have to worry about train wrecks like Summers, Bernanke, Tiny Tim G. etc etc etc.
ReplyDeleteTom,
ReplyDeleteYou do know that Janet Yellen is George Akerlof's wife, and was a colleague of Andrea DeLaura Tyson at Berkeley? So I would presume that she is well versed with "A Market for Lemons"
While Akerlof is best known for "A Market for Lemons," for which he received a Nobel, he is also the author with Paul Romer of Akerlof and Paul Romer "Looting: The Economic Underworld of Bankruptcy for Profit," which Bill Black and Yves Smith adapted to the banks and the financial crisis. So I think that it is unlikely that Yellin will get the job even though she is the most qualified to serve as chief regulator, which is the last thing that the Democrats' Wall Street donors want to see. Hard enough to swallow Liz Warren.
ReplyDeleteI recall Michael Hudson once saying on the Gang of Eight list that the first qualification for being selected a central banker was not understanding central banking. Of course, the other qualification is being for "free markets" (read deregulation). On that score, the job is Larry's.
Can anyone hash out a matrix for interest rates vs whoever is shoed into the job ?
ReplyDelete__________________________
Up Same Down
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Yellen Same
Summers Up
Other ?
Waz up with the prime rate with respect to these?