As Summers supporters — including the President — try to push him for Federal Reserve Chairman (over the more experienced Janet Yellen), Dean Baker asks the obvious question: At this late date, why, exactly, should Larry Summers be head of anything? “In short, if we look at Larry Summers track record in dealing with crises it is pretty abysmal. But on attendance, he gets an ‘A.'”
Seriously, how many more times does this guy have to be wrong? And why pick for Fed Chair someone, as Sheila Bair succinctly put it, who was clearly “part of the deregulatory cabal that got us into the 2008 financial crisis?”
And, let’s be clear: Even putting that trillion-dollar fiasco aside — other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play — from attacking Brooksley Born in the late 90’s to his embarrassing interim at Harvard (where, on top of everything else, Wonderboy lost the endowment $2 billion) to ham-stringing the 2009 stimulus out of the gate, everything Summers touches turns to lead.
But, lo, here he is once again, being force-fed to us by the usual suspects as a brilliant speaker of economic truths. Yet another classic case of failing-up in Washington, where it’s always better to be wrong and with the herd than prescient and correct.
Update: “Although Summers had been an early advocate of Warren’s idea to establish a consumer regulator to deal with abusive lending, he was rankled by the support she received from other administration officials, particularly Christina Romer, who chaired Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers.” Among his many other sins, Summers also went out of his way to block Elizabeth Warren as CFPB head — a bureau she in effect created — apparently because of personal pique. So, yeah, let’s put this guy in charge. He is so SMRT!
And why does this man continue to be a leading contender for a top job? why do people keep pushing him? Is it because he is such a staunch supporter of the biggest banks? and is that what Obama wants? (The single worst thing about this idea, it seems to me, is that this appointment is for such a long time. Ten years, if I’m not mistaken. He’ll be around for the next 2-3 presidents!)
Okay, miscalculation. This president plus one more; possibly two more. Either way, the heart sinks.
So the question remains, why do people keep pushing for Larry Summers to be appointed to this very important position? (why?)
Your guess is as good as mine. But I presume much of it is because (a) Obama likes him as a fellow conservative technocrat, (b) he’s deregulatory and centrist enough not to upset the wishes of Wall Street Super Donors, and (c) as I indicated above, he’s been deemed a Very Important Insider, which is a lifelong posting in DC — so long as you pay homage to the same wrong platitudes as everyone else. This Town at work.
Okay, so I guess that I’m not supposed to be able to make sense of it. Thank you as always, for your reply. At your suggestion, I read the Slate article. Sigh. It seems to me that at one time we had at least some serious people in our government, trying to do serious work. Thanks again.