Obama Says Paul Volcker Stepping Down as Adviser

[Hissyspit]

Source: Reuters

Obama says Paul Volcker stepping down as adviser

WASHINGTON | Thu Jan 20, 2011 11:30pm EST
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama announced on Thursday that former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker was stepping down from his role as head of an outside panel advising the White House on economic policy.

"From his bold vision around how to reform our financial system to his thoughtful insight on how to make our economy work for working families again, Paul brought his brilliance and vast experience to bear on a host of difficult challenges," Obama said in a statement.

"I will always be grateful to Paul Volcker for his service as the head of my Economic Recovery Advisory Board," Obama said.

Reuters reported earlier this month that Volcker intended to leave the advisory board in February

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE70K14720110121

[gateley]

1. Thank. You. Jesus! nt

[midnight]

2. Now put Elizabeth Warren in his place, and show Larry Summers

how good women are at math......

[armodem08]

3. Um, what?

You do know that Volcker has been one of the good guys, pushing to regulate the banks more, right?

[kysrsoze]

5. Thank you for your INFORMED comment!

I hadn't seen much mention of him lately - which explains why he's probably leaving. It's not as if they're listening to him anyway.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[midnight]

11. Can you please give me a link to such goodness?

[jtuck004]

19. Had Reagan not gotten rid of Volcker for Greenspan, we might not have

had our current financial crisis.

"Volcker's Fed is widely credited with ending the United States' stagflation crisis of the 1970s. Inflation, which peaked at 13.5% in 1981, was successfully lowered to 3.2% by 1983.<7>"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Volcker

But after Volcker's work, Reagan dumped him for someone who never met a regulation he liked - Greenspan. His combination of removing regulation and a strict adherence to the idea that if a deal could be done it must be ok, (else someone wouldn't buy or sell) led us to where we are today.

Volcker was never a corporate shill - he proposed actions that were good for the country, the very wealthy were not his first priority. And he is probably just sick of being shunted aside for those who think "trickle-down" helps everyone, not just the very wealthy.

[midnight]

13. My thoughts were more on the incoming person than the goodness of Volcker.

My name dropping of Elizabeth Warren was to voice my concern over a Corporate Asset that might not have the best interest of the consumer in mind....

Corporate Asset

Having a corporate leader as Volcker’s replacement may prove to be an asset to Obama when the president comes under attack from groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Immelt, a self-described Republican, has emerged as one of Obama’s most visible outside economic advisers. In addition to the summit in India, he was among the executives who met with Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao on Jan. 19 and later attended the state dinner honoring the Asian leader.ttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-21/obama-taps-ge-s-immelt-for-economy-panel-replace-volcker.html

[sabrina 1]

9. Actually Volcker was a ray of hope among the Goldman

Sachs crowd. I wonder if he realized he could not do any good when the whole economic team would have been against him and decided to leave and try to do some good somewhere else.

He hasn't been there very long. I am surprised and saddened he is stepping down. No sign of the real bad guys doing so though. Geithner eg.

[newfie11]

14. I am also very sad to see him go. n/t

[girl gone mad]

17. Push out one of the few good ones for yet another corporatist clown.

Figures you would be cheering for that nonsense.

[xchrom]

21. why do you say that?

he's been a stronger warrior for regulation recently than most -- and by most i mean the obama admin.

[w4rma]

4. The good guys are all quitting his administration. Wtf. (nt)

[alp227]

6. Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of General Electric, to replace Volker

per Obama Alters Panel of Economic Advisers (AP): "President Obama is restructuring his economic advisory board and naming Jeffrey Immelt, General Electric’s chief executive, as its new leader."

[SharonAnn]

8. Great. CEO of the company that led in off-shoring work to cheapest labor.

He was trained by Neutron Jack (Welch) who left the factory buildings standing but all the people were gone.

[Frank Booth]

12. I was expecting someone from Goldman Sachs, but I guess this choice is good enough

for Wall Street.

[still_one]

16. Immelt, a self-desribed republican. Is there really a doubt where Obama stands? /nt

[decidedlyso]

18. Unmitigated Disaster. Immelt has destroyed GE and is a raging

corporatist.

[MilesColtrane]

10. Damn, Tall Paul is someone we need telling Obama what he doesn't want to hear.

[sendero]

15. One of the vanishingly few sane voices....

on Obama's economic team is leaving. Who is surprised. Volcker knows that with the team he's working with nothing good can be accomplished and he's jumping ship. Why be associated with abject failure?

[shireen]

20. headline should read, "Obama says Paul Volcker ousted as adviser" nt

[yellowcanine]

22. IMO Volcker bears some of the blame for Reagan. He cranked up interest rates too far and too

rapidly, which, combined with the aftermath of the 1973 and 1979 oil shocks, helped to put the economy into a deep funk just in time to elect Reagan in 1980.

A more gradual approach might have resulted in a less severe recession. But then I am no economist so maybe I am all wet on this.