The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age

    From Brad Delong

    By Flavius on Tue, 06/07/2011 - 8:41am |

    Peter Diamond unqualifed to be a Federal Reserve Governor: Peter Diamond: "Last October, I won the Nobel Prize in economics for my work on unemployment and the labor market. But I am unqualified to serve on the board of the Federal Reserve — at least according to the Republican senators who have blocked my nomination. How can this be? The easy answer is to point to shortcomings in our confirmation process and to partisan polarization in Washington. The more troubling answer, though... a failure to recognize that analysis of unemployment is crucial to conducting monetary policy.... The leading opponent to my appointment, Richard C. Shelby of Alabama, the ranking Republican on the committee, has questioned the relevance of my expertise. “Does Dr. Diamond have any experience in conducting monetary policy? No,” he said in March. “His academic work has been on pensions and labor market theory.” But understanding the labor market... is critical..........

     

    While we whine about Obama's  failure to do what we want, the Republicans very effectively prevent him from doing what we want.

    Comments

    Matt Yglesias noted yesterday:

    ... it’s only now after Republican opposition to him mounted and the nomination was dead that Diamond’s out there aggressively defending his own qualification. Back when Shelby was a lone voice holding Diamond up in the 111th Congress, there was no high-profile criticism forthcoming from the Senate Democratic leadership or the White House. No encouragement was given to outside progressive voices to write about this and no surrogates were dispatched in the press to try to put the nomination over the finish line. What’s more, by the time Diamond’s name was even put forward the seat in question had lingered vacant for over a year so it was difficult for the White House to argue that it was an urgent post.

    It's not whining to hold Democratic leaders, including the President, accountable for their incompetence.

     


    by Dan Kervick on Tue, 06/07/2011 - 10:16am

    Thanks for bringing that fact here, Dan.  Bmaz adds his two cents to a Philip and Gerstein piece about Obama's executive nominations failure (bmaz) or extreme tardiness (politico).

    Wonder who he'll hire to replace Goolsbee?  Speculation leads to cynicism...


    by we are stardust on Tue, 06/07/2011 - 10:40am

    Hardly matters since the Republicans will block anyone we are interested in seeing appointed.


    by Flavius on Tue, 06/07/2011 - 1:14pm

    The CEA chair position isn't subject to Senate confirmation. He can appoint who he wants.

    I hope it's someone with real-world experience, like a Goldman-Sachs banker or something...


    by Cho on Tue, 06/07/2011 - 1:23pm

    I agree. I withdraw whining.



    by Flavius on Tue, 06/07/2011 - 1:13pm

    The Good Lord and the Senate act in mysterious ways!


    by Richard Day on Tue, 06/07/2011 - 12:36pm