Larry Summers

President Obama Takes Another Body Slam

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The very odd spectacle of President Obama personally lobbying for Larry Summers - his preferred choice to run the Federal Reserve – came to an end this week when Summers withdrew his name for consideration. The final blow for Summers came when a fourth Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, in this case Jon Tester of Montana, issued a statement in opposition to Summers.

Obama Sweetens The Pot Just Don't Look for a Chicken In It

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A chicken in every pot and a car in every garage – Herbert Hoover, 1928

hooverchicken.jpgPresident Barack Obama wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, Toward a 21st Century Regulatory System, trying to justify his administration's decision to review and rescind Federal Regulations by executive order.

This order requires that federal agencies ensure that regulations protect our safety, health and environment while promoting economic growth. And it orders a government-wide review of the rules already on the books to remove outdated regulations that stifle job creation and make our economy less competitive. It's a review that will help bring order to regulations that have become a patchwork of overlapping rules, the result of tinkering by administrations and legislators of both parties and the influence of special interests in Washington over decades.

Where necessary, we won't shy away from addressing obvious gaps: new safety rules for infant formula; procedures to stop preventable infections in hospitals; efforts to target chronic violators of workplace safety laws. But we are also making it our mission to root out regulations that conflict, that are not worth the cost, or that are just plain dumb.

Volcker Resigns and Goldman Sachs Moves In

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The Obama administration is having a shake up. Former Federal Reseve Chief Paul Volcker is quitting. His final act? Trying to get real financial reform, known as the Volcker Rule and was beaten down at every turn.

Now here comes Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, straight into the White House.

Gene Sperling, a former Goldman Sachs consultant and more infamous, architect for many of the current consequences our economy is suffering, laid down in the Clinton administration, is slated to replace the equally corporate driven Larry Summers for the top economic adviser spot.

Even Time Magazine calls Sperling Obama's corporate Ambassador and Dean Baker suspects Sperling thinks asset bubbles are cool:

The primary issue is not that Sperling got $900,000 from Goldman Sachs for part-time work, although that does look bad. The primary issue is that Sperling thought, and may still think, that the policies that laid the basis for the economic collapse were just fine.

BlackRock - Friends in High Places

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Laurence Fink, CEO of BlackRock appears to have guided his company through the minefields of the 2007-2008 financial collapse and emerged a well-positioned entity.

In fact, on June 11, 2009, BlackRock signed a deal with Barclays that according to Bloomberg, “creates a company overseeing $2.7 trillion in assets, more than the  Federal Reserve.” Also recently, BlackRock  beat out PIMCO to be one of nine managers of the Treasury’s P.P.I.P. 

Can we attribute Fink’s achievements to stellar stewardship, pure luck, or political connections?