Time For A New Economic Team?

by Stuart Shapiro

I count myself as among the fans of Timothy Geithner.  The handling of the financial crisis in 2008-09 undoubtedly prevented a far worse economic crisis than the one we endured.  However David Rothkopf points out that it may be time to move on.

Move Tim Geithner out of Treasury and to the NEC. Move Larry Summers back to his old job. And if you can’t get him confirmed there, find something else for him. He’s too valuable an asset not to have a job at a time like this — but it needs to be the right job. And then find a commerce secretary, a U.S. trade representative, a labor secretary, a chairperson of the council of economic advisors and others who are — unlike the current crop — every bit their equals and who are even better when it comes to connecting with average Americans. Don’t wait. Don’t leave this to chance or the vagaries of who comes and who goes “for family reasons.” This is the critical challenge confronting this administration.

My guess is that this is not something that will happen before the election.  It would be akin to admitting defeat (although it would be better interpreted as the needs of the country shifting — we no longer need technocrats to pilot us out of crisis but rather someone who “feels our pain”) and saying Republicans were correct about the administration’s economic policies (which would be neither wise nor true).  But it would not surprise me to see a new Treasury Secretary appointed some time around January 1.

By: Stuart Shapiro

Stuart is a professor and the Director of the Public Policy
program at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers
University. He teaches economics and cost-benefit analysis and studies
regulation in the United States at both the federal and state levels.
Prior to coming to Rutgers, Stuart worked for five years at the Office
of Management and Budget in Washington under Presidents Clinton and
George W. Bush.