My favorite economist, Austan Goolsbee, was all over the media today talking about AIG’s bonus program on the backs of American taxpayers. As I was driving back from work this evening, I heard Goolsbee on NPR bashing AIG. He was also on MSNBC’s Hardball taking a whack at the bonus program. Suddenly Goolsbee is everywhere, and it is a good thing.
Austan Goolsbee, along with Cecilia Rouse, are now finally and officially on the President’s Council of Economic Advisors. Both their nominations were held up in the Senate by the Republicans until late last week for unspecified reasons. At a time of economic crisis, the three-member Council of Economic Advisors had only its chairwoman Christina Romer able to do the work of the American people. For two months, the Republicans deliberately hamstrung the President’s economic team.
No more. Now Goolsbee is unmuzzled and unleashed. Goolsbee is the master of one liners and a damn fine economist. He is a passionate advocate for the President’s economic policies and has the ability to articulate complex issues in a straightforward manner. It is good to see him back on the news.
As a founding member of the unofficial Austan Goolsbee Fan Club, I am very pleased to see the Republican dirty tricks on the Goolsbee and Rouse nominations come to an end. Now it is time for the CEA to get to work.
Mash, Since you seem to be familiar with Mr. Goolsbee’s work and claim he “is known for his ability to explain economic and business issues clearly”, can you offer an explaination as to why he would spout the following gibberish in response to a question from Maria Bartiromo on closing Bell, March 24, 2009?
“In this circumstance what got us into problems was that ordinary Americans were getting squeezed like never before. If you don’t address healthcare costs you haven’t addressed the long run fiscal challenge in the country and you haven’t addressed the squeeze on the middle class which ultimately,that squeeze, the lack of a margin for error, their inability to pay their housing payments, all of those things morphed into the financial crisis. So this health care, education, clean energy are central to putting us on a new foundation that can’t be done separate. You can’t just wait till hopefully this thing fixes itself or we fix the banking crisis in isolation. It kinda can’t be fixed in isolation. We’ve got to address that middle class squeeze.”
Now I’m not an economist. I don’t even play one on tv. Don’t hold a degree from a fine university like Yale either. So maybe it’s not my place to be so judgemental, but if this is truly the best and brightest advising President Obama on things economic.. we’re in a heap of trouble.