From this article:
does-larry-summers-have-integrity"Back in the '90s, Summers had pushed hard to open up capital flows around the world. He had fought against efforts to regulate swaps and other derivatives. He had backed the 1999 repeal of the Glass-Steagall law, permitting commercial banks to jump into risky investment-banking activities, as "historic legislation" that would "replace" Depression-era rules "with a system for the 21st century." At the Jackson Hole central bankers gathering in 2005, when University of Chicago economist Raghuram Rajan had presciently raised questions about the growing risks in the financial system, Summers had publicly ridiculed Rajan. Summers spoke of how much he had learned from Fed chief Alan Greenspan, the Ayn Rand devotee who believed that Wall Street financial firms could always be trusted to preserve the system, and then launched into an attack on Rajan, saying he found "the basic, slightly Luddite premise of this paper to be largely misguided."
In fact, Rajan's analysis was dead on. But Summers never acknowledged that, either.
Here is Rajan's paper:
Has Financial Development Made the World Riskier?The Wall Street Journal recently ranked more than 700 predictions made between 2009 and last year by 14 Fed officials on everything from growth to jobs to inflation. The economist who came out on top of the list? Janet Yellen."
I give Janet my vote. Or in Rocky Horror picture show fashion...Janet Damn 'it!
Handy comparison chart:
Comments
"A source from Team Obama told CNBC that Larry Summers will likely be named chairman of the Federal Reserve in a few weeks though he is "still being vetted" so it might take a little longer."
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"During Summers's presidency at Harvard, the University entered into a series totaling US$3.52 billion of interest rate swaps, financial derivatives that can be used for either hedging or speculation.[49] Summers approved the decision to enter into the swap contracts as president of the university and as a member of Harvard Corporation, which bears "the school's ultimate fiduciary responsibility."[50] By late 2008, those positions had lost approximately $1 billion in value, a setback which forced Harvard to borrow significant sums in distressed market conditions to meet margin calls on the swaps.[51] In the end Harvard paid $497.6 million in termination fees to investment banks and has agreed to pay another $425 million over 30–40 years.[50] The decision to enter into the swap positions has been attributed to Summers and has been termed a "massive interest-rate gamble" that ended badly.[52]"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Summers
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" Summers [hasn't] ever owned up to his responsibility for deregulation in the 1990s, which led directly to the financial disaster."
Well, as Clinton (Darrell Hammond) explained: "It was the 90s. People did all kinds of ... crazy things."
communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/emea-watch/2013/aug/22/larry-summers-vs-washington-and-everyone-else/
This one photo from 1998 includes everybody involved in the Fed chair decision
all have a straight line back to Clinton Treasury secretary Robert Rubin
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/08/21/this-one-photo-from-1998-includes-everybody-involved-in-the-fed-chair-decision/
America's Gilded Capital
Bill talks with journalist Mark Leibovich about his latest book, This Town, a city where money rules and status is determined by who you know and what they can do for you.
Wealthiest U.S. counties ring Washington D.C.
http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nightly-news/35825701#35825701
Zen koan--what is the sound of two wings of one nomenklatura flapping.
Answer--the standing ovation following an election nite victory speech.
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/39271/john-c-campbell/nomenklatura-the-soviet-ruling-class
http://www.auburn.edu/~johnspm/gloss/oligarchy
Thanks for these links.
oligarchy
1. government by a small group of people
2. a state or organization so governed
3. a small body of individuals ruling such a state
4. chiefly ( US ) a small clique of private citizens who exert a strong influence on government
Regards,
Ted