Economic Recovery Advisory Board To Be Led By Paul Volcker (SLIDESHOW)

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker will chair a new economic advisory panel created by President-elect Barack Obama and designed to stabilize financial markets, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The report was confirmed during Obama's press conference later in the morning, when the president-elect himself announced the appointment.

Quoting Democratic officials, the newspaper reported on its Web site that University of Chicago economist and Obama policy adviser Austan Goolsbee will serve as the panel's staff director.

Members of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board will come from a cross-section of citizens outside the government, the Journal said.

Read the full story here

The economic panel announcement is the third in three days for President-Elect Obama, who has rolled out his economic team quickly, as promised. Here's a recap of the team so far:

• • • • • • • • • • President-Elect Barack Obama named former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker to lead his new President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board today in his third straight day of economic team announcements.

-OR-

::Barack Obama's Economic Team: Big news and all the headlines
::New York Times Editorial: Geithner And Summers "Have Played Central Roles" In Provoking Crisis
::Obama Appoints Berkeley Professor Christina Romer to Chair Council of Economic Advisers
::Obama's Economic Team: Reactions Roundup

Comments

[Ivann]

Volcker looks to be older than McCain. Hmmm......­........

[PhilipTaylor]

Is it the Auto Makers who are Obsolete or is the BANKSTERS who are Obsolete?

Banking is far behind the Automobile Companies in the use of Technology for Automation of their functions! The Internet with Software and Databases allows most banking functions to be automated or partially automated as production lines are now! But Banking has resisted this!

About 80% of the Big Banking Systems can be AUTOMATED completely so that all loans are processed through the Internet directly from the FED at the Fed Rate + 2% to 3% or through Fannie or Freddie.

The remaining portion of the Big Banks can be partially automated and controlled by Software so HIGH FEES are not mysteriously ADDED to “FAKE” New products. These “FAKE AAA RATED PRODUCTS” seem to be the only “VALUE ADDED” thing BANKSTER do and frankly we can do without them!

Creating WEALTH requires Tangible Value Added Products, like steel and cars, and that is what the BANKSTERS tried the last 8 Years by Building the "FAKE FEE ADDED PRODUCTS" that had little or no VALUE!

It is time to stop having the FED FEED BANKS who then make massive FEES and PROFITS for shuffling money to Value Added Businesses and Consumers! Remove this LAYER of unnecessary Corruption and COSTS!

[GerryS]

I am very depressed. Today I witnessed a man gathering coal from an open seam on public property-
he had 4- 50# burlap feed sacks going, working with a pickaxe!!!

when I asked, his response was, I need to do what I need to do--------­----------­------

[tchristin]

Cool! I see black, white, young, old, Christian, Jewish, women and men. I see conservative and liberal and I see intelligent, educated, experienced individuals.

[PhilipTaylor]

What a Great set of TEAMS! A way to think about Obama's Economic Package:

It was said during the campaign that Bush-Cheney doubled the NATIONAL DEBT to $10 Trillion.

Now Bloomberg did an analysis and found that Bush-Cheney along with Bernake and Paulson have given out, loaned or traded for equity in AIG and the BANKS the STAGGERING AMOUNT OF

$8.56 TRILLION - in BAILOUTS and LOANS! Includes another $800 Billion?

Basically that $10 Trillion deficit is now $18.56 Trillion!

So he entered with the US at a $5 Trillion Debt and caused a $13.56 Trillion Increase in Debt
a 275% increase.

Where can we PUT THESE GUYS for questioning?

[Wiredwilly]

Clearly Obama never read Thomas Jefferson. By placing the Federal Reserve Bankers in to even MORE powerful positions he is only speeding the decline of America. They will let things rally when they have driven the market far enough down, but ultimate their goal is a World Government controlled exclusively by the Banks reducing everyone to eternal debt slavery. Obama is a basically a good man but he has NO IDEA of what the Federal Reserve is about.

[canucklivinginUSA]

The Fed conspiracy theory is getting old

[thecanadian]

PE Obama is just that - PE - not in power yet and still rally of stocks. Where is the big Bush - not one word from him on anything? He still has two months to go and not a word on anything? No plan?

[jinjinpinti]

LameDuck Plan # 1: Ravage protections for what is left of our national forests, parks, waterways and air.

LameDuck Plan # 2: Continue and increase the emptying of the US Treasury and bail out as many rich cronies as possible.

LameDuck Plan #3: Have the staff here pack our bags and alert the servants at the Paraguay Hacienda to chill the wine and turn down the beds.

[1rewd1]

What's that saying going around?

Obama isn't going to fix anything, he's just gonna ****** rig it?

[Jahmekyah]

New Rule: When Obama Speaks...S­tocks go up....ere go, have a press conference every day!!!

[1rewd1]

If the stock market was the economy ....

[canucklivinginUSA]

The stock market is an indicator of the economy. Be smart

[truthseeker7]

The board game Monopoly is a good analog for the free market. What happens in Monopoly? Answer: someone winds up winning everything and the rest of the players go broke.

A true free market benefits the smart, the lucky and eventually the rich. Add in greed, an absence of morals, and a paid off government and you have .....2008 USA.

What is ultimately needed is a regulated free market with guidelines for requiring or at least strongly encouraging - generosity, sustainability, innovation, and accountability.

This stuff is not tricky. It just takes some better people than what we have had, and as far as I can tell, who Obama is picking so far.

[canucklivinginUSA]

That is the type of free market that I advocate. The free market is not the guilty party here, its all those exogenous factors, as you pointed out, that have undermine the principle. Nicely put.

[sposton]

I've noticed quite a number of Paul Volcker adoration society members here. They all seem to be youthfully ignorant and "knowledgeable" about economics and finances in ways that betrays their class origin. Any attempt to shed an alternative light on Paul Volcker's legacy is met by ad hominem attacks. I bet you many of their daddies work on Wall Street and use "summer" as a verb. I guess the southern Republicans are just too uncouth for these high class pups. You can count on this class to produce a new generation of class warriors pipsqueaks to screw the rest of us.

They just adore Volcker, Summers, Rubin, Geithner, and the rest. Even Krugman seems to be too much of a class enemy to this group although never seem to explain why. I guess his "extreme" left wing ideology scares them half to death. ;-)

[Pupster]

Talk about ad hominem attacks. Nice of you to speculate negatively about people's motives and origins, when you don't know anything about it.

Perhaps in fact we revere Volcker because history has vindicated him when he was reviled in his own time. If your preference is Greenspan, just say so, instead of defaming a man who only deserves long delayed credit.

[Chibikim]

As we speak the DOW is up by 200 points. This is the 4th day when Obama spoke the stocks have rose. That tells you a lot! Best President Ever!

[AContrario]

To all delusioned people out there:

I thought, with this financial crisis, you have finally realized that Wall St has never been about helping the little guy or being socially responsibl­e.It is about piling up as much as you can and as fast as
possible. Even though the current financial system survives this crisis, the same economic and financial status quo of the last decades will carry on until until the real economic Big Bang.
Wall St crisis is first a moral failure of the system not an issue on technicalities or how much money need to be pour in; the fundations are rotten, it is time for the US government to be truly bold,smart and
creative.P­eople are ready for something different now because what do they to loose right now?

Everybody has been irresponsible and selfish in this mess: borrowers and lenders so we should take
this opportunity to take drastic measures now and suffer for a foreseeable timeline instead of planting a bigger financial and economic mine in our children future and keeping up with the economic and
financail delusions.


You can't teach an old dog new tricks and seeing the team Mr.Obama is gathering around him I begin
to doubt if change gonna kick off on 20/01/2008­...

Please learn more about the national debt and our options:
www.zeitgeist.com
www.iousathemovie.com/

It is free.

[canucklivinginUSA]

Quoting from the zeitgeist movie shows how stupid you are. The X-files are over, move on. You obviously don't understand the role markets play to help businesses, and I won't bother teaching you. Get an economic degree and then we might(I highly doubt it) discuss

[Buddhabman]

It's great to see a new generation of economic leaders come on board, Timothy Geithner, Austan Goolsbee, Christina Romer, Melody Barnes, Peter Orszag, Rob Nabors along with wise council from
Paul Volcker & Lawrence Summers. The Change Obama is bringing is Competence, stability and foward thinking.

[canucklivinginUSA]

Goolsbee is going to show supply siders how wrong they were. I just read an article written by him about how cutting taxes doesn't spur growth. Awesome

[Chubbster]

Paul Volker is a titan of American finance who is NOT afraid to make short term painful and unpopular decisions. He is the repository of All Knowledge and Experience in his domain which is now our domain as we could go in a few very difficult directions. How about: Depression? With Deflation? How about Depression with Inflation? How about total destruction of the U.S. dollar? I am very happy, temporarily of course, but it is a real relief to see someone as wise and experienced as he on the team, the inner team. Maybe we can get through this with merely a sharp hard recession and not have the whole financial system disintegrate. There's a cheerful thought...­but that is all it is. Damn, it's that "hope" thing again. Better than having no hope... anyway, cheers for Paul Volker, a supremely competent man. Maybe we wont all be screwed beyond our wildest bad dreams.