Alan Krueger, Top Treasury Economist, Returning To Princeton

Alan Krueger, a top economics official at the Department of Treasury, will leave his post next month to return to academia, becoming the latest in a string of departures from the Obama administration's economic team.

A spokesman for the Treasury confirmed that Krueger, assistant secretary for economic policy, would return to Princeton University, where he previously served as a professor of economics. The Wall Street Journal first reported the news late Friday.

Krueger has served as the top adviser to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner since the administration took power last year.

News of Krueger's departure comes after several other high-profile announcements of Obama economic advisers resigning amid concerns over the sluggish pace of the recovery.

With unemployment remaining stuck at painfully high levels, Democrats are bracing for heavy losses in the upcoming congressional elections.

Peter Orszag, Obama's budget director, and Christina Romer, head of the president's Council of Economic Advisers, resigned earlier this summer. And last month Lawrence Summers, the president's top economist, announced he would return to Harvard University at the end of this year. Secretary Geithner is the only member of Obama's top-tier economic advisers to remain with the administration.

Krueger's published work focuses on the economics of education, unemployment, social insurance and other policy decisions. He previously served as the Department of Labor's chief economist during the Clinton administration.

Comments

[ron ray]

11:57 AM on 10/20/2010

Can we all stop pretending its unusual for administration folks to leave after two years? people take on huge responsibilities, work long hours and leave with each election cycle. it's happened with every presidency. it's not some dark judgement on Obama, folks.

[kenhamlett]

07:59 PM on 10/18/2010

The departure of all these people responsible for our current failing policies gives the President an opportunity to focus, as he should have all along, on the economy and jobs. He needs to stay put in the White House after the election -- foregoing appearances on the late night variety shows, "The View," and other diversions -- and actually call together economists and planners to develop a policy that will at least give us a chance for recovery. His history tells us that he will not do so -- he seems inexorably drawn to the cameras and limelight -- but, let us hope he too has learned something from his first two years in office.

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

10:13 AM on 10/19/2010

No, he needs to call together business leaders and investors to develop a policy that will lead to recovery. Economists had their shot and they blew it. More proof academics don't create and environment suitable for job creation.

[Tiggy]

08:18 AM on 10/20/2010

Yeah and when you leave business, or the fox to guard the hen house, the economy has proven that a failure too. The problem was he brought in people who believed in little or no regulation of the market. The goal was to save their friends and HOPE their friends would help the economy. The problem? Greed; the very greed that led to the crisis was very much alive and well.

[Reno Fickler]

03:03 PM on 10/18/2010

Who said, "If you can't do your job, teach others."? Must have been a Govt employee.

[lqw]

06:58 PM on 10/18/2010

Did Obama say that ?

[PolicyWonkette]

02:05 PM on 10/18/2010

Totally OT, but is it just me or does Alan Krueger look a lot like Rob Lowe....

[MileHighCityMan]

01:32 PM on 10/18/2010

I got pretty excited until I looked below the headline to the picture and noticed it wasn't Tim Geithner leaving.

[lqw]

07:00 PM on 10/18/2010

I bet he will leave soon too. Thwy are all jumping from the sinking ship that's the Obama administration.

[AZreb]

09:56 PM on 10/19/2010

Could it be that too many economists bumped heads with Geithner and have finally given up? I think Geithner is the one that needs to go - but that is too much to hope for.

[Tiggy]

08:20 AM on 10/20/2010

Agreed! He over saw Wall Street and that failed, he is overseeing the economy and that too is failing.

[Jimbo24]

01:31 PM on 10/18/2010

Another one bites the dust. I know, lets get another professor in there to figure this out, we don't have enough former professors running the country these days!

[Chicagowill]

10:20 PM on 10/18/2010

And your point is?

We didn't do too well when we had CEO's like Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, or people who play CEO's on TV, like W, running it. I'd argue we did much worse.

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

10:14 AM on 10/19/2010

Yes, we did. we had an average of 5% unemployment during that time.

[Jeffin90019]

01:29 PM on 10/18/2010

Any bets on which of the big financial giants will welcome this man back with open arms?

[bassch26]

01:24 PM on 10/18/2010

test

[firstep]

12:39 PM on 10/18/2010

Go back and resume your tenured position

[asta1968]

01:11 PM on 10/18/2010

As Sarah has proved, Professional Victim, pays damned well.

[munki]

11:35 AM on 10/18/2010

I sure have no words left to describe HOW SAD that they could not put their ACTs together!

[MadeandBakedintheUSA]

11:31 AM on 10/18/2010

LETS PUT IN PHIL GRAHAM

[exmate]

11:45 AM on 10/18/2010

lol ........ OMG..Surely you are joking...,. Mr. Dereguation himself

Does the Gramm Leach bill, mean anything to you? you know... The one that gutted Glass Steagal

Senator Phil Gramm's wife Wendy on the board of directors of ENRON?

[MileHighCityMan]

01:35 PM on 10/18/2010

This isn't the rodeo clown satirical humor section, but you might want to send your comment to the kid's comic section of a newspaper for its sheer hilarity.

[blueskybigstar]

11:30 AM on 10/18/2010

"With unemployment remaining stuck at painfully high levels, Democrats are bracing for heavy losses in the upcoming congressional elections."

Matthew Arrone of the AP, you are full of it.

Majority Whip Clyburn said he expected gains. He said not to listen to the misinforming media sources.

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

10:15 AM on 10/19/2010

Instead we should listen to the partisan leftist Whip sources?

[blueskybigstar]

11:00 AM on 10/19/2010

Hvor kommer du fra?

Yes, we should listen to him over the AP because I have caught the AP in a number of lies.

[LaBrayne35]

11:26 AM on 10/18/2010

The incompetence of Obama's economic team is breathtaking...academia is NOT where you go to find experienced candidates...they are experienced in running a classroom...THAT'S IT.

[MadeandBakedintheUSA]

11:31 AM on 10/18/2010

sure beats GLENN BECK UNIVERSITY!

[GlennDaniels]

11:43 AM on 10/18/2010

We have had the same people doing economic policy for both republicans and democrats for a long time. This is part of the problem. Everyone thought because they study economics and they are academics then they must be the best people for the jobs.
Boy were we wrong!
These people love it when we argue about the dems or the repubs because it takes the attention off the failed policies these banksters have put into place for the last 30+ years. This is not dem or repubs, they have both failed because they are the same coin, just a different side. Let's not play their games anymore. The economists and bankers must be held accountable, as well as their politician tools on both sides!!!

[joebhed]

04:04 PM on 10/18/2010

gotta agree.

[wrightthewrong]

11:03 AM on 10/18/2010

Not top enough -- we need Geithner to leave and be replaced by somebody with a heart, perhaps the Tinman.

[exmate]

11:36 AM on 10/18/2010

My impression of Geithner is that he is more of a politician who knows what side his bread is buttered on than an economist. My hope is that Elizabeth Warren will cause him to appeal to his better angels. She makes too much sense for people in the White House not to listen to her. They are not stupid. Geithner's departure is not the sine qua non of Wall Street reform.

[Newsjunqee]

05:17 PM on 10/18/2010

Agreed. He may not be essential, but he makes a helluva Trojan horse for the Fed and wallstreet by virtue of his proximity to the First Trough.

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

10:17 AM on 10/19/2010

I was thinking someone with a brain... Maybe the Scarecrow.

[R Car]

11:01 AM on 10/18/2010

It's no surprise the SCOTUS would veer off course in the Citizens United case, they were so astounded by the money Obama raised that they knew the GOP couldn't compete with Obama and changed the law which circumvents congress.

The only way the GOP can win is by electronic voting machines, all Diebold did was change its name.

http://en.­­­wikipedi­a­.­org/wi­ki­/P­remi­er_­Ele­ct­ion_­Solu­­tions


"John Pappageorge, a Republican state legislator in Michigan said in the summer of 2004, "If we do not suppress the Detroit vote, we're going to have a tough time in this election."

http://en.­­wikipedia­.­org/wiki­/2­004_Uni­ted­_State­s_pr­eside­ntial­_ele­ction_­con­trovers­y,­_voting_m­­achines#Sp­­ecific_is­s­ues_rela­ti­ng_to_D­ieb­old_ma­chin­es_an­d_pra­ctic­es


Watch states with republican governors and secretaries of state.


http://www­­­­.rollin­g­s­t­one.­co­m/­po­l­iti­cs/­ne­w­s/­1739­­0/22­­0013

[mynamesyow]

12:29 PM on 10/18/2010

Oh my, and dont forget the GOP strongman Ken blackwell as SOS in Ohio thru the Bush years. his exploits of supressing the votes are LEGENDARY. Even a cursory Google Search will show news report after news report of the Tricks the GOP played, everything from Diebold to suppressing minority voting in the major cities, even though Blackwell was a minority!
This man can not even show his face in OH without someone taking a swing at him...