Mark Zandi on Ben Bernanke's Chances for a 2nd Term
12.17.2009
Mark Zandi > View profile
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke has been praised by President Obama and hailed by most mainstream economists for bold policies that played a critical role in pulling the U.S. economy back from the brink of disaster.
The Fed chief even won a celebrity accolade Wednesday when Time magazine named him Person of the Year.
But instead of basking in glory, the 56-year-old professorial Fed chairman is fighting for his job -- and for the survival of policies at the heart of efforts by the central bank and the Obama administration to keep the nation's fragile recovery on track.
Although Bernanke is expected to win support from the Senate Banking Committee today and eventually be confirmed by the full Senate for a second four-year term, he remains under continual attack in Congress.
In recent months many members of Congress from both parties have berated the Fed and its chairman, in part over the Fed's failure during the housing boom to stop reckless behavior by banks and in part because of public indignation over billion-dollar bailouts for Wall Street. The anger has fueled drives in both chambers to curb the Fed's power and subject its actions, including monetary policymaking, to congressional scrutiny.
"It is ironic that he's under such criticisms given that he played such a key role in ending the financial crisis," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "I think if the Fed hadn't acted aggressively and reduced rates to zero, the financial system would still be in disarray and we'd still be in a recession." (LA TIMES) > View article
John Fund: Harry Reid's History Lesson
12.08.2009
John Fund > View profile
Majority Leader Harry Reid tarred opponents of his health care bill yesterday as the equivalent of those who opposed equal rights for women and civil rights for blacks.
In a remarkable statement on the Senate floor, Mr. Reid lambasted Republicans for wanting to "slow down" on health care. "You think you've heard these same excuses before? You're right," he said. "In this country there were those who dug in their heels and said, 'Slow down, it's too early. Let's wait. Things aren't bad enough' -- about slavery. When women wanted to vote, [they said] 'Slow down, there will be a better day to do that -- the day isn't quite right. . . .'"
He wrapped up his remarks as follows: "When this body was on the verge of guaranteeing equal civil rights to everyone regardless of the color of their skin, some senators resorted to the same filibuster threats that we hear today."
Senator Reid's comments were quickly condemned. "Hyperbole. It is over the top. It reminds me of earlier people talking about Nazis," said Juan Williams of NPR and Fox News, author of "Eyes on the Prize," a definitive history of the civil rights movement.
Historians also faulted Mr. Reid's curious reference to the Senate civil rights debates of the 1960s. After all, it was Southern Democrats who mounted an 83-day filibuster of the 1964 Civil Rights Bill. The final vote to cut off debate saw 29 Senators in opposition, 80% of them Democrats. Among those voting to block the civil rights bill was West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd, who personally filibustered the bill for 14 hours. The next year he also opposed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Mr. Byrd still sits in the Senate, and indeed preceded Mr. Reid as his party's majority leader until he stepped down from that role in 1989.
The final reason Mr. Reid's comments were so inapt and offensive is that the battles for women's suffrage and civil rights he referred to were about expanding freedom. That's not what the 2,074-page health care bill being debated in the Senate today does, with its 118 new regulatory boards and commissions. Mr. Reid may reach his needed 60 votes to pass his bill this month, but he is pursuing it using the most tawdry and deplorable of tactics. (WSJ) > View article
Terry Jones Profiled in Successful Meetings
12.08.2009
Terry Jones > View profile
Innovation is more important than ever as the country emerges from the "great recession," says 61-year-old Terry Jones, founder of Travelocity.com and chairman of Kayak.com.
"A lot of people confuse innovation with invention. According to Wikipedia, invention is the art of creating something new. Innovation is taking a good idea and putting it to work," he says.
That's exactly what Jones did when he created a web site through which consumers could check airfares, a first in the world of the Internet that was still in its infancy. His brainchild went on to become Travelocity, a national brand with more than 40 million members, 1,200 employees, and $5 billion in travel bookings at the time he left. Today, the company is even bigger. (Successful Meetings) > View article
Zandi: The Economic Slog
11.30.2009
Mark Zandi > View profile
The road from recession to recovery is rarely smooth, straight or short. It comes with detours, forks and even dead ends. And sometimes surprises.
While each American recession is different, most major ones end with pessimism heavy in the air.
As the U.S. economy claws its way out of the deepest downturn in decades, jobs are still being lost, consumers are jittery and banks are reluctant to resume lending, even though stocks have rallied and corporate profits seem to be slowly returning.
"I think the most prudent and appropriate forecast is that the economy is going to be a slog, at least through much of next year," said Mark Zandi, head of Moody's Economy.com and a regular adviser to congressional Democrats. (AP) > View article
Dan Choi on the Cover of Out Magazine
11.17.2009
Lt. Dan Choi > View profileThe gay world is just like high school—but bigger and with fewer rules. We approached all cliques to find the most outstanding and inspiring men and women of the year. > View article
Dan Choi to Speak at U Puget Sound
11.09.2009
Lt. Dan Choi > View profileOn Tuesday, Nov. 10, a day before Veterans Day, Lt. Daniel Choi will give a talk at University of Puget Sound titled “Truth and Consequences: One Man’s Fight to Openly Serve His Country.” The free lecture, starting at 7 p.m., is open to the public and will be held in Rasmussen Rotunda in Wheelock Student Center. > View article
John Fund on Potential Fraud in NJ Governor's Race
11.02.2009
John Fund > View profileThe race for governor in New Jersey is so close in final polls that it may well end up in a recount -- the 1981 election did and was decided by less than 1,800 votes. If there is a recount, you can bet disputes about absentee ballots will loom large. Moreover, if serious allegations of fraud emerge, you can also expect less-than-vigorous investigation by the Obama Justice Department -- which showed just how seriously it takes such allegations when it walked away from an open-and-shut voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party in Philadelphia earlier this year. (Wall Street Journal) > View article
Jeremy Siegel in WSJ: Efficient Market Theory and the Crisis
10.28.2009
Dr. Jeremy Siegel > View profileIs the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) really responsible for the current crisis? The answer is no. The EMH, originally put forth by Eugene Fama of the University of Chicago in the 1960s, states that the prices of securities reflect all known information that impacts their value. The hypothesis does not claim that the market price is always right. On the contrary, it implies that the prices in the market are mostly wrong, but at any given moment it is not at all easy to say whether they are too high or too low. The fact that the best and brightest on Wall Street made so many mistakes shows how hard it is to beat the market. (Wall Street Journal) > View article
Yes Men Pull Off Climate Hoax
10.20.2009
The Yes Men > View profile
In a dramatic shift, the Chamber of Commerce announced Monday that it is throwing its support behind climate change legislation making its way through the U.S. Senate.
Only it didn’t. An email press release announcing the change is a hoax, say Chamber officials. Several media organizations fell for it.
The Yes Men, a left-leaning activist group that often impersonates officials from organizations they oppose, took responsibility for the hoax. (Politico) > View article
Zandi: Extend The Housing Tax Credit
10.16.2009
Mark Zandi > View profile
Mark Zandi, chief economist of MoodysEconomy.com, favors extending the current credit until June 1, 2010, and making it available to all home buyers regardless of income or at least to everyone except those at the highest end of the income scale. He estimates the cost of doing so wouldn't exceed $30 billion over 10 years.
Zandi's reasoning: Foreclosures are expected to rise next year because of rising unemployment, and that will drag home prices down further. Extending and expanding the credit will help mute that decline. And by June, there's a chance the job market will have stabilized. (CNN) > View article
Dan Choi on Anderson Cooper
10.08.2009
Lt. Dan Choi > View profileCNN's Anderson Cooper hosted a debate between First Lieutenant Dan Choi, a West Point graduate and Arabic linguist who is facing a discharge for announcing that he is homosexual, and Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, a group which opposes gay soldiers serving openly. (Huffington Post) > View article
NY Times Movie Review for the Yes Men
10.07.2009
The Yes Men > View profileIt takes some nerve, not to mention diabolical intelligence and financial resources, to pull off the elaborate pranks devised by Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno (who are in real life Jacques Servin and Igor Vamos), the antiglobalization activists and satirical performance artists known as the Yes Men. (NY Times) > View article
Cohen: Taking Back Nobel Prizes
10.07.2009
Randy Cohen > View profile
It’s a big week for Nobel Prizes. On Monday, the prize for medicine was announced. Today, Tuesday, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences reveals the winner of the physics prize. On Wednesday, the chemistry award is made public; on Thursday, it’s literature’s turn.
There’s still time to get a bet down on what to me is the big one, the Peace Prize. Past winners comprise a roster worthy of esteem, but the list also includes a few clinkers, people who, in retrospect, seem curious choices at best. On Friday, when this year’s winner is disclosed, shouldn’t the Norwegian Nobel Committee do what we encourage in other realms: acknowledge error, and then rescind those past awards bestowed on the conspicuously undeserving? (NY Times) > View article
The Insiders: NY Times interview with Lockhart Steele and Ben Leventhal
10.06.2009
Lockhart Steele > View profileIn 2005, Ben Leventhal and Lockhart Steele founded Eater, a local blog about New York City’s restaurant and nightlife industries. Soon after, the site expanded to Los Angeles and then San Francisco and, as of Friday, went live with a national presence. It has also just rolled out “Eater 38,” a round-up of the go-to dining establishments in each of the site’s three satellite cities. Here, the duo share their favorite finds in their own backyards. (New York Times) > View article
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