President Barack Obama has taken a political beating from all sides over how he’s got managed the economic system. In the recent jobs speech he delivered in Cleveland, he appeared to be somewhat disconnected when it comes to understanding “the plight of the middle class,” as Arianna Huffington puts it. Obama explained to the people, “Not everything we’ve done during the last couple of years has worked as quickly as we had hoped, and I’m keenly aware that not all our policies are popular.” This is probably the reason, says the Wall Street Journal, that Goolsbee was given the position of chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors. Goolsbee already cleared Senate and doesn’t have to worry anymore.
University economist and advisory board member is what Austan Goolsbee was
Austan Goolsbee works at the University of Chicago business school where he is an economist when also working on Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board as the executive director. The WSJ says popular speculation is the president elevated Goolsbee to the White House Council of Economic Advisers chairmanship due to their personal friendship and association within the administration’s inner circle. Christina Romer was the former Economic Advisers chairwoman.
The WSJ reports that Goolsbee assisted in drafting policies during Obama’s first year, including expanded health care access, higher education aid and an energy push to generate jobs. These areas are part of the president’s “New Foundation” for middle-class economic security – at least in theory, says the Huffington Post.
Austan Goolsbee may not be what we want
The economic system doesn’t seem to be recovering as quickly as hoped while unemployment in The United States is nevertheless huge. Outrage has been palpable, even in Democratic circles, where the potential firings of Treasure Secretary Tim Geithner and National Economic Council Director Larry Summers have been discussed openly by lawmakers. But placing Austan Goolsbee in charge of the White House Council of Economic Advisers isn’t really a sign of new policies to come, writes the WSJ.
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Sun Times
blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2010/09/obama_cleveland_jobs_speech_tr.html”>Chicago Sun-Times
Huffington Post
huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/obama-insists-he-made-the_b_711515.html?utm_source=DailyBrief and utm_campaign=091010 and utm_medium=email and utm_content=FeatureTitle
Wall Street Journal
online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704644404575482661827896950.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLETopStories
Austan Goolsbee on CNN’s “Late Edition,” Sept. 21, 2008
youtube.com/watch?v=TKvMfVntY2g
