Christina Romer Resigns

[volinbham]

Guess the jobs numbers were the last straw?

Romer to Resign as Obama Adviser - WSJ.com

or maybe she ran out of "hopium"

Among her challenges was explaining why her prediction that the Obama-backed fiscal stimulus would keep the unemployment rate below 8% proved overly optimistic. The unemployment rate is now at 9.5%.

"I certainly hoped it would be lower," she said. "The world deteriorated between November 2008 when I started" and the initial estimates were made "and when we took office January 21. Do I wake up every morning and wish it were 8% instead of 9.5%? You bet."

Poor choice of words I'm sure but does everyone in this administration just hope and wish things would come true?

 

[CSpindizzy]

Her and Lawrence have been bickering for months. She claims poor access to Obama and basically being pushed out front to take all the heat when it's actually Summers and Goolsbee doing all of the damage.

Just say "trainwreck" and be done with it....

 

[MG1968]

I wonder if she actually said, "you betcha"...

 

[volinbham]

Her and Lawrence have been bickering for months. She claims poor access to Obama and basically being pushed out front to take all the heat when it's actually Summers and Goolsbee doing all of the damage.

Just say "trainwreck" and be done with it....

Oddly enough in the article she claims she had great access to Obama and that her and Summers are besties.

 

[CSpindizzy]

Oddly enough in the article she claims she had great access to Obama and that her and Summers are besties.

And thus the problem with the Admin as a whole....a disconnect from reality between 'our' world and 'theirs'.

 

[golfballs]

the sacrificial lamb. if anyone needs to resign it's Obama!

 

[joevol320]

And thus the problem with the Admin as a whole....a disconnect from reality between 'our' world and 'theirs'.

i disagree. i think this is his plan. he know what he's doing. he forcing Americans to be even more reliant on government. spread the wealth around. he's handing out his own social justice.

remember, america is the enemy because we have been prosperous and we need to give more of our earnings. wait until the tax increase come 2011 and the nazicare taxes kicks in more.

 

[punkcat]

She's going back to her prof. job at Berkeley. To the left wing loons from which she came.

 

[volconomist]

She's going back to her prof. job at Berkeley. To the left wing loons from which she came.

She's one of the absolute most respected economists in the world. Berkeley houses more of the same. Know what you speak of next time.

 

[BigPapaVol]

She's one of the absolute most respected economists in the world. Berkeley houses more of the same. Know what you speak of next time.

no she isn't. She and Tyson are laughed at buffoons and are at Haas because it's the lefty bastion of the economics world.

 

[volconomist]

Maybe they're not respected by YOUR so-called right of center economists, but a faculty list boasting: Card, Romer (David), Rubinfeld, Varian, Katz, DeLong, Akerlof, and Auerbach is going to be respected by anyone who actually knows anything about Economics.

 

[VolsNSkinsFan]

she thought the stimulus plan would work by the Nov elections and its not. This is obviously a Seppuku

 

[KB5252]

Maybe they're not respected by YOUR so-called right of center economists, but a faculty list boasting: Card, Romer (David), Rubinfeld, Varian, Katz, DeLong, Akerlof, and Auerbach is going to be respected by anyone who actually knows anything about Economics.

Maybe she is in fact considered a buffoon by those who aren't YOUR so-called left of center economists.

I'm not an economics person by any means but the absurdity and bias in your post is overwhelming.

 

[volinbham]

She's one of the absolute most respected economists in the world. Berkeley houses more of the same. Know what you speak of next time.

Out of curiosity - do you believe that she believes the Stimulus Plan was 1) structured correctly and 2) actually had the impact that she and the administration have claimed it did?

 

[volconomist]

Maybe she is in fact considered a buffoon by those who aren't YOUR so-called left of center economists.

I'm not an economics person by any means but the absurdity and bias in your post is overwhelming.

How is my bias any different from any of your's. So you're allowed to have an opinion, but my opinion is bias. This makes little sense.

And no, Economists like Greg Mankiw, and Joseph Stiglitz think very highly of her.

 

[volconomist]

Out of curiosity - do you believe that she believes the Stimulus Plan was 1) structured correctly and 2) actually had the impact that she and the administration have claimed it did?

1) I honestly believe Summers was undercutting her at nearly every turn. Summers is a power hungry control freak and ignored a lot of what Romer had to say.

2) No I don't. My opinion of the stimulus has two branches. You should have either done more, or not done anything at all. The amount of money spent on the economy didn't matter, even in the short run. More would have, though I tend to favor not spending the money as quickly as we did, or at all.

 

[BigPapaVol]

1) I honestly believe Summers was undercutting her at nearly every turn. Summers is a power hungry control freak and ignored a lot of what Romer had to say.

2) No I don't. My opinion of the stimulus has two branches. You should have either done more, or not done anything at all. The amount of money spent on the economy didn't matter, even in the short run. More would have, though I tend to favor not spending the money as quickly as we did, or at all.

how does it make any sense at all to spend it any way but quickly?

 

[CSpindizzy]

The faster it goes out the door the less time for oversight and scrutiny

 

[KB5252]

How is my bias any different from any of your's. So you're allowed to have an opinion, but my opinion is bias. This makes little sense.

And no, Economists like Greg Mankiw, and Joseph Stiglitz think very highly of her.

You were the one making the assertion that "YOUR" (BP's) economists were the only ones who thought so because they were right of center.

As I said before I'm not an econ guy so I don't really know who either of the people you mentioned are but I will say that some of the most heralded individuals by academia are quite often some of the most idiotic.

 

[gsvol]

the sacrificial lamb. if anyone needs to resign it's Obama!

 

[volinbham]

1) I honestly believe Summers was undercutting her at nearly every turn. Summers is a power hungry control freak and ignored a lot of what Romer had to say.

2) No I don't. My opinion of the stimulus has two branches. You should have either done more, or not done anything at all. The amount of money spent on the economy didn't matter, even in the short run. More would have, though I tend to favor not spending the money as quickly as we did, or at all.

This then is my beef with her - I understand you have to toe the company line from time to time but to hear her again and again make claims that simply weren't supported; especially when she herself is an economist who knows better is completely distasteful IMHO.

She undermines her own credibility by doing so and accordingly the academic respect she receives becomes suspect.

 

[volconomist]

You were the one making the assertion that "YOUR" (BP's) economists were the only ones who thought so because they were right of center.

As I said before I'm not an econ guy so I don't really know who either of the people you mentioned are but I will say that some of the most heralded individuals by academia are quite often some of the most idiotic.

So that makes any and every academic an idiot I supposed. You admit you know very little about econ, yet you're more than ready to assume she's a terrible economist because others tell you she is.

 

[KB5252]

So that makes any and every academic an idiot I supposed. You admit you know very little about econ, yet you're more than ready to assume she's a terrible economist because others tell you she is.

Perhaps you should read my post again?


I let the fact that she was wrong tell me what I need to know, the fact that she stepped down is rather telling too isn't it?

Perhaps she is just towing the company line but that tends to show a lack of credibility and backbone too doesn't it?

 

[volconomist]

how does it make any sense at all to spend it any way but quickly?

One quick shock to the economy, by theory, will have only short run impacts.

Many smallish shocks to the economy pegged into the correct sectors will have much longer run impacts.

Furthermore, as was mentioned above, the quickness for which the stimulus was enacted nearly ensured the incredible inefficiency that has occurred with this policy.

Just because the way the stimulus was handled was horrible, doesn't mean we didn't need a stimulus.

 

[BigPapaVol]

One quick shock to the economy, by theory, will have only short run impacts.

Then the entire stimulus idea was utterly idiotic and it didn't even do what you're purporting here.

Many smallish shocks to the economy pegged into the correct sectors will have much longer run impacts.

but it didn't work at all, which suggests this idea is just as wrong as it is applied broadly.

Furthermore, as was mentioned above, the quickness for which the stimulus was enacted nearly ensured the incredible inefficiency that has occurred with this policy.

The fact that it was our government assured inefficiency and earmarks, which should have been plenty call for pause. However, Obama viewed the debacle as a mandate, which says he's mindless too. If the two geniuses supported him in this endeavor, they're clearly overrated. If they couldn't be heard, they're worthless. Either way, it's not a calling card for a rockstar economist.

Just because the way the stimulus was handled was horrible, doesn't mean we didn't need a stimulus.

See bold.

I'm not arguing against stimulus. I'm arguing against politically driven waste fests that aren't administered by bright economists. This was, predictably, a trillion dollar disaster.