With the mid-term election 20 days away, President Obama is starting to make changes with his economic team. There has been no change with the unemployment numbers, over 120 bank closures this year, and foreclosures are at an all time high. The economy is barely growing and the voters are frustrated and angry.
As President Obama’s popularity continues to decline, there are 3 major departures from his economic team that indicate there are problems with their programs. When President Obama made four of his initial appointments to his economic team, many voters expected that the economic conditions in the country would improve. No one expected drastic changes, but anticipated we would have started to see a rebound and growing confidence in the economy.
Instead of a reversal, the situation is not changing, and Peter Orszag, budget director, and Christine Romer, head of the council of economic advisors have left the administration. These two advisors have been replaced by Jack Lew and Austin Goolsbee, but Larry Summers is also leaving at the end of the year. That means three of the four of President Obama’s initial appointments have left or are leaving.
Larry Summers is the Director of the Economic Council and the top White House Economic Advisor to President Obama. Larry Summers was the Treasury Secretary during the Clinton administration days, and is the architect of the recovery act, the job creation measures, and the financial stability programs.
It appears that Obama’s administration is busy congratulating themselves that they didn’t have a second Depression, instead of developing programs that are making significant changes in the economy. Many economists think that Larry Summers and Timothy Geithner are too busy protecting Wall Street and bailing out large corporations, instead of working for every American. Summers has always been tied to Wall Street and hedge funds, where he made millions of dollars as an advisor.
Some believe that President Obama should also give our present Treasury Secretary his walking papers, because Geithner is the chief architect of the administration’s failed economy policies. The present economic plan is not working, and the majority of citizens are still struggling to make ends meet.
It is time for a major shake up in the Obama administration. Polls show that angry and frustrated voters are moving away from Democrats, which could shift control in one of the houses in Congress. President Obama’s economic team must do more to improve the economic recovery and tackle the critical financial problems facing the country.
The government needs to act and stop sweeping problems under the rug, and bailing out the banking system with bailout funds. It’s time to address the toxic assets on the banks balance sheets, so there can be confidence in the economic system. Until banks are healthy, they will continue not to lend money and the financial system will remain paralyzed.
The issues facing the country must be confronted with progressive economists, who are working for the entire country. High joblessness, toxic assets on the banks balance sheets, negative real estate markets, and slow economic growth are creating a major gap between the rich and the middle class.
With Larry Summers leaving, President Obama has the opportunity to bring fresh ideas to the table and move the country forward. We need economic leaders who understand the entire financial landscape and align themselves with more than just large corporations and Wall Street.
Forcing the rich to share more of their income through taxation makes sense. Income and wealth in America are concentrated in the hands of a few and Main Street needs a helping hand. It is time to shake up our economic advisors and make them come down from their glass ceilings.
