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Janet Yellen supposedly Biden's pick for Treasury Secretary
Janet Yellen's will instill confident in investors. The market reacted quite favorably when she was announced as the Treasury Secretary, particularly finance and energy sectors.
Why it matters: The Treasury secretary wields enormous power in policy on regulations, taxes and the broad economy. Their actions can either reassure and spook financial markets. (Remember Mnuchin's infamous call with the big banks?)
"Investors shouldn’t worry that [Yellen] will make off-the-cuff remarks that will spur volatility. She’s the ultimate steady hand," Ian Katz, a financial policy analyst at Capital Alpha Partners, said in a note. "While she isn’t the kind of hands-off free-marketeer that investors would prefer if they had the choice, she isn’t going to make markets nervous."
One jarring difference between the Obama and Trump administrations was the lack of scandals, firings, resignations, etc. during the former. (See @hank's link, above.) The Obama people, and Biden was one and is hiring some of them, carried out meticulous background checks and delved into possible conflicts of interest. According to many accounts, and especially the ones of Michael Lewis, the current administration had no transition plan and was not ready to take power in January, 2017. Grifters and inhabitants of the swamp saw the opportunity and cashed in.
the current administration had no transition plan and was not ready to take power in January, 2017. Grifters and inhabitants of the swamp saw the opportunity and cashed in.
So true and it gets worse towards the end. In addition, the incompetence from top down in so many aspects is unreal. So much for a successful businessman trying to run a country.
the current administration had no transition plan and was not ready to take power in January, 2017. Grifters and inhabitants of the swamp saw the opportunity and cashed in.
So true and it gets worse towards the end. In addition, the incompetence from top down in so many aspects is unreal. So much for a successful businessman trying to run a country.
Dow 30K in the face of the worst worldwide natural disaster of our lifetime. Yeah, thank god this is coming to an end. Biden and his Merrymen of hacks will do so much better. As a commentator so perfectly put it yesterday....Kerry finally got his dream job, hanging out in fancy central European hotels making deals that are terrible for America. IMHO nothing about this administration is likely to make day-to-day living better for anyone posting here...or for most of America for that matter. Peace to all, and happy T-Day!
Well wxman123, if DOW 30K is what makes life worth living for you then I guess we have vastly different priorities. Tell me, how has that made life any better for the average Joe on the street. How is the world in general any better at all because the of that milestone? The rich got even richer. Whoopie!
I'm also more willing to put Mr. Kerry up in fancy European hotels than any member of the current administration in Trump properties anywhere but that's just me.
An army of political hatchetmen qualified in nothing other than a nihilistic agenda of Trumpism brought four years of chaos and administrative subversion.
I prefer "hacks" who are well-qualified administrators with experience in their jobs.
A preference for the wealth of the Dow over the health of the United States is, unfortunately, not unique to wxman123. There are plenty more just like him out there.
An army of political hatchetmen qualified in nothing other than a nihilistic agenda of Trumpism brought four years of chaos and administrative subversion.
I prefer "hacks" who are well-qualified administrators with experience in their jobs.
A preference for the wealth of the Dow over the health of the United States is, unfortunately, not unique to wxman123. There are plenty more just like him out there.
I would think it rather foolish to be posting regularly on MFO if YOU weren't concerned about making money. And, how exactly is the level of the DOW at odds with the health of the U.S? Capitalism and wealth creation is a big part of what has made America great. When the DOW suffers there's a good chance the country is suffering too. Thank god this elitist crap is on the wane and the GOP is becoming the party of the working man. Even this time Trump would have won by a wide margin had it note been for "mail it in voting." I strongly suspect that many had no idea what Biden's policies would be nor cared.
Well wxman123, if DOW 30K is what makes life worth living for you then I guess we have vastly different priorities. Tell me, how has that made life any better for the average Joe on the street. How is the world in general any better at all because the of that milestone? The rich got even richer. Whoopie!
I'm also more willing to put Mr. Kerry up in fancy European hotels than any member of the current administration in Trump properties anywhere but that's just me.
I never said nor implied that any level of the DOW made life worth living. What I did imply and stand by is that the country would not be doing any better now had Hilary won...and won't be doing better with Biden's hacks. Does anyone really like John Kerry? I mean, really.
@wxman123: I was a "working man" for fifty years. I am not represented by nor interested in the perverted pretense of Trump and his acolytes to be on anybody's side- other than their own Democracy-be-damned self-interest.
They started with a smelly swamp and turned it into a reeking cesspool of absolute filth.
Sorry wxman123 but to me you implied that Dow 30K was some great achievement and all should be happy across the land. You failed to address how that's important to the average person on the street or the world in general. Also neither you, I or anyone else knows how the market would have performed had Hillary gotten elected but history shows that the markets do better under a democratic administration (Google it yourself) and the markets were already on the upswing during the last few years of the Obama administration. Lastly it seems that plenty of people including many world leaders like Mr. Kerry even if you don't. From what I've seen he does a credible job free of corruption and ethical transgressions. I'd settle just for that.
It’s a shame so much of our political posturing and decision making in this country is based to a large degree on personality and ideological caricatures distalized (often inaccurately) by what passes for the press. That’s mostly the fault, I think, of our popular vote methodology / mentality (electoral college aside), Coupled with the technological wizardry of the day that psychology perverts the decision making process egregiously. Many great leaders of the past would have trouble holding high office in today’s environment. I’ve said before that I think the Brits have a better system - messy and imperfect though it be. On the other hand, we ain't gonna change. Better learn to make ours work right before it’s too late.
(Afterthought) “Diogenes of Sinope (c. 404-323 BCE) was a Greek Cynic philosopher best known for holding a lantern (or candle) to the faces of the citizens of Athens claiming he was searching for an honest man.” (Source)
Not following your point, but popularity contests do lead to suboptimal outcomes, sure.
If you think 'many great leaders of the past would have trouble' today (more than in their own time?) being effective, you need to read up more with the best modern studies of the FF, Lincoln, Churchill, Disraeli, de Gaulle, and others. Constant honesty in behavior and dealing and negotiating was not how they did what they did.
You also might want to listen in on the Parliament, to gauge the Brits' 'better system' realistically.
Now, it is true that public response (dismissiveness, cynicism, bad faith, unwilling to give chances, inability to hear plainly, kneejerk reactionariness) is rather different, and to the extent technology / media play their roles, k, maybe that was and is your point.
I certainly hope you’re right. Yes - my argument above is rambling and unfocused as I’m trying to look at the arguments in the thread (in their entirety) from an entirely different perspective. Tired of the brickbats that have been flying back and forth here and elsewhere for two years or more. Yeah - the personal attacks and antics in Parliament are something. But, to an extent, the selection of head of state isn’t tanamount to an audition for lead role in a Hollywood remake of Top Gun as it often seems here. Transition is quick too. No two-months waiting “in limbo” for the previous guy (or woman) to pack up and leave town. Gone the next day. -
PBS historian and documentary filmmaker Ken Burns seems to think that neither TR or FDR could get elected today. Albeit, his rationale is somewhat different from mine.
Burns: “[Franklin Roosevelt] has the same enthusiasm and confidence he had when he was a little boy. Theodore Roosevelt is trying to escape the demons. He’s always running faster than those demons. And Eleanor is very much like that, but she’s also saying, get up every day and do something that you don’t want to do. It’s facing your fears. And what’s what all of them did in a way, and they did it in an active way that they instilled confidence in others.”
Moderator: “But would these historical characters succeed if they were in today’s hot political climate? Burns doesn’t think so.”
Burns: “Theodore is very hot for this cool medium of television. He’d have lots of Howard Dean moments,” he said. “And Franklin Roosevelt, you know, in a wheelchair, we’d be vying, all the networks, for the most, you know, the stressed-out look, as he unlocks and stands up. … I think if we saw it we’d be saying, he couldn’t possibly lead us through a crisis.”
Maybe, though my sense of Burns's historical and artistic judgment gets lower by the year; CW was dilute and sappy ('lost cause'-oriented) in its day to anyone who kept up, and in hindsight is just outrageously sentimental and deeply misleading. Insulting to real historians, much less black historians.
Sorry wxman123 but to me you implied that Dow 30K was some great achievement and all should be happy across the land. You failed to address how that's important to the average person on the street or the world in general. Also neither you, I or anyone else knows how the market would have performed had Hillary gotten elected but history shows that the markets do better under a democratic administration (Google it yourself) and the markets were already on the upswing during the last few years of the Obama administration. Lastly it seems that plenty of people including many world leaders like Mr. Kerry even if you don't. From what I've seen he does a credible job free of corruption and ethical transgressions. I'd settle just for that.
The fact that the DOW hit 30K is a great milestone and especially given the circumstances. There is a tremendous disparity between main street and wall street, true enough, but it's been that way for years. Trump didn't start the issue. Even if DOW 30K merely shows an economy that's holding it's own, that's still good. Operation Warp Speed, also good. Enterprise Zones, good. Paris Climate Treaty, Kerry's priority, maybe good for our grandkids but aside from that it's nothing more than interesting cocktail conversation for rich people who will be utterly unaffected by its economic consequences in the here and now. You are correct in that one can never prove what would have happened had circumstances been different, but all in all we are in a reasonable place as a country all things considered. What people who post about the supposed Trump disaster don't get is that they are as much a part of the problem as the other side in terms of divisiveness, which may be the biggest problem our country faces. Yes, Biden won, and I'm not going down the voter-fraud road, but there is a reason so many people still voted for Trump despite his notable flaws...and they are not all rednecks or idiots.
The DOW is an archaic, price-weighted index which does not accurately represent the economy. DOW 30K is not a great milestone and is of little significance. This just happens to be a nice, round number that certain writers unjustifiably emphasized. Also, the U.S. president generally doesn't deserve all the credit when the stock market performs well nor does he deserve all the blame when the market underperforms. There are too many other factors involved.
Comments
https://reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-breakingviews/breakingviews-yellen-may-be-bolder-treasury-pick-than-she-looks-idUSKBN2832ZC
List of Trump Administration officials who quit or were fired.
Looking forward to a more docile period in the nation’s capitol.
More importantly, she will work with Powell to get the next stimulus bill moving again.
janet-yellen-treasury-secretary
I'm also more willing to put Mr. Kerry up in fancy European hotels than any member of the current administration in Trump properties anywhere but that's just me.
I prefer "hacks" who are well-qualified administrators with experience in their jobs.
A preference for the wealth of the Dow over the health of the United States is, unfortunately, not unique to wxman123. There are plenty more just like him out there.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mnuchin-put-455-billion-funds-195143177.html
at whose behest? gosh, who could it be?
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/27/wall-street-biden-blue-wave-432710
https://forbes.com/sites/jenniferbarrett/2020/11/23/unemployment-benefits-may-run-out-for-12-million-americans-right-after-christmas/?sh=36fd7d7d1130
and of course the country and the world would be doing better, domestically and internationally, under HRC
good grief, what a Thanksgiving thought
They started with a smelly swamp and turned it into a reeking cesspool of absolute filth.
(Afterthought) “Diogenes of Sinope (c. 404-323 BCE) was a Greek Cynic philosopher best known for holding a lantern (or candle) to the faces of the citizens of Athens claiming he was searching for an honest man.” (Source)
If you think 'many great leaders of the past would have trouble' today (more than in their own time?) being effective, you need to read up more with the best modern studies of the FF, Lincoln, Churchill, Disraeli, de Gaulle, and others. Constant honesty in behavior and dealing and negotiating was not how they did what they did.
You also might want to listen in on the Parliament, to gauge the Brits' 'better system' realistically.
Now, it is true that public response (dismissiveness, cynicism, bad faith, unwilling to give chances, inability to hear plainly, kneejerk reactionariness) is rather different, and to the extent technology / media play their roles, k, maybe that was and is your point.
-
PBS historian and documentary filmmaker Ken Burns seems to think that neither TR or FDR could get elected today. Albeit, his rationale is somewhat different from mine.
Burns: “[Franklin Roosevelt] has the same enthusiasm and confidence he had when he was a little boy. Theodore Roosevelt is trying to escape the demons. He’s always running faster than those demons. And Eleanor is very much like that, but she’s also saying, get up every day and do something that you don’t want to do. It’s facing your fears. And what’s what all of them did in a way, and they did it in an active way that they instilled confidence in others.”
Moderator: “But would these historical characters succeed if they were in today’s hot political climate? Burns doesn’t think so.”
Burns: “Theodore is very hot for this cool medium of television. He’d have lots of Howard Dean moments,” he said. “And Franklin Roosevelt, you know, in a wheelchair, we’d be vying, all the networks, for the most, you know, the stressed-out look, as he unlocks and stands up. … I think if we saw it we’d be saying, he couldn’t possibly lead us through a crisis.”
Source
The fact that the DOW hit 30K is a great milestone and especially given the circumstances. There is a tremendous disparity between main street and wall street, true enough, but it's been that way for years. Trump didn't start the issue. Even if DOW 30K merely shows an economy that's holding it's own, that's still good. Operation Warp Speed, also good. Enterprise Zones, good. Paris Climate Treaty, Kerry's priority, maybe good for our grandkids but aside from that it's nothing more than interesting cocktail conversation for rich people who will be utterly unaffected by its economic consequences in the here and now. You are correct in that one can never prove what would have happened had circumstances been different, but all in all we are in a reasonable place as a country all things considered. What people who post about the supposed Trump disaster don't get is that they are as much a part of the problem as the other side in terms of divisiveness, which may be the biggest problem our country faces. Yes, Biden won, and I'm not going down the voter-fraud road, but there is a reason so many people still voted for Trump despite his notable flaws...and they are not all rednecks or idiots.
DOW 30K is not a great milestone and is of little significance.
This just happens to be a nice, round number that certain writers unjustifiably emphasized.
Also, the U.S. president generally doesn't deserve all the credit when the stock market performs well nor does he deserve all the blame when the market underperforms.
There are too many other factors involved.