Remarks of President-Elect Barack Obama Economic Recovery Advisory Board

[Better Believe It]

Source: Boston Globe


CHICAGO—Good morning.

It has become increasingly clear in recent months that we are facing an economic crisis of historic proportions. At this defining moment for our nation, the old ways of thinking and acting just won't do. We are called to seek fresh thinking and bold new ideas from the leading minds across America. And as we chart a course to economic recovery, we must ensure that our government -- your government -- is held accountable for delivering results.

Today, I'm pleased to announce the formation of a new institution to help our economic team accomplish these goals: the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board. This Board is modeled on the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board created by President Eisenhower to provide rigorous analysis and vigorous oversight of our intelligence community by individuals outside of government -- individuals who would be candid and unsparing in their assessment. This new board will perform a similar function for my Administration as we formulate our economic policy.

The Board will be composed of distinguished individuals from diverse backgrounds outside of government -- from business, labor, academia and other areas -- who will bring to bear their wisdom and expertise on the formulation, implementation and evaluation of my Administration's economic recovery plan. The Board will report regularly to me, Vice President-Elect Biden and our economic team as we seek to jump-start economic growth, create jobs, raise wages, address our housing crisis and stabilize our financial markets.

The reality is that sometimes policymaking in Washington can become too insular. The walls of the echo chamber can sometimes keep out fresh voices and new ways of thinking -- and those who serve in Washington don't always have a ground-level sense of which programs and policies are working for people, and which aren't. This board will provide that perspective to me and my Administration, with an infusion of ideas from across the country and from all sectors of our economy -- input that will be informed by members' first-hand observations of how our efforts are impacting the daily lives of our families.

I'm pleased to announce that this Board will be chaired by one of the world's foremost economic policy experts, a former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, and one of my most trusted advisors, Paul Volcker.

Paul has been by my side throughout this campaign, providing a deep understanding of financial markets, extensive experience managing economic crises, and keen insight into the global nature of this particular crisis. Paul has served under both Republicans and Democrats and is held in the highest esteem for his sound and independent judgment. He has a long and distinguished record of service to our nation, and I am pleased that he has answered the call to serve once again.

I am also happy to announce that Austan Goolsbee, another one of my key economic advisors, has agreed to serve as Staff Director and Chief Economist of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board and act as the primary liaison between the Board and the Administration. I also plan to nominate Austan to serve as one of the three members of my Council of Economic Advisers.

Austan is one of America's most promising economic minds, known for his path-breaking work on tax policy and industrial organization. He is one of the economic thinkers who has most shaped my own thinking on economic matters, and I look forward to continuing our close collaboration in the White House.

I plan to announce the remaining members of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board in the coming weeks, and I look forward to their contributions to our urgent work to rebuild our economy and restore prosperity across America.

Thank you, and I'm now happy to take questions.

-The above is a non-copyrighted public statement-

Read more: http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/11/26/remarks_of_president_elect_barack_obama/

[TygrBright]

1. OMG!!!! OBAMA IS TURNING THINGS OVER TO THE E-RABS!

See?!? SEE??? The Freepers TOLD us he's a secret Mooslim Terra-ist mole, just waiting for the opportunity to turn our beloved country over to Marxists and ...

oh, wait.

Never mind.

sheepishly,
Bright

[Romulox]

2. Is there anybody on the board who ISN'T a Center/Right Clinton retread??? nt

[Cronopio]

3. Volcker is definitely not a Rubin protege.

I have my concerns about Summers and even Geithner, but Volcker is precisely the man for the job. My only concern about this is how much power the economic panel will have to actually implement policy. If anything, Volcker should be calling the shots with Obama and not Geithner.

[WriteDown]

5. He's done such an amazing job at the UN

:sarcarm:

http://www.canadafreepress.com/2005/cover042805.htm

[Cronopio]

6. Love to take a look at your evidence against Volcker, but your URL returns a page load error. nt

[Winterblues]

8. Was there something about the Clinton economy you did not like?

Was it possibly "The Greatest Economic Expansion in History"? How about the 22 million new jobs? I suspect it is just the name Clinton you appear to dislike so much and not the economic policies he oversaw..

[RedEarth]

4. I think this is a wonderful idea.... sure am impressed with Obama so far

[timtom]

7. Don't many of us agree that

there should be some "common" (or undistinguished) people from diverse backgrounds included on the board? People who might ask, "What does that mean?" and "What about if...?"