Friday, September 17, 2010

Elizabeth Warren to Be Obama's New Czar

That's the last person whom I expected to join Obama's cadre of czars, but there she is, quite happily, it sounds like.

Elizabeth Warren gets the job of shaping the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau she first proposed (9/17/2010 Cleveland.com)

But her capacity is not that of the bureau director, which requires the formal nomination and the Senate confirmation. Instead, she has become one of Obama's czars:

"the White House is naming Warren an assistant to the President and special advisor to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner"

Assistant to the Prez? Special advisor to Timmy?

The Obama White House didn't even try to formally nominate her or make a recess appointment. Instead, Obama has named her as his assistant, personally responsible to him only, to shape this agency which is supposed to protect consumer (hahahahaha).

I am not sure if this nebulous, sprawling financial reform law (Dodd-Frank bill) even allows the White House to shape the agency like this. (By the way, this agency is to be housed within the Federal Reserve, a private entity which is now known for wrecking havoc by causing boom and bust throughout its existence. Isn't that comforting.)

Ms. Warren, welcome to my list of Obama Czars. I am disappointed, but not surprised. After all, a Harvard Law professor who believes in the power and authority of the government to "do the right thing" is expected to happily work with the government. When this agency fails to "protect", she and her cohorts have this timeless excuse to make: "Oh we meant well.... Who could have known?"

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