Can Biden's Economic Team Reverse The Pandemic Economy?
President-Elect Joe Biden has named his new economic team. What do they need to do to help Americans, and are they the team to accomplish it?
Guests
Rana Foroohar, CNN global analyst. Financial Times global business columnist and associate editor. Author of “Don’t Be Evil” and “Makers and Takers.” (@RanaForoohar)
Michelle Singletary, personal finance columnist for the Washington Post. Author of “The 21 Day Financial Fast.” Her column “The Color of Money” is syndicated in newspapers across the country. (@SingletaryM)
Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst. (@JackBeattyNPR)
From The Reading List
Financial Times: “Janet Yellen is the right woman for the times” — “It is nearly impossible in this politically polarised moment to find a Treasury secretary that everyone can love. But kudos to Joe Biden, because the US president-elect has done just that by picking Janet Yellen, the former Federal Reserve chair, for the job.”
Washington Post: “Black households were saving more. Then came covid-19.” — “Trying to advocate for saving more during the covid-19 pandemic isn’t an easy sell. For millions of people there’s nothing — or not enough — coming in to save. The last of the covid-related financial relief for the unemployed and federal student loan borrowers is slated to end Dec. 31.”
Financial Times: “The Dream Team at the Treasury” — “I have long been a huge Janet Yellen fan. I did the first interview with her after she was made Fed chief, during which I learned much about her values as an economist and a person. The upshot? As I explore in my Monday column, she’s exactly who you want heading up the American economy at this moment.”
CNBC: “Biden announces economic team, confirms Janet Yellen as Treasury nominee” — “Biden and his transition team announced on Monday several nominees and appointments for the incoming administration’s top economic posts.”
Wall Street Journal: “Biden Economics Team’s Views, in Their Own Words” — “President-elect Joe Biden is introducing his economic-policy team this week, drawing on veterans of the Obama administration and progressive think tanks. Their past views on inequality, labor economics, education and budget deficits offer a guide to how they could shape the administration’s policies.”
The Hill: “Senate GOP open to confirming Yellen to be Biden’s Treasury secretary” — “Senate Republicans are signaling an openness to helping confirm Janet Yellen to be President-elect Joe Biden’s Treasury Secretary.”
Wall Street Journal: “Biden to Have a Better Economy in 2021 Than in 2009, but Worse Options” — “Joe Biden has been here before. Twelve years ago, as Barack Obama’s newly elected vice president, Mr. Biden inherited an economy laid low by a once-in-a-century crisis.”
This article was originally published on WBUR.org. [Copyright 2020 NPR]
