McCain's Brain Trust

 

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Douglas Holtz-Eakin has been long active in public policy, serving as chief economist for the president's Council of Economic Advisers and director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). His academic research has tended to focus on the effect of taxes. While at the CBO, he introduced "dynamic analysis," a way of examining how changes in taxes affected overall economic growth as well as consumer and business behavior. The CBO under Holtz-Eakin delivered a series of thorough reports on the costs of the Iraq war, recruitment and retention challenges for the Army, and the mounting costs of replacing and repairing military equipment in Iraq.

As head of CFR's Center for Geoeconomic Studies, Holtz-Eakin expressed concern at Congress's reaction to the Dubai Ports World purchase of operations at a number of U.S. ports. He urged prudent reforms of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, warning against protectionism for the sake of national security. He has also talked increasingly about the virtues of a cap-and-trade policy that curbs greenhouse gas emissions and observes free market practices.

John B. Taylor is a Stanford economist known for devising the Taylor Rule, a guideline for monetary policymakers on how to set short-term interest rates as economic conditions change. As Treasury undersecretary for international affairs from 2001 to 2005 he was on the front line of some major efforts in financial diplomacy. They included efforts to guide Argentina after its massive debt default. Taylor later wrote in an April 2006 op-ed for the Wall Street Journal: "We should steer clear of a new interventionism and instead concentrate on improving the IMF's new advisory role."Taylor was also charged with pressing China to move toward floating its currency so it would appreciate, thereby easing the U.S. trade deficit with China. He wrote in a 2005 Hoover Digest article of the importance of avoiding "isolationist legislation" and encouraging "rational policy decisions—rather than hysterical China-bashing—on important foreign investment issues such as the recently withdrawn CNOOC bid for Unocal."

Kenneth Rogoff is a Harvard economist and research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He served as chief economist and director of research for the International Monetary Fund from 2001 to 2003. In a 2003 article in Foreign Policy, Rogoff issued a defense of the fund, writing "Blaming the IMF for the reality that every country must confront its budget constraints is like blaming the fund for gravity." He said the IMF still has a role in the changing global financial environment, chiefly as a global economic forum. "The current patchwork system of exchange rates seems too unstable to survive into the 22nd century.

How will the world make the transition toward a more stable, coherent system? That is a global problem, and dealing with it requires a global perspective the IMF can help provide," he wrote. He has also called for financially restructuring the World Bank as a grant-making agency rather than as a bank, pointing to the "absurdity" of making loans to countries like Russia and China, "both of whom have hoards of reserves and extensive access to private markets"

© 2008

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Member Comments

  • Posted By: solorsq @ 11/05/2008 8:43:46 AM

    McCain and Palin rolling out "Joe the Plumber" was an insult to my intelligence. Obama garnering endorsements from Warren Buffet and especially Colin Powell, whom I have tremendous respect for. Well, that proved to me which camp had the more intelligence and common-sense. Obama chosing Biden as his running mate is one more example. There is one very important quality that Obama possesses that G.W. hasn't every had and just doesn't "get", Obama is a diplomat as much as a politician. Congrats to Obama/Biden.

  • Posted By: Concerned Canadian @ 11/02/2008 4:41:29 AM

    Number of unrepentant terrorist friends with anti-American views for Obama = 57

    Number of unrepentant terrorist friends with anti-American views for McCain = 0

    The choice is obvious...vote for the patriot and war hero...JOHN MCCAIN!!

  • Posted By: Mwalimu @ 09/03/2008 1:02:52 AM

    McCain's foreign policy is simple. It's the same as Bush's.

    When Clinton was president we couldn't have too many friends. When Bush was president we couldnt have enough enemies. McCain echoes this philosophy with the addenda that we need to create enemies faster than we can kill them.

    Check any foreign opinion poll and you'll see that anti-Americanism is running at an all time high. It is not because "they hate us for our freedom." as McCain and his fanatical supporters would have use believe.It's bebecause of our arrogant policies.

    Consider the famous interview with Rick Warren of the Saddleback Church. Obama warned that before confronting evil we need to approach our problems with humility and make sure that we were not fighting evil with evil. McCain insisted that we are good and they are evil and we need to defeat evil. This attitude is reckless and irresponsible. Rather than acting as a maverick, McCain offers us the same old, same old.

    McCain's touted experience is simply a repetition of disasters. Only Obama can offer us the change we need and only Obama can retore our tattered image throughout the world.

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