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CBO Chief Douglas Holtz-Eakin Says "Enough"
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Actually, my headline is misleading.
CBO Director Doulas Holtz-Eakin has been offered a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," according to him, to serve as the Paul A. Volcker Fellow in International Economics and the Director of the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.
He assumes his post on December 30th. I guess he plans to work through New Year's. . .
This move seriously bums me out (is that how it is said?).
Holtz-Eakin is a Republican -- though few would know that. He has been fastidiously non-partisan in his management of the Congressional Budget Office and set an impressively high bar regarding what empiricism in good public policy debate should look like. He reminded me a lot of a younger version of former SEC Chairman William Donaldson, who thought that ideology was the sign of a weak mind.
Holtz-Eakin's term was not set to end until February 3, 2007 -- and while TWN takes him at his word (or his email) that he is departing government service because of a next great opportunity, one wonders whether the political climate in Washington has yet again driven out another excellent, talented policy practitioner. I sincerely hope not.
Holtz-Eakin is the kind of person who owed no one for his views and position. He has moved in and out of Washington policy circles and academia -- and is the "model" of an elite-level civil servant that both parties should have in mind when staffing important positions (the antithesis of course, Michael Brown. It is interesting to note that while the Bush administration normally leaves "former" senior officials' bios up on websites for long periods after their departure, Michael Brown's bio has been stripped off and is only available on the FEMA site in a cached version or in Spanish.)
If Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Mark Warner, Chuck Hagel, Joe Biden, or some other of that sort wins the presidency in 2008 -- they would be well served to put political affiliations aside and get Holtz-Eakin either situated as an "empowered" National Economic Advisor to the President -- or quickly on to the Federal Reserve Board.
-- Steve Clemons
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even more disturbing (or, perhaps, what bums me out even more) is the possibility of seeing another litmus-tested hack replacing him... god knows, it seems as tho' that is the principal qualification these days...
"even more disturbing (or, perhaps, what bums me out even more) is the possibility of seeing another litmus-tested hack replacing him... god knows, it seems as tho' that is the principal qualification these days..."
Posted by profmarcus
I can't imagine anyone that has lied to Congress that doesn't ALREADY have a positiion in the Bush Administration. Bush may have to tap a Federal Prison for a qualified person.
Interesting post.
Up until I read it,
I had a too narrow definition of the phrase:
The sacking of the US Government.
Now I see that the phrase should extend beyond our
bleeding Treasury to include decent human beings too.
Ah well...
I guess that's just the price we have to pay
to have our smooth and efficient government
run like a business by a Harvard/Yale educated CEO.
Bummer. He was damn good
Compared to Alice Rivlin, he was just a shoeshine boy.
Understand, I think Holtz-Eakin was pretty good. Most importantly, he served as the heat shield between the politicians and the staff.
But Rivlin... well, if there's a separate section of Heaven reserved for economists, she'll be queen.
Certainly Rivlin, the first director set the tone. Of course this was in response to having to rely on OMBs David Stockman prior to her appointment. Holtz-Eakin was competent and credible. The CBO has a history of good directors.
Perhaps with Delay out of the way, they can find a good replacement. Unlike the CEA the CBO has a good reputation that is not tainted by all the WH shenanigans. The fiscal deterioration we have suffered under Bush (The national debt is now over $8 Trillion) has Republican deficit hawks apoplectic. Any attempt to game the CBO would be opposed by all Democrats and would likely have enough Republican defectors to make it a non-starter. Look for them to find someone with good credibility and competence.
Frist and Hastert have enough baggage without getting into a Brouhaha over the CBO. Congress depends on CBO for a lot of information and analysis. Competence is the foremost qualification and I have no doubt that an incompetent would be dismissed forthwith. A majority of EITHER house is all it takes to fire the CBO director.
y'know, i'm not buying the 'once-in-a-lifetime' bit that doug's trying to sell us here. moving from the cbo to the cfr isn't exactly a move up. it's a much lower-visibility position. while it pays better, it has far less influence in the washington monopoly game.
y'know, i'm not buying the 'once-in-a-lifetime' bit that doug's trying to sell us here. moving from the cbo to the cfr isn't exactly a move up.
perhaps the exaggeration was the point. Obviously, getting a think tank job isn't a "once in a lifetime opportunity" --- and by claiming it is, DH-E is signalling that is not his reason for leaving...
(BTW, DH-E is actually deadpan comedian Stephen Wright --- Wright pretty much disappeared about 2 and a half years ago, when his doppelganger DH-E took a high profile job. And has anyone ever seen both of them in the same place?) :)
Steve,
Bums me out is the way to say it alright, or maybe bums me out, big time, or just plain BUMMER!!!
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