Back in June, when Daniel Henninger wrote that "Without exception, the Obama people with responsibility for the private economy come from a lifetime in politics, public administration or academia," FutureOfCapitalism.com took exception, noting that many of the Obama administration's problematic economic "policies and programs were begun in the Bush administration, where the Treasury secretary, Henry Paulson, had plenty of private sector experience." We also warned against underestimating such private sector experience as there was, pointing to Lawrence Summers's $5.2 million a year, one-day-a-week job at the D.E. Shaw hedge fund, or Rahm Emanuel's two-and-a-half year, $16.2 million stint as managing director in the Chicago office of Wasserstein and Perella. Those points are worth recalling in response to the American Enterprise blog's posting of a chart from a J.P. Morgan research report by the estimable Michael Cembalest showing unusually low levels of private sector experience among cabinet secretaries in the Obama administration. Just looking at cabinet secretaries doesn't tell the whole story -- it leaves out people like Mr. Summers and Mr. Emanuel, who are far more influential in the Obama administration than are the secretary of agriculture or the secretary of the interior. My favorite part of the J.P. Morgan analysis, not mentioned in the American Enterprise Post, is the decision that "in the rankings, private sector experience at a law firm counts for a 33% score, which I think is very generous. My wife strongly suggested raising this to 50%, but I refused." The chart is interesting. But it also tells just some of the story.
Private Sector Experience in the Obama White House
https://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2009/12/private-sector-experience-in-the-obama-white-house
by Editor | Related Topics: Capital Markets Regulation, Lawrence Summers receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free futureofcapitalism.com mailing list