Kevin Who?

I agree. Who is this guy and what qualifies him to serve on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors?:

Bush's Nomination of Warsh to Fed Draws Criticism, Bloomberg: Most of President George W. Bush's nominees to the Federal Reserve have earned accolades from across the economic and political spectrums. And then there's Kevin Warsh. Bush's nomination of the 35-year-old White House aide -- a lawyer by training who would become one of only two members of the Fed's seven-member board of governors without a Ph.D. in economics -- has been greeted by criticism and bewilderment by some former Fed officials and economists. They point to his political connections and inexperience, and say the White House could have found a better-known, more qualified choice.

"Kevin Warsh is not a good idea,'' said former Fed Vice Chairman Preston Martin, who was appointed by Republican President Ronald Reagan in 1982. "If I were on the Senate Banking Committee,'' which must approve Fed nominees, "I would vote against him.'' ...

The nomination of Warsh, who has been executive secretary of the president's National Economic Council, was one of two that Bush made ... to fill vacancies on the Fed. The other nominee, Randall Kroszner, 43, is a University of Chicago professor and a former Fed visiting scholar with a doctorate in economics from Harvard University.

"Kroszner is a distinguished academic,'' said former governor Edward Gramlich, who left the Fed in August. "The other one, Kevin, I don't know.'' Martin said that "Kroszner is absolutely at the top of the list.'' If Warsh and Kroszner are confirmed, Bush will have appointed all seven members of the Fed board. ...

Warsh is married to Jane Lauder, a granddaughter of cosmetics pioneer Estee Lauder; Jane Lauder's father, Ronald Lauder, was U.S. ambassador to Austria under Reagan and has donated $104,000 to the Republican National Committee since the 2000 election campaign...

If both Warsh and Kroszner are confirmed, said Fed-watcher Schlesinger, "for the first time in recent decades, and maybe the first time ever, the board would include three governors who recently served in the administration that appointed them.'' That, he said, "unavoidably make the board a more political cast.'' ...

Comments

[anne]

More than any other Administration in modern times, this Administration appoints or nominates friends or loyalists to every possible position. For every choice that may go askew, several others become Administrators and are significantly changing the executive branch or the courts. Why should this nomination be the least surprising?

[dryfly]

Maybe he is good at something else that translates into relevant experience... like showing Arabian horses.

[dryfly]

Sometimes I get the feeling that when Bush is confused over who to pick for a position doing something he doesn't understand... that maybe he picks the first person he sees... Maybe this guy was walking down the hall past the Oval Office & Bush, with head in hand looks up... and the bulb over his head turns on.

It was a thought anyway.

[save_the_rustbelt]

Not an economist +

Is a lawyer -

Married to an heiress -

Worked for Bush -

I would have to vote no.

[Emmanuel]

I bizarrely joked that maybe they should resurrect Arthur Laffer for a Fed job, but this is even worse.

[Mr. Knowitall]

Some guesses as to qualifications:

#1: Loyal
#2: Loyal
#3: Loyal
#4: Oh yeah. Loyal.

I am not ageist at all. But the only Fed this 35-year has know in the past 15 years has been the Greenspan Fed. Although he is probably aware of oil-shocks, stagflation, Volcker breaking the back of inflation, the 40% drop in the dollar in the 80s, the 87 stock market crash, the 94 bond market blowup, the mexican problem, the asian problem, the russian problem, LTCM, the PPT,...

I seriously doubt he has 1) instinct honed over decades of reading and analyzing raw data 2) a deep understanding of the business of the Fed 3) deep intellectual grounding in the risks and operation of modern financial markets and 4) any real idea of what to do when the s**t hits the fan.

Think of an analogy: heart surgery. Do you really want your Dr. to START his apprenticeship performing your surgery?

[calmo]

It could have been worse. And it might get worse: imagine if Kevin Who does not get sworn in and Harriet gets another plug at finding a post?
It could happen.

[Mr. Knowitall]

I was about to say: Kevin Warsh is to the Fed what Harriet Miers is to the Supreme Court.

[howard]

my bet is: they can't find anyone decent to fill the second slot and so, as anne notes, they went with their usual reflex.

[calmo]

I can't believe that the existing committee does not have a role in creating a short list (or a long list), in the first place. No policy apparatus after more than 5yrs. It's just so bad, that you (Ok, maybe only me) need to make a joke out of it to keep sane.

[ziz]

Sounds like a lot of ageists here, the US economy has a double deficit that makes your eyes water ...maybe a young lawyer married to an heiress might have some bright new ideas.

Doesn't look as though anyone else has.

[Elaine Meinel Supkis]

The present crew running the Fed are all INSANE!

And they are one of many reasons why we are going BANKRUPT!

[theorajones]

Kevin Who?

Kevin Brown. He'll do a heckuva job.

[Julius Civitatus]

Bush appointed someone without qualifications to the Federal Reserve because he needs someone without any qualifications there.

What kind of qualifications does someone need to simply open the locks of the treasury for their cronies to raid? Not many really. Simple: open the safe box, let Halliburton and Cheney's hunting pals take the taxpayers cash to Aruba.

Easy as pie. You don't need a PhD for that!

[Harriett Miers]

Shame on Chuck Schumer for endorsing Warsh. I would have thought him more interested in an independent Fed and meritocracy over patronage. Then again, Schumer has received substantive donations from the Estee Lauder company and Lauder family (Warsh's in-laws):
- http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/detail.asp?CID=N00001093&cycle=2000;

- http://www.motherjones.com/news/special_reports/mojo_400/mojo_400_detail.cgi?recip=N00001093

[Michael]

Are high-level political connections and relationships with extremely wealthy people the main requirement to being appointed to high-level positions in Washington DC? What happened to "experience" determining worthiness to be appointed to this type of position.

This appointment sounds like a classic case of nepotism of some sort to me, say.. within the Rebublican Party "boys" club. Mr. Warsh will be the youngest Fed governor ever? How many economic cycles has he experienced in his lifetime? Are they serious? Aren't there others in this country that are extremely well qualified (with Phd's in Economics and 20 years or more of direct work experience in Economic Policy) who would strongly desire to be considered for a position on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors?

[Richard Perry]

Why didn't Bush just appoint Ron Lauder to the Fed? Why be indirect?

[Joe Torre]

Kevin Brown's temperament isn't suited to the fed, and his slider ain't what it used to be either.

[Noah Rosenstein]

Kevin Warsh will always be in The Dog-House, as far as I'm concerned.

[Former Roomate of Warsh]

This guy was a joke with no substance in college. As quoted from New Republic article: "But some former colleagues found him exceedingly glib. "He was all form, no substance," says one. "He called everyone 'bra.' 'Hey, bra. Whatcha working on, bra? Got any capacity? I've got a new deal for you.' ... He was good at little speeches: 'Guys, you should be excited to be at Morgan Stanley. There's lots of cool stuff going on.'" " (http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20060306&s=scheiber030606). It is sad that it is networking and not merit that gets people ahead these days.