Obama to Dramatically Reshape FOMC

The structure of the Federal Reserve is such that positions are staggered, and appointments usually come along only every so often:

The seven members of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. A full term is fourteen years. One term begins every two years, on February 1 of even-numbered years. All terms end on their statutory date regardless of the date on which the member is sworn into office.

Consider this Fed factoid: Due to a combination of several resignations and upcoming re-appointments, a few expired terms, and the ordinary appointments, Barack W. Obama has an extraordinary chance to reshape the FOMC.

Note this Washington Post article from December, 2008:

“In January 2010, Obama can either reappoint or replace Chairman Ben S. Bernanke when his term expires and make the same decision about Vice Chairman Donald L. Kohn when his term ends in June of that year. Fed governors serve a 14-year term, though in practice most leave after a few years.

Thus within 18 months of taking office, Obama will likely have appointed five of the seven Fed governors. The central bank is designed to be independent from politics, so a president’s best chance of influencing how the Fed will regulate banks or respond to economic changes is through these appointments.”

What makes this a cause for concern is the bad advice on all things economic that has been Bush Obama has been getting from the bankster twins, Summers and Geithner.

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Hat tip Matt!

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Source:
Obama Takes First Shot at Reshaping Fed by Naming Board Member
Neil Irwin
Washington Post, December 19, 2008; Page D01
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/18/AR2008121801695.html

Board Members
http://www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed/bios/board/default.htm

See also:
Bernanke Set to Defend Record as Reappointment Debate Begins
Scott Lanman
Bloomberg, June 23 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aUBTI6OxeEVA

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