I’ve been remiss in not writing anything about Janet Yellen’s nomination to head the Federal Reserve; partly that was because I wasn’t sure exactly what to say, or how to explain why I and so many other economists are really happy with her selection. But Noam Scheiber at The New Republic hits the nail on the head, writing in a recent article that what’s so encouraging about Ms. Yellen is not just her track record but who she hangs out with. She is very definitely the economists’ candidate here.
Everyone else floated for the job has, in one way or another, been close to Wall Street – even Larry Summers, who has a formidable record as a research economist but also a formidable record of making money consulting for financial firms. And while you can make the case in normal times that a deep knowledge of finance, the markets and all that is good, there are two fundamental truths here: Wall Street is largely responsible for the mess we’re in, and financial types have been consistently wrong – not just failing to see the risks before the crisis, but in diagnosing what would come next.
Above all, they took the position that bailing out the banks would pave the way to recovery more broadly, and it hasn’t. Meanwhile, sensible academic macroeconomics has, as I often point out, performed very well – and Ms. Yellen is very much in that camp. So Ms. Yellen is, if you like, a member of my tribe here, and I think that’s a very good thing in today’s economy. The fact that her appointment also makes history – she’d be the first woman to lead the Fed – is just gravy.
Thoughts on the 2013 Nobel
It’s an old jibe against economics that it’s the only field where two people can win the Nobel for saying opposite things; even the people making that jibe, however, probably didn’t envisage those two guys sharing the same prize, which is kind of what happened this year. But I am actually fine with the prize.
Eugene Fama’s work on efficient markets was essential in setting up the benchmark against which alternatives could be tested; Robert Shiller did more than anyone else to codify the ways in which the efficient market hypothesis fails in practice. If Mr. Fama has said some foolish things in recent years, no matter; he did earn this honor, as did Mr. Shiller.
As for Lars Peter Hansen, his work involves econometric methods on which I have no expertise at all, but I’ll trust the experts who consider it great work. So, all good – and you actually have to admire the prize committee for finding a way to give Mr. Fama the long-expected honor without seeming as if they are completely out of touch with everything going on around them.
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
You can help by giving today. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.