Must Be The Money
by digby
In case you were wondering why Obama chose Jeffrey Immelt to replace Paul Volcker, Thomas Ferguson of the Roosevelt Institute offers what I think is probably the most important reason:
“Volcker out and Immelt in, because the administration now wants to emphasize ‘recovery’ and ‘jobs’ instead of ‘crisis stabilization’? Since when did any stabilization not include jobs as a top priority? What we actually have here is the disappearance from the scene of the best known and most visible critic of the excesses of the financial sector and his replacement by the sitting CEO of a company that is heavily dependent on government aid of all sorts, including diplomatic assistance to invest more in China. This is not about jobs, but political money — the White House knows that after Citizens United, it will need to raise about a billion dollars — that’s right, a billion — for its reelection campaign. That’s the context in which this and its other recent appointments need to be judged.”
I think we all make the mistake of forgetting the obvious. I know I do. And it’s foolish to do so when it comes to politics. Why is Obama desperate to appease the wealthy interests right now? There are all sorts of complicated reasons. But let’s not forget that first and foremost, that’s where all the money is.
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