Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Germany

Masterminds Advise Presidential Candidates

By Claus Tigges

Translated By Christiane Thieme

February 08, 2008

Germany - Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung – Original Article (German)

In the United States, the fear of recession is growing. As a result, the economy has become a major issue in the presidential campaign. This has been especially challenging for the economic advisors of the presidential candidates. It is their responsibility to have Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John McCain make good impressions on their voters by presenting a thorough economic plan.

Since these economic advisors enjoy an excellent reputation in the academic world and possess the necessary experience in the political field, they are highly trusted by their respective presidential candidates. Hillary Clinton is supported by one of her husband’s long-time companions: Gene Sperling is currently serving as a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, and worked as director of the National Economic Council throughout Bill Clinton’s term in office. During this period, he helped reduce household deficits and consolidate the national budget.

Sperling, who received his law degree from Yale University, vehemently campaigns for Clinton’s personal economic plan in which she calls for a $30 Billion Emergency Housing Crisis Fund and a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures. According to Sperling, a five-year freeze on the interest rates of adjustable mortgages will encourage creditors and beneficiaries to find a long-term financing solution that will help borrowers keep their homes.

Barack Obama, another promising democratic candidate, has chosen Austan Goolsbee to be his chief economic advisor. Goolsbee, a centrist market economist, teaches at the University of Chicago and has already supported Obama in his successful U.S. Senate campaign. The economist received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1995 and has since focused his research on tax policies.

Goolsbee recently advised his candidate to let the high-income tax cuts that were implemented by President George W. Bush expire by 2010. According to Goolsbee, American household deficits cannot be eliminated overnight.  In the long-run, he believes it to be more important to invest in education and infrastructure. Goolsbee’s experiences in Washington include working for democratic senator David Boren in the early nineties and holding a position as special consultant for internet policy in the Department of Justice from 2000 to 2001.

After the primaries on “Super Tuesday”, John McCain can be considered the most promising candidate for the Republican Party. The senator from Arizona depends on Douglas Holtz-Eakin for economic advice. During President Bush’s first term, Holtz-Eakin gained valuable experience serving as Chief Economist for the President’s Council of Economic Advisors. From 2003 to 2005, he was chosen to head the Congressional Budget Office. Currently, the former economics professor is a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

At Holtz-Eakin’s urging, McCain pleads to make Bush’s tax cuts permanent and to introduce even further tax alleviations. However, according to Holtz-Eakin, to make tax cuts possible, a change in spending and budgeting is indispensable. Initially, McCain had voted against tax cuts, because they had caused rising budget deficits. Permanently strengthening the growth of American economy, asserts Holtz-Eakin, is more reasonable than a short-term economic plan. The government has to interfere as little as possible with the American market.

Despite their different economic approaches, Sperling, Goolsbee, and Holtz-Eakin have one thing in common. In case of an election victory, they can hope to be offered a seat in the Cabinet of the next American President. Hopefully, with the arrival of a new lady or gentleman in the White House, the political wheel will spin a little faster – again.