President-elect Barack Obama chose former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker Wednesday to head a new White House panel to help create jobs and bring stability to the ailing financial system.
Volcker, 81, will head the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board. The board’s top staff official will be Austan Goolsbee, a University of Chicago economist, Obama said at a news briefing.
Volcker is no stranger to economic crises. He became Fed chairman in 1979, a time of high inflation and high unemployment. He helped tame inflation by raising interest rates, a move that helped plunge the economy into recession. He was later credited with reviving the economy by getting inflation under control. Volcker served as Fed chairman until 1987.
He returns as an adviser with the nation facing increasing unemployment, a growing federal budget deficit and a financial system in turmoil.
Former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker will head a new White House panel to help President-elect Barack Obama create jobs and bring stability to the ailing financial system.
Volcker, 81, will head the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board. The board’s top staff official will be Austan Goolsbee, a University of Chicago economist, Obama’s office said Wednesday.
Former President Jimmy Carter named Volcker Fed chairman in 1979, a time of high inflation and high unemployment. Volcker helped tame inflation by raising interest rates, despite intense opposition by some in Congress. Volcker’s moves helped plunge the economy into recession in the short-term, but he was later credited with reviving the economy by getting inflation under control. Volcker served as Fed chairman until 1987.
Obama was expected to introduce members of the advisory board Wednesday at a news conference, his third in as many days as the long Thanksgiving weekend nears. It was a remarkable burst of public activity for Obama, who has sought to assure nervous consumers and financial markets that he will bring swift economic relief as president.