Clean House with new economic advisers - Brad DeLong

Brad DeLong reviews the opinions of key actors in the Obama administration's team two years ago.  The former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy  concludes that the only hopeful thing to do is clean house: put new (or returning) actors in key positions, like Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, Federal Reserve Bank, etc.

With characteristic gusto he offers

If you were to ask me what thing--aside from the complete and immediate collapse of the Republican Party and the resignation of all of its legislators from both houses of the Congress: if the previous fifteen years had not taught me that Republican politicians have nothing useful to contribute to national governance the last three years would certainly have done so--would most give me confidence that America would surmount this current economic crisis, it would be personnel changes to put qualified people who saw the world as it was in the summer of 2009 into the key economic jobs:

• Laura Tyson or someone like her to Treasury Secretary (recess-appointed, acting, whatever).

• Larry Summers or someone like him to Fed Chair (recess-appointed, acting, whatever).

• Alan Blinder or someone like him to CEA Chair (recess-appointed, acting, whatever)

• Christy Romer or someone like her to Assistant to the President for Economic Policy.