The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Jared Bernstein to become chair of the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA).
Senators voted 50-49 on Bernstein's nomination to the post that Cecilia Rouse vacated in March. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) was the lone Democrat to side with every present Republican.
“Mr. Bernstein’s economic philosophy is problematic as he has shown a willingness to disregard the need for all-of-the-above energy policies and necessary federal budget cuts to alleviate the skyrocketing cost of living for working families,” Manchin explained in a statement.
“I did not vote for Mr. Bernstein because we must protect America’s economic stability and energy security from radical policies such as the Green New Deal,” Manchin added.
Republicans lined up to oppose Bernstein ahead of the vote, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) arguing that he was a political choice to serve as chair.
“The CEA was designed to produce objective, empirical economic analysis. With the rarest of exceptions, it’s been led by a seasoned economist with a PhD in the field. That streak would end with Mr. Bernstein,” McConnell said on the Senate floor Tuesday.
“The nominee the Senate will consider this week can more accurately claim expertise in partisan warfare than economics.”
However, what is potentially most noteworthy about Bernstein's appointment is his 2014 NYTimes Op-Ed where he promotes the idea of abandoning support of the dollar's reserve currency status
Bernstein writes:
"THERE are few truisms about the world economy, but for decades, one has been the role of the United States dollar as the world’s reserve currency. It’s a core principle of American economic policy. After all, who wouldn’t want their currency to be the one that foreign banks and governments want to hold in reserve?
But new research reveals that what was once a privilege is now a burden, undermining job growth, pumping up budget and trade deficits and inflating financial bubbles. To get the American economy on track, the government needs to drop its commitment to maintaining the dollar’s reserve-currency status.
....
The privilege of having the world’s reserve currency is one America can no longer afford."
Are these the ideations being whispered into Joe Biden's ears?
Bernstein's confirmation came coincidentally the same day as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that the U.S. dollar’s international status as the chief reserve currency is slowly diminishing as other countries diversify their assets, warns
