January 15, 2014

How precedents are set

Nine years ago, those two noted cosmopolitan universalists, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Finance Minister Bibi Netanyahu, decided that it was time to move beyond all this primitive nationalism and vulgar questions of "Whose side is this guy on, anyway?" and go out and find the technically most wizardly central banker out of all the billions of people in the entire world, who turned out to be Stanley Fischer. 

Now, President Obama has decided that for the role of eminence grise of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, he should follow this precedent established by those famed proponents of national disinterestedness, Sharon and Netanyahu. Obama has put aside all these petty questions of national loyalty to look deep into the vast global pool of talent. And he has found his Own Personal Stanley Fischer, who -- like El Guapo in Three Amigos -- also happens to be The Actual Stanley Fischer:

22 comments:

  1. Who hires a 70-year-old for a big job anyway?

    Did Texas just hire a 70-year-old football coach? No.

    Fischer has to apply for Social Security this year and he will also have to start taking minimum distributions from his IRAs. It wasn't long ago that most jobs had mandatory retirement at 70.

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  2. You keep telling us we should learn from Israel's example. But when our government finally does, you're all "Danger Will Robinson!"

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  3. "You keep telling us we should learn from Israel's example. But when our government finally does, you're all "Danger Will Robinson!""

    Yes! Hire a white gentile. Perhaps even a WASP.
    Robert Hume

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  4. I still don't understand why so many commenting here are saying "no big deal, this guy is obviously bright and competent. Let it be."

    It's a big deal because, as Sailer has said, (i) it sets a terrible precedent, (ii) it is a startingly brazen FU by the 'borders don't matter' (except when they do) Friedman 'flat world' view elites, and most important (iii) it confirms and presupposes that the US doesn't have any innate talent for the job. In short, it is an extreme example for those who want don't give a crap about middle America.

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  5. President International Man of Mystery nominates Vice-Chair Man From Nowhere. Dog bites man.

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  6. [i]You keep telling us we should learn from Israel's example. But when our government finally does, you're all "Danger Will Robinson!"[/i]

    No, Steve is telling us to follow Israel's example and hire one of our own, a person of unquestioned patriotism. Israel hired a Jew and has never hired any non-Jew for any important position. They won't even hire a non-Jewish ISRAELI CITIZEN.

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  7. Steve's really run off with this one, like a dog with a bone.
    There's no stopping him a flurry of posts after post.
    A bit like the Tscharnaev incident a while back.

    Dare I mention incipient 'hairy-man', (ie generalized sharp-practising eastern Mediterranean/Caucasus/Armenoid/ haplogroup J), phobia?

    Yup. The 'hairy men' once again display their uncanny ability to get waht they want and leave everyone else gasping.
    - Personally, I balme 1000's of years of trying to scratch a goat-herd's life on the Taurus mountains, Catal Huyuk etc, but we'll never know.

    ps that old bug-bear, the Jowlhound, himself, was one of that ilk.

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  8. You keep telling us we should learn from Israel's example. But when our government finally does, you're all "Danger Will Robinson!"

    One can admire Israel's policies while being opposed to the importation of Israeli officials to run our own government. The Chinese generally consider American businesses exemplary while heavily restricting their ability to operate in China in order to bolster native industry.

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  9. "Anonymous said...

    Who hires a 70-year-old for a big job anyway?"

    The Politburo. The Catholic Church. This isn't much different.

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  10. You keep telling us we should learn from Israel's example. But when our government finally does, you're all "Danger Will Robinson!"

    Are you under the impression that Israel would hire a foreigner with ambiguous loyalties for a leading position in its central bank?

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  11. Obama has put aside all these petty questions of national loyalty to look deep into the vast global pool of talent.

    This reminds me of that time when Roosevelt tapped Rommel to lead the American Expeditionary Fo—oh wait.

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  12. http://weaselzippers.us/white-house-uses-magic-johnson-to-push-obamacare-propaganda/

    http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1991-11-25/features/1991329094_1_hero-magic-johnson-grobnik

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  13. Mandatory retirement age, what? It's not like Fischer would be doing anything truly important, like piloting a commercial airliner.

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  14. Now we know that Jewish nationalism is the new internationalism(for non-Jews).
    Why not in a world where 'gay marriage' is the 'new normal'.

    Jews: we are internationalist and anti-nationalist because we work and cooperate with other peoples to serve Israeli and Jewish interests.

    White gentiles: we are internationalist and anti-nationalist because we work and cooperate with Jews to serve Israeli and Jewish interests.

    You see, both groups work with other groups to push a common goal. That's what I call progress and international brotherhood.

    Hmmm, what is wrong with this picture?

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  15. Master and slave.

    Master: I am equal with my slave because I work with my slave to have him serve me.

    Slave: I be equal wid ma massuh cuz I work wid ma massuh to serve him.

    They sho is in it together, brotherhood under the skin.

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  16. http://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1309087/clubland

    Shiiiite, I think I know why the Chinese are so angry and corrupt.

    One time, Sir Kilgore said "Charlie don't play golf!"

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  17. Naturalized citizens from the Middle East work out just fine. Just look at Mozaffar Khazaee, that marvelous and patriotic aerospace technician.

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  18. !Yes! Hire a white gentile

    "Gentile"? Why not just say "goy"?

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  19. Wow, I didn't know Sharon was PM when Fischer was brought in. A little less surprising Netanyahu would bring in an American because he was always complaining that Israelis had made a basketcase economy and that there wasn't even a word in Hebrew for "privatization."

    This would still be ridiculous if Fischer had been Shimon Peres's choice. But in this case it's roughly analogous to Charles de Gaulle making a French-American central banker of France, and later Jimmy Carter putting the guy high up in the Federal Reserve. If de Gaulle determined he was good for France, you can't get a clearer indication he's not appropriate in US government.

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  20. If Christie Soprano is elected, he could make a big-hearted gesture and nominate Palin to replace Yellen. Not vastly more absurd than the appointment of Hillary to her last position, is it?

    As long as Fischer remains behind the scenes, wearing a dirty green eyeshade and selling short, it's all good.

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