Recommending Herman Cain is reckless
By Editorial Board April 6 at 5:19 PM
IT CAN take years, or decades, to establish a good reputation — but only minutes to destroy one. To consider the importance, and fragility, of reputation generally, and then to consider how vital is the Federal Reserve’s reputation for political independence and technical expertise, both to the United States and the world, is to grasp the utter recklessness of President Trump’s recommendation of Herman Cain for a position on the Fed’s Board of Governors ...
... Mr. Cain’s political fealty to Mr. Trump is ironclad — stronger, certainly, than his expertise in economics or financial markets, usual qualifications for the Fed Board of Governors. For example, Mr. Cain in 2012 called for a return to a gold-linked dollar, writing: “Gold is kryptonite to big-spending politicians. It is to the moochers and looters in government what sunlight and garlic are to vampires.” Even unembellished by demagogic rhetoric, Mr. Cain’s idea contradicts the consensus among economic professionals that the gold standard — under which the Fed would agree to exchange some of its gold for paper dollars at a fixed rate — is destructive and outmoded. It would limit the Fed’s ability to expand the money supply to fight recessions, with potentially catastrophic results. Many blame the gold standard of the 1930s for deepening the Great Depression.
The Fed’s integrity has been threatened before, by presidents and by members of Congress seeking to bend its awesome powers to their short-term partisan advantage. So far, it has generally withstood those attempts, arguably emerging even stronger. Mr. Trump seems determined to mount another attack, which might succeed unless the Republicans who control the Senate put the nation’s interest above his and refuse to go along ...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trumps-recommendation-of-herman-cain-is-utterly-reckless/2019/04/06/9ceb30d8-57c2-11e9-8ef3-fbd41a2ce4d5_story.html?utm_term=.904c5ddc7743
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