Kevin Hassett for Chair of the Fed

-- A simply terrific choice to replace Chairman Powell

I’ve known Kevin Hassett since he was in graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania. Kevin was a PhD student of my long-time co-author, Alan Auerbach, Professor Emeritus of Economics at UC Berkeley. Hence, Kevin and I met at the beginning of his studies.

To my great fortune, we’ve spent over 35 years discussing every topic under the sun in economics, but primarily economic policy. Kevin is an extraordinarily brilliant economist with an outstanding record of publishing exceptional research studies in top economics journals. He’s deep, he does his homework, and he talks facts, not ideology. He’s also a lovely and upbeat person. To my knowledge, Kevin has never uttered a nasty word about anyone in public or private. That’s not part of his fiber.

Serious economists meet, spend three minutes on small talk, and then begin a very special grooming process. We teach each other economics. We discuss our latest research findings, policy views, and new understandings of the domestic and global economies. Over our years of exchanges, both in person and over the phone, I’ve learned far more from Kevin than he’s learned from me. Indeed, I’d put him among my top economics teachers, which includes a goodly list of Nobel Laureates.

That may sound over the top — trying to talk up a friend for a job. It’s not. Kevin knows economic theory, facts, and institutions like the back of his hand. But he also sees the world as far too complex to shoehorn into a particular economic school of thought. In short, he’s not a political economist. He’s an economist. But he’s an extraordinarily articulate and personable one. He persuades by listening, absorbing, thinking, concluding, and firmly leading — not by screaming, cursing, or accusing.

These qualities will serve him extremely well as Chair of the Federal Reserve. That position requires persuasion — getting millions of businesses to voluntarily coordinate their price-setting behavior so the Fed doesn’t need to disrupt the economy via abrupt changes in interest rates. The Fed Chair is also, along with the Secretary of Treasury, our nation’s top economic ambassador. The Fed Chair needs to coordinate global economic, banking, and financial policy with counterparts around the world, particularly at the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan, the Bank of England, and the Bank for International Settlements. Fortunately, high-level government interactions, not just with central bankers, but with economics and finance ministers, have been Kevin’s bread and butter for years.

It’s very hard to know, from afar, how hard or well a federal government official is working. Without getting into detail, I know Kevin has made enormous, quiet contributions to the country in areas that go far beyond economic policy. A prime example is COVID. Kevin played a key role during that crisis in a host of ways to save millions of lives and restore the economy.

The big question, of course, is whether Kevin would be his own man or simply a yes man for our very forceful President. Kevin’s loyalty runs to God and country, in that order. He’s worked with Senator John McCain, President George W. Bush, Senator Mitt Romney, and now President Trump. President Trump did not make Kevin Hassett. Kevin Hassett, his parents, wife, and children, as well as his academic and policy mentors, made Kevin Hassett.

Kevin Hassett has worked for years for the American people, which he realizes is an extraordinary honor and privilege. He fully knows the critical importance to the country of our central bank’s independence and will certainly not compromise that independence. He will make an outstanding Chair of the Federal Reserve.