Tag: Jon Huntsman

The G.O.P. Can’t Ignore Climate Change

The G.O.P. Can’t Ignore Climate Change

Posted on by Jack

I’ve been a fan of Governor Huntsman for years. I liked him in the 2012 Republican Presidential primaries. I couldn’t vote for him in the primary since I live in Pennsylvania and am not registered as a Republican (or as a member any party). He is definitely more conservative than me but sounds like a very smart and reasonable man.

But my reason for writing today is to point to his opinion piece on climate change and the GOP in the NY Times today. See the link below.

The G.O.P. Can’t Ignore Climate Change – NYTimes.com.

Megabank dangers

Megabank dangers

Posted on by Jack

We don’t need banks that are too big to fail. These Megabanks endanger are financial system. We should cut megabanks down to size.

The Dodd-Frank financial reforms try to prevent these megabanks from endangering the system but can’t guarantee that. The only way to do that is to prevent banks for getting so large that their failure would bring down the entire system. And since several banks have reached that size, they need to be broken into less dangerous pieces.

Jon Huntsman presented such a plan last year but of course did not get the Republican nomination.

Gretchen Morgenstern reported in last Sunday’s New York Times that Richard W. Fisher, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, also proposed that too-big-to-fail banks be broken-up. The article also discussed other points on community banks as compared to megabanks. It is an article well worth reading.

Jon Huntsman would be a good choice for Treasury Secretary

Jon Huntsman would be a good choice for Treasury Secretary

Posted on by Jack

I wrote about this a few months back but wanted to repeat that Jon Huntsman would be a good choice for Treasury Secretary . Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has announced his intention to leave. Now that we have settled the fiscal cliff issues in part (but also put off parts for a few months), President Obama must work with the Republicans in Congress to continue the recovery and improve upon the economy of the United States.

Both sides have very different ideas about what we should do and there is a lack of trust. Trust would certainly improve the chances of finding some middle ground that both sides can agree on. Perhaps one way to improve that trust is by naming a new Treasury Secretary that both sides can trust. Continue reading “Jon Huntsman would be a good choice for Treasury Secretary”

Bipartisan Cabinet

Bipartisan Cabinet

Posted on by Jack

It has been suggested that President Obama could have a bipartisan cabinet for his second term. Here is an example of 2 Republicans who could be great additions to the cabinet.

BUT there is a school of thought that IF President Obama wanted to show bipartisanship, he could do what Franklin D. Roosevelt did in World War II–pick Republicans who are intelligent, sane, responsible, and who are no longer serving in the Senate, to serve in his cabinet, and the State Department would offer a great location to put soon to be former Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, an acknowledged foreign policy expert, and a man who has worked well with Obama when they were both Senators, and went off to Russia to promote the safe collection of nuclear weapons stockpiles in 2005-2006. Lugar is a wonderful statesman, and would fill the job with excellence and professionalism. And he has been, like Kerry, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman in the past, and is still the ranking member of the committee until he leaves the Senate in January.

Additionally, as suggested earlier, former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, a Vietnam War veteran and military expert, would be an excellent choice to serve in the Pentagon as Secretary of Defense. Always highly regarded and respected, Hagel would add stature to our Defense Department.

Such appointments would neutralize, to a great extent, Republican attacks on President Obama in the areas of foreign policy, national security, and defense policy.

See http://www.theprogressiveprofessor.com/?p=20041 for the full article.

I would like to add a suggestion, Jon Huntsman, former governor and ambassador, as Treasury Secretary.

Huntsman for Treasury

Huntsman for Treasury

Posted on by Jack

It seems we are in the market for a new Treasury Secretary. It is a very important position in the cabinet. President Obama must work with the Republicans in Congress to continue the recovery and improve upon the economy of the United States.

The problem is that both sides have very different ideas about what we should do and there is a lack of trust. Trust would certainly improve the chances of finding some middle ground that both sides can agree on. Perhaps one way to improve that trust is by naming a new Treasury Secretary that both sides can trust.

Jon Huntsman ran in the Republican presidential primary and was a successful governor of a conservative state. He was also President Obama’s ambassador to China. Both sides have reason to trust him.

In addition, Jon Huntsman has made serious proposals about economic regulation and job growth and is a good choice as Treasury Secretary.

Too Big To Fail = Too Big To Exist

Too Big To Fail = Too Big To Exist

Posted on by Jack

Our financial policy is now that certain financial institutions are Too Big To Fail and so they must be tightly regulated and bailed-out by the taxpayers if they do fail, lest they topple the U.S. economy.

Over regulation is a potential problem. Bail-outs of hundred of billions and perhaps several trillion are also potential problems, especially when our government is running large deficits and is trillions of dollars in debt.

Too Big To Fail = Too Big To Exist is the simplest solution. Simply, do not let the institutions reach a size where they threaten the U.S. economy. Some institutions already exceed that size and need to be gradually broken-up or unwound to get under that number.

Jon Huntsman proposed such a plan during his bid for the Republican presidential nomination. I’m sure there are other plans out there.

Too Big To Fail = Too Big To Exist can be shortened to TBTF = TBTE or 2B2F = 2B2E for those who like things shorter. Thus financial institutions will be freer to experiment and take risks. The taxpayers need not regulate so closely and are not on the hook for a bail-out. It is a win-win as far as I can see.

Jon Huntsman and Too-Big-To-Fail Wall Street banks

Jon Huntsman and Too-Big-To-Fail Wall Street banks

Posted on by Jack

Jon Huntsman has shown he is a candidate with a real shot at the nomination with his strong showing in the New Hampshire primary. Maybe now he will get the attention he deserves.

Mr. Huntsman has again addressed the issue of Too-Big-To-Fail Wall Street banks. He seems to be one of the very few politicians who is willing to take on Wall Street banks which threaten our country’s economy. I had written about this last month (see my post – Jon Huntsman and Too Big to Fail.

It would seem that many in the Republican and business communities are opposed to the regulation of financial institutions passed by Congress (Dodd-Frank) But if the government is responsible for the debts of the big banks, does it not make sense to regulate? Certainly, it can be argued whether Dodd-Frank got it right. But if there are no too big to fail institutions, a lighter regulatory hand is appropriate.

Jon Huntsman and Too Big to Fail

Jon Huntsman and Too Big to Fail

Posted on by Jack

I was very pleased to read Jon Huntsman’s plan on financial reform . Two aspects of it especially struck me.

First, it never made any sense to me to have financial institutions so large that they would be considered too big to fail. That is they are so large that if they were to fail the entire US economy would be in danger. Indeed, I had writen about this over 2 years ago.. Jon Huntsman presents a plan to eliminate this risk by the simplest means possible: not have too big to fail institutions.

Second, he proposes the repeal of Dodd-Frank. This was our government’s regulatory response to the 2008 crisis. I read quite a few newspapers (including both the NY Times and the Wall Street Journal) and I know this regulatory reform is opposed by many in the business community but it seems to me if the goverment is ultimately reponsible for the debts of the big banks, there is a need for extensive regulation. It is an arguable point whether Dodd-Frank got it right. But if there are no too big to fail institutions, a lighter regulatory hand is appropriate.

There are several other aspects to Jon Huntsman’s plan but I just wanted to highlight these. Although Jon Huntsman is way back in the pack seeking the GOP nomination for President, he may be the most qualified and thoughtful in the group.

Huntsman Beats Obama

Huntsman Beats Obama

Posted on by Jack

Jon Huntsman beats Barack Obama in making public a jobs plan. President Obama’s plan should be out in a few days. Gov. Huntsman’s plan has already been available for several days. It covers many aspects of the economy as would be expected as jobs are not an isolated issue and they are but a part of the larger economy. Here is the whole plan as a PDF as well as a blog entry on the candidate’s website that summarizes.

Let us hope more of the candidates come out with plans like this so we can have a debate on some ideas. I was a bit disappointed that parts of Huntsman’s plan were vague but I’m sure these points will be more fully explained in the near future.