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I think it’s wrong to attack someone for this reason. Being highly successful and giving paid speeches is something most of us would like to do. We should judge

I think it’s wrong to attack someone for this reason. Being highly successful and giving paid speeches is something most of us would like to do. We should judge her by her actions. Side note: many people you imagine to come from a smoke-filled room of evil (Citadel?) are much more reasonable once you get to know them. It’s not like everyone in finance is actually a reptile. Instead we should focus on making the economic game fairer. I think Janet would agree.

snypher 6y ago
It can be seen as a legal form of bribery. What information could possibly be worth so much, and in two speeches and some 'webinars'? I don't think it can possibly be ethical to accept such sums from corporations that you ultimately will be tasked with regulating. To think we once made a guy sell his peanut farm.
- etaioinshrdlu 6y ago
  The good news is it's done. She doesn't owe Citadel any favors. It's not legally considered a conflict of interest (as far as I know; not a lawyer) It is also typically considered a good thing when public servants are financially stable as it makes them less susceptible to influence.
- square_square 6y ago
  I don't think so. $810k is too small amount of money for a person like Yellen.
logicchains 6y ago
>Side note: many people you imagine to come from a smoke-filled room of evil (Citadel?) are much more reasonable once you get to know them. I work in the industry, at a competitor, and while the people at Citadel may be reasonable, Citadel itself is absolutely a horrific monster, the Godzilla of the HFT space, destroying and devouring everything in its path. It makes a huge chunk of revenue from payment for flow, which is arguable of little economic value (and banned in many countries), securing an unfair advantage to itself through political means (lobbying etc. to enable this) rather than through honest competition in the market.
- etaioinshrdlu 6y ago
  That description of Citadel sounds like it could be Google and its advertising engine scraping the top off the global economy. I don't have a magic policy answer here, but any long-term solution will not involve finger pointing at individuals doing legal things.
  - alphabettsy 6y ago
    Setting the bar at legality is what got us here. When it comes to the relationship between government and business how about what’s ethical and right for the majority of Americans instead of just what’s legal.
    - metiscus 6y ago
      In most ethics trainings I have taken we are told to avoid taking actions that could lead to the perception of impropriety because the perception of impropriety can be as bad or worse than impropriety itself. That ethos becomes more important the higher ones station becomes in politics and business. I am not accusing Yellen of anything improper, however these transactions give circumstantial support to those who may believe she acted or will act in an improper way.
      - alphabettsy 6y ago
        Yea, I’m not talking so much about Yellen as the relationship between the wealthy and government officials in general.
alphabettsy 6y ago
I’m sure that the people working at Citadel are perfectly likable people. I also believe they provide a service that doesn’t benefit the average American because it’s inaccessible. Even if they could, does it provide value or does it exist only to add inefficiency and extract wealth for those who are already more wealthy? I think many people see the extremely wealthy such as those running Citadel as the people who play by different rules than the rest because of their wealth. Does that make them evil? I don’t think so, but I’m not going to pretend that having the wealth and relationships to get political favors means you earned your wealth fairly.
gdix 6y ago
This is a totally naive way of looking at the situation. You're right there's no smoke in the room, there's only a massive multi-billion dollar corporation buying influence from someone powerful in government in the room. That this is not totally obvious to everyone is extremely worrisome.

snypher 6y ago

It can be seen as a legal form of bribery. What information could possibly be worth so much, and in two speeches and some 'webinars'? I don't think it can possibly be ethical to accept such sums from corporations that you ultimately will be tasked with regulating. To think we once made a guy sell his peanut farm.

etaioinshrdlu 6y ago
The good news is it's done. She doesn't owe Citadel any favors. It's not legally considered a conflict of interest (as far as I know; not a lawyer) It is also typically considered a good thing when public servants are financially stable as it makes them less susceptible to influence.
square_square 6y ago
I don't think so. $810k is too small amount of money for a person like Yellen.

logicchains 6y ago

>Side note: many people you imagine to come from a smoke-filled room of evil (Citadel?) are much more reasonable once you get to know them. I work in the industry, at a competitor, and while the people at Citadel may be reasonable, Citadel itself is absolutely a horrific monster, the Godzilla of the HFT space, destroying and devouring everything in its path. It makes a huge chunk of revenue from payment for flow, which is arguable of little economic value (and banned in many countries), securing an unfair advantage to itself through political means (lobbying etc. to enable this) rather than through honest competition in the market.

etaioinshrdlu 6y ago
That description of Citadel sounds like it could be Google and its advertising engine scraping the top off the global economy. I don't have a magic policy answer here, but any long-term solution will not involve finger pointing at individuals doing legal things.
- alphabettsy 6y ago
  Setting the bar at legality is what got us here. When it comes to the relationship between government and business how about what’s ethical and right for the majority of Americans instead of just what’s legal.
  - metiscus 6y ago
    In most ethics trainings I have taken we are told to avoid taking actions that could lead to the perception of impropriety because the perception of impropriety can be as bad or worse than impropriety itself. That ethos becomes more important the higher ones station becomes in politics and business. I am not accusing Yellen of anything improper, however these transactions give circumstantial support to those who may believe she acted or will act in an improper way.
    - alphabettsy 6y ago
      Yea, I’m not talking so much about Yellen as the relationship between the wealthy and government officials in general.

alphabettsy 6y ago

I’m sure that the people working at Citadel are perfectly likable people. I also believe they provide a service that doesn’t benefit the average American because it’s inaccessible. Even if they could, does it provide value or does it exist only to add inefficiency and extract wealth for those who are already more wealthy? I think many people see the extremely wealthy such as those running Citadel as the people who play by different rules than the rest because of their wealth. Does that make them evil? I don’t think so, but I’m not going to pretend that having the wealth and relationships to get political favors means you earned your wealth fairly.

gdix 6y ago

This is a totally naive way of looking at the situation. You're right there's no smoke in the room, there's only a massive multi-billion dollar corporation buying influence from someone powerful in government in the room. That this is not totally obvious to everyone is extremely worrisome.