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I've seen this a couple of times and I don't understand the outrage. Yellen is a financial professional. Would we expect her to a) not speak at Citadel if asked
by runako 6y ago
I've seen this a couple of times and I don't understand the outrage. Yellen is a financial professional. Would we expect her to a) not speak at Citadel if asked or b) request less than market rates for doing so?
I really don't understand what people want from her.
- AnimalMuppet 6y agoWe want (expect) her not to sit in judgment of the hand that feeds her.
- runako 6y ago> feeds Oh, if she's still receiving money from Citadel, I agree. If she's not still receiving money from Citadel, I don't see the relevance. I would expect anyone qualified for the job to have made paid speeches at any number of important financial institutions over the years. It wouldn't be in our best interests as citizens to have them recuse every time a matter concerning one of them arises.
- nojokes 6y agoYes, it would. It would eliminate clear conflict of interests.
- defen 6y agoIf Yellen had been appointed a judge instead of Secretary of the Treasury, and a court case involving Citadel came before her, would you expect her to recuse?
- runako 6y agoI don't think giving a few speeches is worthy of recusal, no. Unless people are alleging that she entwined with them in some material way (e.g. consulting, advisory, etc.) then I honestly don't see the problem. The party who could have a problem is Citadel, who might be at risk for finding out that she gave the same speech for less money to a nonprofit.
- treis 6y ago>Would we expect her to a) not speak at Citadel if asked or b) request less than market rates for doing so? Yes
- runako 6y agoSay more? Why would a financial expert on the staff of Brookings not speak at Citadel for market rates?
- siscia 6y agoBecause raise huge suspect of bribing.
- treis 6y agoBecause it's obviously a bribe
- jf22 6y agoWhat should the going rate be for the former fed chairman? There aren't many of them so the is a resource scarcity. I'm not trying to suggest 700k in speaking fees isn't a bribe, but how much of a bribe is it? I'd speak at a single conference for $1000, her $130k fee means her time is 130x more valuable as mine and I think that could be true.
- soperj 6y agoThey expect her to recuse herself from the hearing.
- Aunche 6y agoIf she recused herself every time she had a hearing with a company that paid her for a talk, she might as well resign being treasury secretary.
- runako 6y ago+1 and this is the case for anyone who would be a good choice for the job in the first place.
- Bootvis 6y agoThat’s mere conjecture.
- nojokes 6y agoYes, she should resign.
- k4l3 6y agoThat'd be great. Seriously though, why is that the case? If she's a public servant, she could donate her time to talks easily. When you're being paid that much money to speak, then are asked to sit in judgment on this company, are you really expecting her to bite the hand that feeds her? *At the absolute best it puts her in a terribly awkward position. At worst it's bribery.
- jwolfe 6y agoThose speeches weren't while she was a public servant. This amounts to an argument that people can't go back and forth between the private and public spheres. To be fair, this is something some people believe, and was very visible in the case of Ajit Pai outrage. But if that's what we're saying, let's be clear about it.
- vmark1 6y agoI don't know anything about this particular instance, but it is generally believed that speaking fees are that high because they are a form of legal bribery. Bill Clinton also had his share of critics because of that.
- jordan_curve 6y agoGenerally believed by whom? People on the internet? Is there real evidence of paid speeches being bribery? As others have said about 100k-500k is the going rate for corporate speeches from athletes, actors, etc.
- undefined1 6y agofinancial professional masquerading as a politician. politicians are supposed to be public servants.
- chapium 6y agoIts possible to be both, but there are 700k reasons she might just be a little bit biased.
- disgrunt 6y agoTo recuse herself from a clear conflict of interest.
- michael_j_ward 6y agoCould you point me to non politician, non regulator, non government official receiving a market rate of $300k a speech? I hear you can get Zuckerberg or Gates for that kind of money, but they make more than that in an hour just from their existing wealth.
- runako 6y agoThere are websites that post pricing, and the "Please call" numbers will surprise you. But $300k is not outside the ballpark for what people make for speaking. It's fine to be outraged by that, but it is fair to call it "market".
- michael_j_ward 6y agoI asked for examples. The only reason outrage seems justified is that the demographics of those that can charge $300k a speech appears overwhelmingly dominated by government officials. I'm open to being shown otherwise with explicit links.
- runako 6y agoThere are links in peer comments. But you are correct that the people that can command high dollars for speaking engagements are widely known. Reaching a high post in government fits the bill, as does being a top actor, entertainer, athlete, etc.
- mortehu 6y agoCelebrity commencement speakers, for example https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/04/02/matthew-mcconaugheys-pricey-commencement-speaker-fee-not-out-norm https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/04/02/matthew-mccon...
- michael_j_ward 6y agoAre you insinuating that Janet Yellen is not getting paid for her knowledge / advice but instead because of her status?
- Udik 6y ago> request less than market rates Is the current market rate for a speech $290k? And what are exactly the goods object of the transaction?
- runako 6y agoFor top professionals, that is exactly the ballpark. The goods object of the transaction is "continuing education perk for 500 highly-paid professionals." If I put 500 staff in a room and want to treat them, this is a nice perk that's not something they can buy on their own (even though many are millionaires).
- temp8964 6y agoIt is just ridiculous to call her "a financial professional". She was a top regulation official. Now she is a top regulation official again. How can you just call her "a financial professional". I don't understand your "don't understand". Did you just hear her name the first time or something?
- jf22 6y agoWould "financial regulation professional" be better?
- temp8964 6y agoNot really. It sounds like someone does research on financial regulation or a technical bureaucrat who works in related agencies, not a national top government official.
- runako 6y agoI wasn't aware of her career in regulation outside of finance. I think it's fair to say that her regulatory career has been focused on the economy, and that's what most people know her for.
- temp8964 6y agoSo you are saying there is a clean cut between the Secretary of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve Chair from the finance sector? And somehow she is also a "financial professional" at the same time, which is just fine?
- sonthonax 6y agoCentral banks are regulatory entities. Who do you think sets the regulatory capital requirements?
- sixQuarks 6y agoMarket rate for what? It’s called bribing, this is the market rate for bribes. No company would pay these prices for a 30 minute speech.
- mattkrause 6y agoThey do though. I linked to a speaker's bureau above and Bradley Cooper(!?!) gets $200k/speech.
- sixQuarks 6y agoThat's an A-list celebrity, they're supposed to be the highest paid speakers. A top executive or professional typically makes 10% what A-list celebrity makes for speeches. Given this, Yellen should be getting $20,000 per speech, which would align way more realistically with expectations.
- A12-B 6y agoYellen earned more than $700,000 in speaking fees from Citadel, as recently as last fall. In an ethics agreement she pledged not to involve herself in specific matters involving the firm without first seeking authorization. Treasury ethics attorneys have given Yellen flexibility to work on any related markets or broad financial services sector issues, with no limits on current or future matters, the Treasury official said. She may need to seek further authorization to deal with specific firms she listed. In the memo granting Yellen permission to call the meeting of regulators, a Treasury ethics official, Brian Sonfield, said it would be "difficult, if not impossible" for Yellen to recuse herself from matters involving market volatility. "You are the Secretary of the Treasury, the duties of which require you to be involved in a broad array of matters focused on these sectors," Sonfield wrote. "Issues relating to these sectors could arise at any time without the opportunity for consultation with the ethics office," and "argue in favor of prior authorization." source: https://www.streetinsider.com/Reuters/Exclusive%3A+Treasurys+Yellen+calls+top+regulator+meeting+on+GameStop+volatility%2C+consults+ethics+lawyer/17906024.html https://www.streetinsider.com/Reuters/Exclusive%3A+Treasurys... Do you see the problem? She is so trusted as an expert that people have given her authorisation to involve herself in matters related to firms she just took money from, regardless of the obvious incentives and conflicts of interest. Maybe you don't think those incentives or conflicts are a big deal, in which case I've got a bridge to sell you.
- nojito 6y ago>she pledged not to involve herself in specific matters involving the firm without first seeking authorization. Isn’t seeking a waiver doing just that?
- totalZero 6y agoAgreed. Also, "seeking a waiver" from lawyers who work for you isn't exactly a high bar to clear.
- runako 6y agoI honestly don't see the problem with giving speeches at market rate. If the allegation was that she opened Citadel's books and provided advisory services to them, I would consider that different. But delivering a speech that she may have delivered in other venues does not strike me as necessarily of conflict. I do think the ethics office should review after the fact and raise any concerns that arise, but generally I think we as citizens should be afforded the benefit of her expertise more often than not.
- leto_ii 6y ago> Would we expect her to a) not speak at Citadel if asked or b) request less than market rates for doing so? Pretty much. I think there should be a significant cool down period (let's say 5 years or so) after leaving a top public service or political position before you can make money from the private sector you were supposed to oversee. As far as I know something like that already applies to people who retire from the military and want to transition to a public civilian position.