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If 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.

by Aunche 6y ago

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 ago
  That’s mere conjecture.
nojokes 6y ago
Yes, she should resign.
k4l3 6y ago
That'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 ago
  Those 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.
  - k4l3 6y ago
    I think it's totally fine, and probably preferable, for people to go back and forth. Absolutely in favor of it. I just also think they should recuse themselves from an investigation when those whom they've had significant dealings with are being investigated. $700k for 3 speaking gigs, we're not talking about a CEO she had lunch with one time, there is a significant business relationship there. That relationship might not affect Mrs. Yellen's judgment, but if she doesn't absolutely drop the hammer on Citadel it at least looks like bribery. The very fact that the question is raised is the problem.
  - jordan_curve 6y ago
    So what? After you’ve become the fed chair you’re no longer allowed to make money? Suddenly the pool of people who will ever agree to take the job gets smaller and it will be held by much wealthier people on average. Or I suppose you could say that anyone who has held a government position, left it, and then ever made money in the private sector is ineligible for future government work. In effect all this does is just bar past officials from being elected again. This again reduces the pool of qualified talent by a lot. Janet Yellen is probably the most qualified person in the country to be the fed chair, it seems like she should be allowed to imo.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
totalZero 6y ago
She earned seven million dollars from over 50 speeches in the past two years. Citadel's fees are among the highest. See for yourself: https://extapps2.oge.gov/201/Presiden.nsf/PAS+Index/C22B882BBDC40AC78525864F008106AB/$FILE/Yellen,%20Janet%20L.%20AMENDEDfinal%20278.pdf https://extapps2.oge.gov/201/Presiden.nsf/PAS+Index/C22B882B... > she might as well resign being treasury secretary If she can't disentangle herself from the interests of her benefactors, then yeah. Maybe she should resign.

If 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.

by Aunche 6y ago

If 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 ago
That’s mere conjecture.

nojokes 6y ago

Yes, she should resign.

k4l3 6y ago

That'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 ago
Those 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.
- k4l3 6y ago
  I think it's totally fine, and probably preferable, for people to go back and forth. Absolutely in favor of it. I just also think they should recuse themselves from an investigation when those whom they've had significant dealings with are being investigated. $700k for 3 speaking gigs, we're not talking about a CEO she had lunch with one time, there is a significant business relationship there. That relationship might not affect Mrs. Yellen's judgment, but if she doesn't absolutely drop the hammer on Citadel it at least looks like bribery. The very fact that the question is raised is the problem.
- jordan_curve 6y ago
  So what? After you’ve become the fed chair you’re no longer allowed to make money? Suddenly the pool of people who will ever agree to take the job gets smaller and it will be held by much wealthier people on average. Or I suppose you could say that anyone who has held a government position, left it, and then ever made money in the private sector is ineligible for future government work. In effect all this does is just bar past officials from being elected again. This again reduces the pool of qualified talent by a lot. Janet Yellen is probably the most qualified person in the country to be the fed chair, it seems like she should be allowed to imo.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

totalZero 6y ago

She earned seven million dollars from over 50 speeches in the past two years. Citadel's fees are among the highest. See for yourself: https://extapps2.oge.gov/201/Presiden.nsf/PAS+Index/C22B882BBDC40AC78525864F008106AB/$FILE/Yellen,%20Janet%20L.%20AMENDEDfinal%20278.pdf https://extapps2.oge.gov/201/Presiden.nsf/PAS+Index/C22B882B... > she might as well resign being treasury secretary If she can't disentangle herself from the interests of her benefactors, then yeah. Maybe she should resign.