Clinton Picks Moderate Economic Team --- Lack of Extremists Is Expected to Reassure Congress and Wall Street

In supporting roles, Mr. Clinton announced three other appointments. Laura Tyson, 45, an economist at the University of California at Berkeley, is his choice to head the Council of Economic Advisers; Alice Rivlin, 61, the first director of the Congressional Budget Office, is to be Mr. Panetta's...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Wall Street journal Asia
Main Author By David Wessel and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Victoria, Hong Kong Dow Jones & Company Inc 11.12.1992
Subjects
American history
Budget deficits
Congressional committees
Congressional elections
Councils
Economists
Federal budget
Investment bankers
Political leadership
Presidents
Securities markets
Tax increases
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Summary:In supporting roles, Mr. Clinton announced three other appointments. Laura Tyson, 45, an economist at the University of California at Berkeley, is his choice to head the Council of Economic Advisers; Alice Rivlin, 61, the first director of the Congressional Budget Office, is to be Mr. Panetta's deputy at the budget office; and Roger Altman, 46, a Clinton college friend and a Treasury veteran now at Blackstone Group, an investment bank, is to be Mr. Bentsen's deputy. The importance of the three-member Council of Economic Advisers varies from one administration to the next, and it's too soon to know how big a role Ms. Tyson would play in this one. But she isn't as prominent an economist as some previous chairmen and isn't likely to stand on the same rung as Mr. Bentsen, Mr. Rubin or Mr. Panetta. What's more, the council's stature will probably be lessened if Mr. Rubin creates a separate economics staff in his new White House post. What is most striking is that Mr. Clinton, the apostle of "change," not only gave congressional Democrats what amounted to a veto over his economic appointees but chose veteran members of Congress for both the Treasury and the budget office. David Hale, chief economist at Kemper Financial Cos., calls it "a de facto parliamentary government." The unanswered question is which side will get the upper hand. Will Mr. Clinton succeed in pressing his agenda through Congress? Or will congressional leaders use the president's strong desire for harmony to get him to accept their agenda?
ISSN:0377-9920