The Unserious President and His Federal Reserve Board Hacks

Taking a brief break from panic-tweeting about Joe Biden, Trump has decided to withdraw his planned nomination for Stephen Moore to the Fed Reserve Board. In his usual habit of gaslighting the nation, he once again claimed Moore withdrew himself from the process, and failed to mention just hours prior Moore reaffirmed he was "in it for the long haul." In reality, Senators made a rare stance of standing up to Trump and signaled he wouldn't have the affirmation votes, due to Moore's horrific economic track record, not to mention his views on child labor, race, and women.

Amazingly, Moore was far more qualified than Trump's original pick of Herman Cain who has sold pizza for 20 years, flamed out of the 2012 presidential race after multiple sexual misconduct allegations, and hasn't been anywhere near a central banking function since the mid 90s.

Both of these men were chosen not for their credentials, but because they're stauch partisan Trump supporters that pop up on Trump's TV during his daily 8-hour Fox News viewing session.

I'm curious how the so-called serious thinking, economic experts, pro-Trump conservatives on this forum can make a rational case for Moore/Cain and why we should continue to allow a President to hold office who takes his massive responsibilities so non-seriously.

 
Alt-Ctr-Left:
I'm curious how the so-called serious thinking, economic experts, pro-Trump conservatives on this forum can make a rational case for Moore/Cain and why we should continue to allow a President to hold office who takes his massive responsibilities so non-seriously.

It was never about good economic policy in the first place. It's always been about owning the "libtards" and "snowflakes"

Next Trump Fed nominee - Grover Norquist

 

Yes, as I expected, the MAGA crowd is silent. They don't have a leg to stand on, and stopped trying to defend Trump rationally a long time ago. Sad!

"I don't know how to explain to you that you should care about other people."
 
Controversial

Much of Trump's former support base (myself included) have realized the extent of his bullshit. He has been completely ineffective on illegal immigration; we will receive over 1 million this year (10-year high). His turnover within his administration is shocking, you cannot run any organization successfully in this manner. Ivanka and Kushner should have no role/place in the Federal government, ridiculous levels of nepotism. No legitimate investigation of the Clinton corruption, no draining of the swamp, and massive pandering to AIPAC and other lobbying interests that do not put America first.

That said, I will probably vote for him again because I have no choice. I will not vote for Democrats who rabidly oppose and detest the family unit, Christianity, freedom of speech, and my right to bear arms, and who are increasingly racist and militant towards whites.

 

I'd like to learn more about your mindset, which I suspect is common among both Americans and WSOers. If it matters (I hope it doesn't) I view myself as relatively middle, sometimes swinging slightly left or right depending on the issue, and while you've essentially generalized what I find wrong about the left as well, is re voting in Trump truly a better option?

Other than what you've mentioned, his volatility (tweeting highly political/inflammatory things - not even giving his staff a heads up or even going against their express advice, which is his right but I don't feel he truly takes their advice under consideration), the "collusion" with Russia, and in my opinion, rather dangerous take on political negotiation (see trade war with China, though perhaps this might be brilliance on his part, I still feel he could have done it in a more measured and less combative way, I.E. same trade terms but on a personality level make it easier to give in for China/other countries on political manners by not coming off as rude/a dick, in particular giving China a way to acquiesce to the trade deal but still save "face").

With regards to the Democrats, I think the "libtards" particularly on college campuses and etc, are way too extreme. High tension issues such as gender, pro-choice/pro-life, healthcare, racism and etc, are all very important issues/topics but extreme left tend to revert to "how I feel", ostracizing speech and frankly from a rational standpoint, circular shitty logic in some cases. I don't quite feel however that they "detest" the traditional family unit, which I'm assuming is Father-Mother-child/children, but rather view radical/change as "good", i.e. same gender parents. Freedom of speech, particularly with "pronouns" I think is still grey, even among liberals, many take the view of "if someone asks to be called a he/she, respect them, on a personal level", but I think the majority of folks, if you call them "accidentally" (they identify a different way) won't go ballistic, typically worst case they correct you and ask you to change.

I do think it's ridiculous the amount of "white=bad" or white shaming that goes on however; the "check your privilege" crap is very passive aggressive. Essentially they penalize/segregate you based on skin color, which makes them hypocrites, but the base is in "white oppression" of the past, namely slavery, and current "white hierarchy" where they feel the system is biased. I don't think the current generation should be punished for their ancestors deeds, and in the current society, at least from a legal rights standpoint (U.S.) I think most races/genders are equal, though perhaps someone can better educate me on that. I do feel there is unconscious negative bias, towards various groups, that companies/other facets of the systems should and are working on, but even then punishing/shaming people for a (possible, not in everyone) unconscious bias towards a different group is bullshit.

I am rather uneducated about politics, so if anyone has some objective/relatively rational and supported viewpoints I can learn from, left or right or tea party, I'd like to learn.

TLDR: Trump has so many issues I don't see why he'd be the better choice just because he's republican, Liberals are kinda nuts but in my opinion only extreme left, they are pretty racist towards whites though.

 
InVinoVeritas:
I will not vote for Democrats who rabidly oppose and detest the family unit, Christianity, freedom of speech, and my right to bear arms, and who are increasingly racist and militant towards whites.

Which democrat is actually running on this? I detest how far socialist some of the candidates are but anti-christianity and freedom of speech? Militant towards whites? Can you point to actual policy or are these just dog whistles/excuses to vote against a party that promotes minority interests for the first time... ever. I mean, I get it. You're a white male. You're fine with how things are in society. They've worked out well for white males (and to a lesser extent, females). But who is "militant towards whites" that's running for president?

p.s. how many investigations into "Clinton corruption" will it take for some of you to be satisfied? Just curious. I mean she lost and the obsession with her among the right hasn't abated... it's kinda weird.

Array
 
InVinoVeritas:

I will not vote for Democrats who rabidly oppose and detest the family unit

Barack Obama, happily married to one women for 25+ years Joe Biden, widower and happy re-married to one women for 35+ years Donald Trump, three wives, cheated on all of them

Democrats want gay Americans to be able to have the same family unit rights we've enjoyed for 200 years in this country. How in the world is this "destroying the family unit?"

InVinoVeritas:

That said, I will probably vote for him again because I have no choice. I will not vote for Democrats who rabidly oppose and detest the family unit, Christianity, freedom of speech, and my right to bear arms, and who are increasingly racist and militant towards whites.

"We can't re-elect Barack Obama, the country won't survive another four years! "I hate Trump but have no choice - Hillary is worse! I hate Trump but have no choice - (checks polls) Biden will turn us into Venezuela!"

There are whole bunch of people on WSO and in society who fancy themselves as serious thinking moderates, when in reality, you're paranoid, loyal party hacks that will reliably pull the lever for whoever has (R) next to their name cause..Joe Biden hates white people??

"I don't know how to explain to you that you should care about other people."
 

There is zero rational case for either Moore or Cain and calling Trump unserious is an overwhelmingly generous assumption.

That said, he remains the president because he won the election and hasn't been removed or resigned. He won't be either, but he won't win 2020 unless the left nominates an actual socialist.

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

I'm one who doesn't believe the Federal Reserve is all that powerful in directing the U.S. economy and that the loss of Moore is immaterial to the conservative cause. That said, Moore and Larry Kudlow are co-architects of Trump's economy. Moore understands supply and demand far better than the PhD pinheads who regularly occupy Fed Board positions.

Moore is fantastic, and the thing about your weird post is that Moore and Kudlow aren't really MAGA guys when it comes to economic policy. Those are the guys doing everything in their power to direct Trump away from Trumpian economic policies and back toward conservative economic policies.

Not speaking for anyone else, but I suppose the reason few people are commenting on this nomination on WSO is because it's largely meaningless D.C. inside baseball and because most people recognize that the law of supply and demand is immutable, and nothing the Fed can do can change that.

Array
 
real_Skankhunt42:

Moore is fantastic, and the thing about your weird post is that Moore and Kudlow aren't really MAGA guys when it comes to economic policy. Those are the guys doing everything in their power to direct Trump away from Trumpian economic policies and back toward conservative economic policies.

You're telling me a guy who wrote a book called "Trumponomics: Inside the America First Plan to Revive Our Economy" isn't a MAGA guy?

real_Skankhunt42:
That said, Moore and Larry Kudlow are co-architects of Trump's economy. Moore understands supply and demand far better than the PhD pinheads who regularly occupy Fed Board positions.
What is the "Trump economy" anyway? Employment rate, wages, and the stock market have climbed steadily for 10 years now, across two presidencies, while interest rates have stayed low.
real_Skankhunt42:
Moore understands supply and demand far better than the PhD pinheads who regularly occupy Fed Board positions.
The same guy who once claimed we were experiencing deflation because commodity prices were falling?
real_Skankhunt42:

Not speaking for anyone else, but I suppose the reason few people are commenting on this nomination on WSO is because it's largely meaningless D.C. inside baseball

Maybe across the broader population, yeah, but I'd expect a finance forum to have a decent conversation around the Federal Reserve. But it's tough to argue credibly for these two without criticizing Dear Leader, so I understand why most of the usual suspects are quiet.

"I don't know how to explain to you that you should care about other people."
 
Alt-Ctr-Left:
You're telling me a guy who wrote a book called "Trumponomics: Inside the America First Plan to Revive Our Economy" isn't a MAGA guy?

Yes, I'm telling you that Moore and Kudlow have been the key architects of Trump's economic policies and that their policies look very little like MAGA Trump on the 2016 campaign trail. Trump's actual economic policies are much closer to Reagan than to "Trump," as odd as that sounds. I'm a disciple of Larry Kudlow and he was very critical of Trump's economic agenda during the 2016 campaign but supported Trump more broadly (as a leader) after his election. But as an avid follower of Kudlow, I noticed that his criticism of Trump during the campaign became somewhat muted when Trump adopted Kudlow's tax plan, although he never stopped criticizing Trump's trade platform.

Alt-Ctr-Left:
What is the "Trump economy" anyway? Employment rate, wages, and the stock market have climbed steadily for 10 years now, across two presidencies, while interest rates have stayed low.

Bush and Obama both had average GDP growth across their presidencies of +-1.8%, Trump has had (through Q1 2019) +-2.78%. Granted, that's over 2.25 years vs Obama and Bush, each over 8 years, but it's a stat, and it's not entirely meaningless. And while interest rates have remained low, they have risen, though not drastically, over Trump's term.

This actually hits on my point about the Fed having less power than its PR would suggest--the Federal Funds Rate has risen drastically since Trump took office (from 0.66% to 2.44%), yet interest rates have only ticked up a little bit throughout the economy, hence the law of supply and demand is immutable and cannot be easily manipulated by the Fed. I'm a dolt with bad college grades from an average state U and I understand this--PhDs from Harvard don't get this basic law, and financial news reporters sneer at regular people who are not educated beyond commonsense.

Alt-Ctr-Left:
The same guy who once claimed we were experiencing deflation because commodity prices were falling?

I have no idea what the context of that statement is or when he said it, but the guy has been a public figure in Washington for 25 years and has been on countless TV and radio programs and written countless columns. He's said a lot of stuff. That's what you do when you're paid for commentary.

Alt-Ctr-Left:
Maybe across the broader population, yeah, but I'd expect a finance forum to have a decent conversation around the Federal Reserve. But it's tough to argue credibly for these two without criticizing Dear Leader, so I understand why most of the usual suspects are quiet

This forum doesn't get much talk about the Fed anyway. My theory is because the Fed isn't as powerful as the media believes it is, and finance professionals intuitively know this.

Array
 
Funniest
real_Skankhunt42:
Alt-Ctr-Left:

What is the "Trump economy" anyway? Employment rate, wages, and the stock market have climbed steadily for 10 years now, across two presidencies, while interest rates have stayed low.

Bush and Obama both had average GDP growth across their presidencies of +-1.8%, Trump has had (through Q1 2019) +-2.78%. Granted, that's over 2.25 years vs Obama and Bush, each over 8 years, but it's a stat, and it's not entirely meaningless. And while interest rates have remained low, they have risen, though not drastically, over Trump's term.

Ah yes, you can see the precise moment Trump took over and fixed our economy. w

"I don't know how to explain to you that you should care about other people."
 

For what it's worth, Trump's GDP growth is not as a result of increased core economic activity. Core economic activity was a measly 1.1%. Consumers and businesses aren't investing more, trade policy is reducing spending (imports), which is a net positive on trade and inventories have stockpiled in a cyclical way. His growth number has been falling steadily since Q2 2018 and the most recent quarter got an artificial boost. Wages rose more under Obama.

 

You're a disciple of Larry Kudlow? Larry Kudlow has disciples? Here's a picture of a laughing dinosaur--somehow less silly than the contents of your post, lol. https://media0.giphy.com/media/T3Vx6sVAXzuG4/giphy-downsized.gif" alt="laugh" />

By the way, it was Fed policy that lifted the US economy post-83. The only good things Reagan did was cut taxes and stop subsidizing dead industries.

 

I feel like he's seems to be committing a crime now (obstruction). The way William Barr did his bidding and now the attempt to install a puppet at the Fed (granted that's not a criminally legal matter).

He's definitely just completely destroying all American morality, him and his cronies. Every person tied to Trump does the same shit: lie, cheat on wives with misstresses/prostitutes/sugarbabies, and cheat on taxes. It's pretty laughable that this has become the republican party now.

 
InVinoVeritas:
Oh, the Democrats don't have a corruption problem too? Not the Clinton family or the Chicago political machine? Trump is a narcissist philanderer but is way behind the Clinton's on the corruption and obstruction of justice spectrum.

Or the entire California Democratic party. Or New Orleans, or Newark, and the list goes on.

Array
 
iBankedUp:
I feel like he's seems to be committing a crime now (obstruction). The way William Barr did his bidding and now the attempt to install a puppet at the Fed (granted that's not a criminally legal matter).

Your feelings are irrelevant. And to call Moore a "puppet" of Trump is beyond asinine. If anything, Trump would be a puppet of Moore and Kudlow.

Array
 
Most Helpful

When I read these debates, it all strikes me as missing the point entirely. What is the point of all these back and forths about policy, the economy, cabinet picks, AS IF there is some kind of method to this madness?

The fact is, Trump is completely and utterly devoid of any sort of higher level thinking. He is simultaneously the least intellectually curious person I've ever seen, and the most pathologically narcississtic. He is the living embodiment of the Dunning-Kruger effect, in a Monopoly man costume.

There is no Trump policy, no Trump economy, no Trump anything. He constantly A/B tests the id of the Republican party, and listens to whoever is the last person in the room with him. His conversational style is a meandering rhyme, a completely inarticulate and repetitive ejaculation of whatever nonsense crosses his mind. He can't read anything longer than a page, and needs big pictures so he doesn't get bored. He lives in a world of "good" and "bad" things, and speaks at a third grade level. He is the antithesis of a Christian. He thought military stealth aircraft are literally invisible to the human eye. You could randomly pluck an American out of the middle of nowhere and stick him or her in the White House, and I'm confident they would make a better president, because at least they would be in awe of the power of the office and be desperate to surround themselves with competent staff. Seriously.

Does Trump have ANY idea why the economy is "doing well"? He loves to mention Venezuela - could he point to it on a map? Is he aware that Puerto Ricans are American citizens?

God I wish these were just cheap partisan shots, but other Republicans are not like this. Dick Cheney, Mitt Romney, John McCain... terrible policies in my opinion, but well-read, intelligent and articulate politicians nonetheless. Trump makes Bush Jr, a Grade-A Moron, look like a Rhodes Scholar. All of this is painfully, PAINFULLY obvious to liberals and this is why there is so much contempt for his base. And to top it all off, his base will reliably vote against their best interest in the name of tribalism and to gain political ground. It's pathetic.

 

The “they vote against their best interests” line is a common refrain from the patronizing white liberal. When people say this they really have no clue what they are talking about.

How, specifically, are these people voting against their best interests? I will concede healthcare right off the bat, even though I’m skeptical of a nationalized healthcare service. Trump has four main policy positions that a. Got him elected and b. Has followed up on implementing:

  1. Immigration. Hands down the top priority of the Trump administration. Please explain how massive illegal immigration, supported by both parities but especially the center right for cheap wages for decades, benefits working class Americans? Please be specific - if you believe the benefit is cheaper goods and services, please consider if this outweighs the benefits of gainful employment for US citizens.

  2. Trade policy. A clear #2. Again, please explain how taking measures to prevent the massive and systematic uncompetitive labor and trade practices of China is against the interests of working class people. Once again, please consider the cost/benefits of employment/unemployment, and keep in mind that the average American only spends about 10% of their paycheck on goods that could be produced overseas. Also please explain how any benefit from Chinese trade (purchasing agricultural products) outweighs the costs of lost economic activity from unfair trade practices.

  3. Skepticism of regime change. Please explain how disengagement from regime change activities in Syria are bad for working class Americans, who are disproportionately represented in not only the military as a whole, but specifically in the Army and USMC who bear the highest costs of long foreign conflicts.

  4. Tax cuts. Self explanatory. Makes American’s corporate tax rate competitive and provides relief to small and medium sizes businesses where the vast majority of working and middle Americans work. Also stops subsidizing upper middle class Americans in states with high state and local taxes.

I’m the first to concede that there isn’t a 1:1 overlap in what trump does and what benefits his base, but there isn’t some conspiracy or ignorance going on - people are very keen on picking up what benefits them and acting on it. Saying otherwise is just trying to feel superior.

 

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