Christina Romer, Obama Economic Adviser, Resigns

Christina Romer, one of President Obama's most pivotal economic advisers, is resigning, a change that comes as the White House fights to show signs of clear economic gains to a hurting nation.

Romer, the head of the Council of Economic Advisers, announced her resignation on Thursday. It takes effect Sept. 3.

She will return to her job as a professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley. The White House cast the decision as an unsurprising one driven by family reasons; in a statement, Mr. Obama said Romer has long wanted to return to California, where her son will be starting high school in the fall.

Romer has been one of the administration's most prominent voices on the economy, making frequent appearances on television and at White House events to promote Mr. Obama's policies. Her resignation comes as the White House struggles to convince the public that the economy is recovery amid near-double digit unemployment.

Mr. Obama inherited an economic disaster in 2009. Since then, the economy began growing, accelerating in the winter and spring. It spurred some modest hiring but not enough to rapidly reduce the unemployment rate, which is 9.5 percent.

Romer has met with Mr. Obama almost every day to help chart the government's response to the financial meltdown, the White House said.

"Christy Romer has provided extraordinary service to me and our country during a time of economic crisis and recovery," Mr. Obama said. "The challenges we faced demanded more of Christy than any of her predecessors, and I greatly valued and appreciated her skill, commitment and wise counsel."

The White House has vigorously defended its interventions - chiefly the $862 billion stimulus bill approved by Congress - as moves that first prevented further freefall and then began turning around the economy.

Romer, along with Vice President Joe Biden's top economist, Jared Bernstein, wrote in a January 2009 report that the economic stimulus package Mr. Obama was proposing would keep unemployment under 8 percent. Without the stimulus, the report said employment would rise to about 9 percent in 2010. Yet unemployment has surpassed that figure.

Republicans have seized on that point.

On Friday, the government will release unemployment numbers for July that are expected to show a loss of 65,000 jobs because of the end of temporary positions with the U.S. Census Bureau. The unemployment rate is not expected to budge much from its current 9.5 percent.

Romer called her work the "honor of a lifetime". She said: "While I look forward to returning to research and teaching, the opportunity to help shape economic policy these past 20 months, and to work with the other members of the economic team and my colleagues on the CEA, is one I will always cherish."

[edditor1]

Whoa. "Economist" Romer practiced in the White House (what she preached at U of C Berkeley) for 19 months.....the economy and budget are now completely screwed up....and she is going back to preach some more of her economic garbage? Oh well.....she may say, "it was all Bush's fault or Spain or Greece or China"......as the value of the T Bills and the dollar falls through the floor. U of C Berkeley must not have received a report from the CBO on the state of the union, or perhaps they did.

[david4673]

A person resigns a job in order to spend time with family and the "family values" conservative crowd... slam her every which way.


I guess she should have been taping her foot in a restroom or boinging her employee's spouse for you tho think she has a good reason to care more for her family than a job.

A job which she did pretty good (that 8% UI comment was so shortsighted, I am sometimes surprised she stayed as long as she did) -- but there are plenty of others that can do it just as well... or better.

Progress is a good thing.

Democrat = going forward
Republican = going backward

And no, the 50's were not a golden age. They were just when so many of you were young, you remember that and mourn the passing of youth and life itself.

Let us -- today's young people have our chance. You ALREADY left us (your children and grandchildren) with the debts of Reagan's unabashed "deficits don't matter" spending. An increase of 187% and you folks have the nerve to say the current administration is what has our "credit card" maxed out. Wrong. Please let us fix what you left us... thanks!

[wfw3536]

I am not surprised she quit as it is apparent that the Obama administration does not have a clue as what to do with the economy. We are looking at a second recession in the next six months. The real shame is they wasted most of the stimulus money and now say that need more when the debt is going up at a incrdible rate.

[pragmatist1]

The WH can put any type of spin on her leaving, but it's yet another sign of the disarray there is with the lack of economic improvement because of flawed and ineffectual policies. This is also a telltale sign of the ineptitude on all of the grandstanding the administration was arrogantly making. They still haven't figured things out and keep blaming Bush for everything. Well, you fooled millions to vote for your Mr. President, now stop trying to fool the rest of us into thinking that you've done anything of value to improve the economic situation which you've made worse with your failed stimulus programs.

[stn_sage]

I suspect the real reason she's quitting is that her ideas and suggestions are not being adopted, and thus, there's no reason to stay!

[maxboll]

THANKS A LOT CHRISTANE; YOU SAVE AMERICA FROM THEM, WHO: BUSH - CHENEY AND REBUBLICANS WHOM LEAVE THE CUONTRY ENERMIOUS DEVECIT, RECESSION AND A MESS THAT YOU AND DEMOCRATS NEUTRALIZED. THAN YOU CHRISTINA.

[RealWorldNow]

What? Duh!

[smitvict]

"Romer, . . . , wrote in a January 2009 report that the economic stimulus package . . . would keep unemployment under 8 percent. Without the stimulus, the report said employment would rise to about 9 percent in 2010."
--------------------
Thank you Christina Romer, for more Obama lies. Don't let the door hit you on the posterior on the way out.

[wdh3007]

I suspect many more will consider resigning after the November elections.

[stn_sage]

Good point.

[spaceatoms]

I would bet that Romer cleaned up on the bailout buying bank stocks and really doesn't want the fight anymore over putting more money into the system in a fascist style to protect banks, credit card companies, real estate companies and Wall Street; it was unconstitutional in the first place and the reason they didn't do it in 1929, and besides they were the ones that started the problem in the first place. The real determining factor will be if a democratic President Obama ends the war and slows manufacturing to a halt bringing on massive inflation in the next few months.

[imthaid]

Right! IT was not too hard to see what was going to happen. As I predicted before the first stimulus check was handed out, giving the money to the banks instead of the working people accomplished nothing more than making bank CEO's richer. Nothing helped the working people. If the working man has no money, he won't spend. Pretty easy economics. Do you think someone will go to a bank to get a loan to buy a computer or pair of shoes? If this money had been given to the working people who support this country you would have seen mass spending and job growth. The president has absolutely no clue what americans need. He is completely out of touch.

[krotec54]

So the rats figure out the cheese is really bad and now they want to jump ship before its too late.

[luadda22]

"She will return to her job as a professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley". What's the old saying? Those than can do, those that can't teach.