Corey Lewandowski: “Fed is … a rogue agency”

That’s from a remarkable op-ed in The Hill by Corey Lewandowski. He also writes:

It is time for every institution in the federal government to get on the same page and promote policy that will accelerate the Trump economic recovery.

The logical implication of this statement is the “leadership principle” (auf Deutsch, “Fürherprinzip”). A reading of the history of the Deutsche Reichsbank (previously known as the Reichsbank) is in this regard quite useful. When placed in service of the Reich’s goals, personal possessions of enemies of the state could be seized and used as assets of the central bank. This would allow enhancement of the balance sheet, to be used in further stimulus of the economy.

So, you heard it here first: In economic policymaking, it should be “One people, one realm, one leader”.

83 thoughts on “Corey Lewandowski: “Fed is … a rogue agency”

  1. pgl

    So Corey thinks the economy is so weak that we need lower interest rates to foster a recovery? Hey Corey – you need to align your spin with the rest of Team Trump.

  2. pgl

    “The president can change the leadership of any executive branch agency whenever he wants. Although there has been a tradition of a hands-off approach to the Fed, that approach is appropriately ignored when the Fed is taking actions that undermine the president’s economic policy.”

    If Team Trump had a coherent economic policy then maybe the FED should be supporting it. But who is running this policy? Trump? Don’t think so. Jared – lord help us. Kudlow-Ross-Navarro? The 3 stooges. Look when economic policy is being run by a pack of village idiots – we really do need an independent FED.

  3. dilbert dogbert

    Maybe Corey should rephrase “It is time for every institution in the federal government to get on the same page and promote policy that will accelerate the Trump economic recovery.”
    to read
    “It is time for every institution in the federal government to get on the same page and promote policy that will accelerate economic recovery from Trump’s policies”

  4. Steven Kopits

    Sigh. It’s red meat for the faithful, but it not much use otherwise.

    I think the “Fürhenprinzip” thing is a bit much here. I remember similar sorts of statements in the pre-Volker era, I believe both from Johnson (which I do not remember but have read subsequently as I recall) and from Nixon, which I believe I do remember.

    The underlying problem is that the electoral war is being fought for the suburban woman, and I right now, she is unimpressed. The whole bin Salman thing is farce and beating up the Fed just creates an impression of an administration running amok. It is yet one more factor making the administration look incompetent.

    If you track the 538 House odds, the situation is getting ever more dire for the Republicans. They have ceded about 8 pp probability of taking the House since the height of the Kavanaugh confirmation.

    https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2018-midterm-election-forecast/house/

    1. Steven Kopits

      Heavy early voting, on par with presidential elections. I doubt they are voting Republican.

  5. 2slugbaits

    Well, Lewandowski doesn’t have any economics training, so why he’s writing op-ed pieces on monetary policy is beyond me. Then again, the lack of academic credentials never stopped Larry Kudlow from being Trump’s top economic adviser. But Lewandowski can’t even get the political thing right. The Fed is a creature of Congress, not the Executive, so this makes no sense whatsoever:

    The fact of the matter is that the independence is limited, and the Fed is still part of the Constitution’s Article II functions of the executive branch of the federal government.

    BTW, for those who don’t know how to tell which branch of government a particular organization reports to, there’s a very simple test. If the President puts out an Executive Order closing the government, all Executive departments follow that order. Those organizations that report to Congress or the Judiciary defer to a parallel order from Congress or the Judiciary. For example, GAO only gets the day off if Congress also tags along with the Executive Order. And federal marshals only get the day off if the Judiciary tags along with the Executive Order.

    1. pgl

      Well – McConnell and Paul Ryan have made it clear that they work for Trump so it is all one united government. As in a monarchy.

    2. pgl

      Note Corey later wrote:

      ‘According to the Fed’s own website, “the Federal Reserve System … is the central bank of the United States. It was created by the Congress to provide the nation with a safer, more flexible, and more stable monetary and financial system.”’

      So which is it Corey? Was the FED created by Congress as it claims or is the FED the puppet of King Donald? Maybe we will need the Supreme Court to settle this. I’ll bet the ranch that Kavanaugh does not refuse himself.

  6. Not Trampis

    Who is this cove and why spread this ignorance. does this person understand what the Fed does? No!

    1. 2slugbaits

      He was a Trump thug…oops, I mean campaign manager before he got caught beating the hell out of protesters. Trump had to fire him after Princess Ivanka got upset with Lewandowski. He then did a short stint on CNN as a talking head before he got fired for mocking a child with Down’s Syndrome. He’s a real class act.

    1. pgl

      “Inflation is too well contained to think the central bank will blindly raise interest rates to a level that restrains the economy.”

      Duy is an optimist. OK the FED knows what it is doing but then we have the White House’s insane minions. This all reminds me of 1981 and guess what happened in 1982?

  7. joseph

    Trump rally in Texas tonight: “You know, they have a word, it sort of became old fashioned. It’s called a nationalist. And I say really, we’re not supposed to use that word. You know what I am? I’m a nationalist, ok? [cheering] I’m a nationalist. Nationalist. Nothing. Use that word. Use that word. [USA chants].”

    Trump is getting really brazen. He’s not even being subtle about it. He’s making direct appeals to the Nazis and white supremacists in his party.

    Folks, it’s the 1930s in Germany again, and nobody in the Republican Party seems to care.

    1. 2slugbaits

      Whenever I hear Trump loyalists like Mike Pence enable Trump’s lies I am reminded of Hannah Arendt’s portrayal of Adolf Eichmann and the “banality of evil.” Eichmann was a modest, banal family man who simply went along with “radical evil” for purposes of career advancement. Same with Pence. As a private person he thinks of himself as a deeply religious “family values” kind of guy who loves his wife and adores his children and grandchildren; but yet he is perfectly willing to be an accomplice with Trump’s lies and white supremacist rants…all for reasons of advancing his personal career.

      1. baffling

        mike pence is a sneaky rat. ever watch him in the background? he knows trump is a loser, but feels his best path to the white house is through a trump impeachment. he knows he is not electable directly. ever wonder why pence does nothing and says nothing with respect to the dear leader? avoid attention, and then solemnly take on his patriotic duty of president when trump is impeached by those infidels on the left-and becomes the savior of evangelicals everywhere.

      1. Moses Herzog

        Heh, 5-stars to the blog host. It was a stupid question by Willem to begin with. The comparison IS appropriate. That’s coming from someone with a significant portion of German blood and a German last name. Call a spade a spade. As Wade Whitehouse might say “Right is right!!!! Damn it!!!!”

    1. pgl

      Well Trump is pulling out of the INF so we are back to the Cold War. And Rudy G. is over in Armenia conspiring to reunited the Soviet bloc! We need a program to keep straight whose side the various elements of Team Trump are taking.

    2. PeakTrader

      Wacko leftists try to compare Trump voters to Nazis.

      Yet, it’s the wacko leftists, who act like Nazis.

      And, Trump going after the mainstream media is like General Patton going after Joseph Goebbels.

      I wonder how many republicans they harassed at restaurants, threw their MAGA hats in their face, vandalized their car, because it had a Trump bumper sticker, ran them off college campus’s, etc. this week.

      1. Menzie Chinn Post author

        PeakTrader: I am trying to remember who said there were good people among the neo-Nazis at Charlottesville. I am trying to remember who was killed in Charlottesville, and by whom. I am trying to remember who called himself a “nationalist” at a rally yesterday. I am trying to remember who appropriated a term used by American national socialists during the 1930’s. I am trying, trying, trying. Can you help me?

        1. PeakTrader

          Menzie Chinn, everyone, who doesn’t want Confederate statues taken down isn’t a neo-Nazi, which is a tiny group.

          And, Trump’s term for pro-America is Nationalist.

          If you’re for America and its citizens first, then you’re a nationalist.

          If not, you may be for anti-facist fascism, like Antifa, or other leftist hate groups.

          1. Menzie Chinn Post author

            PeakTrader: “You will not replace us” and “Blood and soil” are chants not associated with neo-Confederates, but rather neo-Nazis. You should look those terms up.

            Personally, I thought if you’re for America and its citizens first, then you’re a patriot, who as an American, wants to defend the Constitution. But that’s just me.

          2. pgl

            Confederate statues are symbols that we should treat blacks like slaves. OK – members of the KKK may not be Nazis but they are racists. Oh wait – so are you. Never mind.

          3. baffling

            “everyone, who doesn’t want Confederate statues taken down isn’t a neo-Nazi”
            perhaps. but they are not americans. they are advocating a group that took up arms against the united states of america. there is no honor in supporting or promoting the confederacy. once again, they took up arms against the united states of america. apparently, peakloser does not have a problem with this. probably explains why folks like him also look the other way when russia attacks our democratic process. peak, i understand you are from another country and do not fully understand the history of the united states. but you should learn about it rather than promote faulty ideas.

      2. baffling

        don’t forget, peaktrader is simply part of a russian troll farm whose purpose is to rile up americans. apparently he does not feel as though slime such as mitch mcconnell should be held accountable by his constituents. so what if mitch had his supper disrupted-perhaps it caused him some mild indigestion? we have other leaders in this world who would sever the limbs and head of any protesters in an attempt to quell dissent. your dear leader seems to admire such leaders in this world, peak. spare my the crying game snowflake.

      3. 2slugbaits

        PeakTrader Was it a whacko leftist who assaulted and cursed Nancy Pelosi in Florida the other day? Was it a whacko leftist who delivered a bomb to George Soros’ mailbox? Is it a bunch of whacko leftists who are systematically and illegally purging likely Democratic voters? It’s pretty clear who wears the brown shirts around here. And comparing cowardly Commander Bone Spurs to GEN Patton is a hoot. A more apt comparison would be Trump, the man who bows down to Putin, and Vidkun Quisling.

        1. PeakTrader

          2slugbaits, no one said there aren’t wackos on the right too, but compared to the left, it’s much smaller.

          1. 2slugbaits

            Like a lot of Trumpsters you’re still living in the 1960s. Arrested development. The Symbionese Liberation Army is long gone. So is the Red Brigade. Ditto with the Baader-Meinhof gang. Today’s whackos are mainly on the far right. That’s true across the developed world, not just this country.

            Question: After the election will Comrade Putin be giving you some time off from your St. Petersburg troll farm?

          2. PeakTrader

            2slugbaits, I’ve listed some of the leftist hate groups at recent protests before – there are a lot more than you know.

            And, their crowds are much bigger than the couple of dozen Nazis.

            Putin would be proud of your tactics in trying to destroy and eliminate Republicans.

            You believe all republicans are wackos. Afterall, they’re “deplorable.” Haven’t you learned anything from the “resistance,” Hollywood, the mainstream media, and the large numbers of crazy liberal/socialists leading the Democrat party, along with the numerous leftist hate groups, which are quite large.

          3. PeakTrader

            Maybe Chinn, how do you know they’re all Nazis?

            There are many people, who don’t want confederate statues taken down.

            That doesn’t mean they’re Nazis or white supremacicts, and they were facing a lot of violent leftists.

          4. Menzie Chinn Post author

            PeakTrader: Having had an interest in the history of both WWII and the American Civil War, I know those two phrases (“Blood and Soil” and “You will not replace us”) are not battle cries of the “Lost Cause”. We can pursue this at length if you wish, but I think it will be hard for you to argue that those phrases are associated with the neo-Confederacy cause; they have quite specific historical bases.

          5. PeakTrader

            Menzie Chinn, I guess, we’re to believe millions of Southerners are Nazis or white supremacists.

          6. baffling

            “Menzie Chinn, I guess, we’re to believe millions of Southerners are Nazis or white supremacists.”
            no. but there are many millions of southerners and northerners in america that have racist tendencies. far more than i imagined prior to the past presidential election-it caught me off guard. especially disappointed in what i have seen in members of my own extended family. apparently, many are still desiring a return to the 1950’s americana…a time when most races knew their place in society.

          7. Menzie Chinn Post author

            baffling: Give up. After reading years of commentary from PeakTrader, I am certain he/she believes (violent) extremism in the service of far-right causes is no vice.

          8. PeakTrader

            Menzie Chinn, I’m against all forms of violence, except for protection.

            Deterrence can prevent violence.

          9. PeakTrader

            Too many people are too sensitive and emotional.

            Therefore, they often use physical violence or non-physical violent aggression.

  8. pgl

    An interesting history:
    http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/economics/reichsbank.html
    ‘A 1937 law reestablished the Reich government’s control of the Reichsbank, and in 1939, the Reichsbank was renamed as the Deutsche Reichsbank and placed under the direct control of Adolf Hitler, with Walther Funk as the last president of the Reichsbank, from 1939 to 1945. From 1936 through 1944, money (measured by currency in circulation plus total bank deposits) rose somewhat more than sixfold. Despite this rise in money, price controls restrained the rise in the official consumer price index to only 14 percent from 1936 through 1944. Germany therefore ended the war with suppressed inflation.’

    Hey – Trump can restrain inflation the way Nixon did. Price controls run by Wilbur Ross! What could go wrong?

  9. Moses Herzog

    Although I like this post overall—-I am mildly surprised Menzie didn’t ask a question I nearly immediately thought, about 30 seconds after reading this post. That being, “Why the HELL is ‘The Hill’ giving LoserKowski a platform to begin with!?!?!?!”

    When the F*ck did LoserKowski become an “opinion maker”?? Could someone tell me??

    Not that I was visiting the site that much anyway—but for whatever it’s worth to the owners/publishers of “The Hill”, you have officially earned yourselves a boycott of web visits/clicks from me, or any patronage of businesses that I find out indirectly, have banners on your site. That boycott will hold good until Orange Excrement is no longer in office—or LONGER.

  10. ilsm

    Is calling Trump a “nationalist” different than calling Obama a “Kenyan”?

    Lewandowski is a native of Windham, NH, a town known for its tea party.

    The rants about Lewandowski sound like the tea party with bigger words.

    Twain observed you descend to their level they beat you with experience.

    1. 2slugbaits

      ilsm Is calling Trump a “nationalist” different than calling Obama a “Kenyan”?

      Yes. By Trump’s own admission the former is true, while the latter is false.

      The rants about Lewandowski sound like the tea party with bigger words.

      Could be because those on the left are smarter and have a larger vocabulary than teabaggers on the right. But the “rants” are about Lewandowski’s lack of any credentials to discuss monetary policy. And the one area in which he does have some academic credentials (political science), he botched it by claiming the FED was subject to the Executive Department when it’s actually a creature of Congress. And it’s also a fact that Lewandowski was fired because he beat up a female reporter (it was caught on camera) and roughed up protesters. Mark Twain notwithstanding, responsible folks should not just sit quietly by as nut jobs like Lewandowski abuse their position in the media. Criticizing a public figure for being wildly wrong about basic economic and institutional facts is not my idea of descending to Lewandowski’s level.

  11. 2slugbaits

    PeakTrader everyone, who doesn’t want Confederate statues taken down isn’t a neo-Nazi

    Granted, but they are guilty of lacking any artistic taste. With a few exceptions almost all of those Confederate statues were mass produced commercial kitsch. Yet more evidence of your Philistine tastes. And while lovers of Confederate statues may not all be neo-Nazis, a helluva lot of them are racists.

    If you’ve ever been to military bases you will likely find walls covered with heroic paintings of brave blue and gray boys fighting this or that battle. Both sides are portrayed as gallantly fighting for their beliefs. The paintings like to show an equivalence between the Union and Confederate causes thanks to the heroism of each side’s soldiers. And it’s almost all really bad art. Worse than the socialist realist crap you used to see 50 years ago. Anyway, a long time ago I had a bird colonel for a new boss. He was gung-ho and a white Irish guy. And he got his PhD in math from Georgia Tech. So I was pleasantly surprised to see him risk his career by demanding that all of those heroic pictures be taken down because there was nothing in the “Lost Cause” worth celebrating. I can’t imagine a Trump supporter showing that kind of moral courage.

    1. PeakTrader

      2slugbaits, in the 18th century, most people may have been racist.

      To assume people in the 21st century, who don’t want history erased or presented in a biased way are anymore racist than anyone else is ignorant.

      Why not have a book burning too?

      1. 2slugbaits

        PeakTrader Trashy mass produced statues that celebrate imagined glories of Confederate traitors are not history. Most of those statues were erected at least a generation after the Civil War. It was part of a marketing campaign to make money off the myth of the “Lost Cause.” If you’re really interested in history, then I suggest you try actually reading some history. A history of the Confederate statues would be a good place to start.

        The fact that people in the 18th century were racists is irrelevant to whether or not people in the 21st century are racists. Anyone who regularly traveled to the deep south over the last 30 years can’t help but notice how that region has regressed. Back in the 1980s and 1990s the south was proud of having put much of its racist past behind it. But about 10 years ago a lot of us started noticing how that old time racist religion was creeping back into southern culture. Even failed bankers post a lot of racist nonsense, although I’m sure they would deny being racists.

        Why not have a book burning too?

        I have a better idea. How about actually reading books? If you don’t want to read history, then how about starting with an up-to-date macro textbook? BTW, what were the last dozen or so books you’ve read this year? Trump biographies don’t count.

        1. PeakTrader

          2slugbaits, so. In reply to my statement, people, who don’t want history deleted and changed are racists, particularly after the South voted Republican.

          Anyone, who disagrees with your nonsense are racists too. And, more propaganda, then more racism.

          1. PeakTrader

            I can understand why Southerners would be angry at the ridiculous propaganda from the wacko left.

          2. 2slugbaits

            PeakTrader What do you know about history? Any history. Can you name the last ten nonfiction history books you’ve read?

        2. PeakTrader

          Menzie Chinn, you’ve been reading too much rewriting of history from wacko leftists.

          The statues were to memorialize the Civil War, including the generals and soldiers in battlefields and cemeteries:

          “Questioned as to why he kept a portrait of Lee in his office, President Dwight D. Eisenhower stated that:

          “From deep conviction, I simply say this: a nation of men of Lee’s calibre would be unconquerable in spirit and soul. Indeed, to the degree that present-day American youth will strive to emulate his rare qualities, including his devotion to this land as revealed in his painstaking efforts to help heal the Nation’s wounds once the bitter struggle was over, we, in our own time of danger in a divided world, will be strengthened and our love of freedom sustained. Such are the reasons that I proudly display the picture of this great American on my office wall.”“

          https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/confederate-history-is-american-history/comment-page-1/

          1. pgl

            General Robert Lee would not want these stupid statutes. Yea he was a class act. Trump and your ilk are just the opposite of General Lee.

          2. 2slugbaits

            PeakTrader If that’s the image of Lee that you think should be preserved, then why not a statue of the old, weary, post-Civil War era of Lee as president of a college sans uniform? But since you don’t read history (and still can’t tell us what were the last ten history books you’ve recently read), you probably aren’t aware of some of the more recent research on Lee’s post-Civil War activities that don’t look quite so noble and high minded. Lee never recanted his racist beliefs and his only regret was that the Confederacy lost the war. He should have hanged. And why do you keep linking to inane articles from The American Conservative? Is that your idea of a serious publication?

  12. joseph

    I’m so old I can remember back to 2010 when Republican hack economists wrote an open letter to the Wall Street Journal complaining that the Fed’s loose monetary policies would wreck the economy and lead to Zimbabwe inflation.

    Curiously, not one of these economists has a peep to say about Donald Trump’s attack on the Fed for tightening monetary policy. In fact one of those signatories is Kevin Hassett, chair of Trump’s CEO.

    Other silent hacks today who screamed bloody murder in 2010 are Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Ronald I. McKinnon, Niall Ferguson, John F. Cogan. Michael J. Boskin and John B. Taylor.

    Gee, one might conclude that they were acting in political bad faith, they should be publicly shamed and their utterances should never be listened to again

  13. pgl

    “Far-right allies of President Trump quickly dismissed a string of explosive devices sent to prominent Democratic figures and CNN as a “false flag” operation intended to support Democrats’ “narrative” ahead of the midterm elections. Without any evidence, members of the far-right media, think tank heads, and Twitter activists shared their conspiratorial theories on social media.”

    https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/far-right-says-bomb-threats-false-flag-democrats

    PeakTrader’s brethren!

  14. pgl

    I think we now know who PeakTrader really is – Frank Gaffney!

    https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/frank-gaffney-bombs-effort-deflect-attention-left-mobs

    A leading anti-Islam activist with close ties to the Trump administration suggested Wednesday that a string of bombs sent to high-profile Democratic figures and newsrooms was an effort “to deflect attention from the Left’s mobs.” “None of the leftists ostensibly targeted for pipe-bombs were actually at serious risk, since security details would be screening their mail,” Frank Gaffney, executive chairman of the Center for Security Policy, wrote on Twitter. “So let’s determine not only who is responsible for these bombs, but whether they were trying to deflect attention from the Left’s mobs.”

    1. 2slugbaits

      Wow! That’s a name from the mists of time. Gaffney always liked to fancy himself as an expert in nuclear deterrence, but I never read anything of his that suggested he understood the operational math behind MAD or the nuclear triad. He’d talk a lot about “throw weight” and MIRV’d warheads, blah, blah, blah, but he was absolutely clueless as to mathematical game theory simulations. Just another talking head who made a lot of money peddling conspiracy theories.

    2. sammy

      pgl,

      The bomb thing definitely smells fishy to me. An effort to make Trump voters look deranged. Let’s see if the bombs actual turn out to be real.

      1. PeakTrader

        Sammy, right, to ignore the suspicious timing is to ignore reality.

        Maybe, it’s a right wing nut job, but it could be something else, like a foreign power.

        1. pgl

          You two are pathetic. Guess what lying wonder. I live in New York City and we were targeted. So go back to your cave and make up more of your intellectual garbage. The rest of us have to clean up your messes.

      2. noneconomist

        Ah! An effort to make anti Trumpers look deranged by hiring screamers to yell at McConnell and destroy his food. Why not?

    1. PeakTrader

      Don’t worry, General Patton to the rescue.

      Of course, he’s not politically correct.

      And, the Republicans need to do more to save the Republic again.

      1. noneconomist

        Patton? You’re obviously thinking of Dick Van Patten, comedy star of Eight is Enough, who was also funnier than Trump. Keep going though: Gayle King, Laura O’Donnell, and Savanah Guthrie in the role of Goebbels.

  15. sammy

    1) The “bombs” were sent to the Dems offices (not their homes) where they were guaranteed to be searched by Secret Service

    2) They were pretty obviously packed as suspicious with massive amounts of tape, misspelled names and uncancelled, insufficient postage. They might as well be labelled “Fragile. Bomb Enclosed. Only to be opened by addressee.”

    3) None out of six detonated.

    4) The most likely way to harm the Dems addressed was not to send these “bombs” and the most likely way to harm R’s in the mid term elections was to send these “bombs’

    1. Menzie Chinn Post author

      sammy: Bomb sent to residences of the former presidents…bomb sent to CNN (got into the mailroom). You conveniently forgot that.

      Clearly you haven’t received many parcels. I get things taped up that way all the time…

      So, you’re for the agent provocateur thesis. We’ll find out soon enough if that’s right.

      1. pgl

        I guess these right wing nut jobs think that Robert De Niro was willing to kill the staff of his restaurant in order to make sure Cuomo would remain governor of New York!

    2. pgl

      “The “bombs” were sent to the Dems offices (not their homes)”.

      Tell De Niro this. He is generally a nice guy and he is getting pretty old. But I have seen Robert in action and if he ever came across you, damn! Get a body guard if you wish to keep this intellectual garbage up.

    3. pgl

      insufficient postage????

      They had so many stamps on all of them it was unreal. Which is why the post man delivered these packages to the addresses intended. Someone is feeding you the wrong talking points.

  16. noneconomist

    To ponder: : If Lewandowski had been around Sept. 1, 1939, the day the Nazis invaded Poland, would he have been (a) on the front lines in defense of his homeland (b) in the first Panzer division bringing glory to his adopted Fuehrer or (c) sitting out the conflict with bone spurs in his right foot?

  17. baffling

    judging by peak losers defense of racist confederates, he also supports the defense of nazi’s who would construct memorials to honor the third reich in germany. just curious, from trumps perspective, defending a group that LOST a war is for losers, why would you defend the confederates? they also LOST a war.

    peakloser simply appears more and more like a russian troll intent on causing social upheaval in the us by stoking racist tendencies.

    1. pgl

      I grew up in Georgia and I’m betting Peaky has never been there. I’m glad as my former neighbors are much better than his racist stupidity. Peaky would not survive Atlanta but I’m sure he might be happy in North Georgia where Newt Gingrich and his KKK friends rule.

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