Change Watch Backgrounder: Peter Orszag
by David Prentice
February 24, 2009
POSITION: DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT and BUDGET
NOMINEE: Peter R. Orszag
BIRTH DATE: December 16, 1968 in Boston, MA
EDUCATION:
A.B. summa cum laude in Economics 1991, Princeton University
M.Sc. in Economics 1992, London School of Economics
Ph.D, in Economics 1997, London School of Economics
FAMILY: Divorced, lives with his two children, Leila and Joshua
EXPERIENCE:
Jan. 2007-Nov. 2008 Director, Congressional Budget Office
2001-2007 Senior Fellow and Deputy Director of Economic Studies, Brookings Institution
1999-2000 Lecturer in intermediate macroeconomics, Univ. of California-Berkeley
1997-1998 Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, National Economic Council
1995-1996 Senior Economist and Senior Adviser, President’s Council of Economic Advisers
1994-1995 Professional research staff, Centre for Economic Performance
1993-1994 Staff Economist, President’s Council of Economic Advisers
1993 Economic adviser, Macroeconomics and Fiscal Unit, Ministry of Finance, Russian Government
1992-1993 Research officer, Centre for Economic Performance
Clinton White House:
1997-1998 Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy
1995-1996 Senior Economist and Senior Adviser, President’s Council of Economic Advisers
1993-1994 Staff Economist, President’s Council of Economic Advisers
ON HEALTH CARE
“This (the rising cost of health care) is the central problem facing the budget in the long term and that we need to start moving aggressively toward trying things and seeing what works.”
[Source]
ON THE STIMULUS PACKAGE
“The package is about the right size and I think it has the right balance between investments in infrastructure that will help promote future economic growth, tax provisions, assistance like unemployment insurance and food stamps and other provisions that spend out fast and help to bolster the economy immediately.”
[Source]
ON SOCIAL SECURITY
“The Social Security deficit can be eliminated only through different combinations of politically painful choices: tax increases and benefit reductions.”
[Source]
ON ECONOMIC POLICIES
“A progressive tax system can help cushion income fluctuations, since it takes less in bad years than good. We could make the tax code both more progressive and more efficient by reforming the way we provide tax incentives.”
[Source]
ON CLIMATE CHANGE
Orszag called climate change one of the nation’s most serious long-term problems. “Think of this as an insurance issue,” he said. “By taking action today, we can reduce the risk [in the future], but we have to pay a premium up front to do that.”
[Source]
“Reducing the risks associated with climate change requires trading off up-front costs in exchange for long-term benefits.”
[Source]
Global climate change is one of the nation’s most significant long-term policy challenges. Reducing greenhouse-gas emissions would be beneficial in limiting the risks associated with climate change, especially the risk of potentially catastrophic damage. Reducing those emissions, however, would also impose costs on the economy. Our political system arguably has difficulty addressing this type of issue, in which there are short-term costs required in order to reap expected long-term benefits.
[Source]
“Given that climate change is a global problem, effective solutions will require care toward not only these domestic design issues but in coordinating efforts with other major emitters. Whereas timing flexibility and the use of revenue from allowance sales can be legislated, such coordination is difficult to legislate — but may be easier to negotiate the more credible the U.S. effort.”
[Source]
“Global climate change is one of the nation’s most significant long-term policy challenges. Human activities are producing increasingly large quantities of greenhouse gases, particularly CO2.”
“The accumulation of those gases in the atmosphere is expected to have potentially serious and costly effects on regional climates throughout the world.”
[Source]
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By: Magnum Serpentine | February 24, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Sounds like Peter Orszag will make a good OMB director.
I do have another question. I have looked through your entire site for a Similar watch on George Bush. I mean, if you are doing this to President Obama, surely you did the same to George Bush. Otherwise, I think that would be very unfair if you are only watching President Obama and not (When he was in office) George Bush
Thank You.