In today's Wall Street Journal (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122360251805321773.html#printMode) former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul Volker sets out his vision for the future of the American financial system. Having a track record of pulling the U.S. out of a previous recession, even at 81 years of age, Mr. Volker is perhaps the only person with enough stature in the world community to make a difference. Because fair usage would not convey a complete sense of his statement, please start by reading the text.
Mr. Volker's key argument is the current lack of leadership. While most of us here at KOS believe that the leadership issue will be resolved on November 4th, there is a more compelling task to be addressed today -- salvaging the world financial system so that there is some hope for the next president to accomplish much of anything.
Accordingly, I am urging the Obama and McCain campaigns (true bipartisanship) to jointly make a formal request for the resignation of Ben Bernanke as Federal Reserve Chairman and the immediate appointment of Paul Volker to that post. Further, upon his appointment, he should have the option of replacing the current treasury secretary with an individual that he selects in consultation with the Executive and Legislative branches.
As we have seen over the last several weeks, neither the country nor the world has faith in the current economic leadership of the U.S. and only change can stem the ongoing economic meltdown.