Economy
The research interests of Obama's pick to chair his Council of Economic Advisers (with highlights):
[Princeton economist Alan] Krueger has done leading research on why a minimum wage does not increase joblessness and why job growth can lag during otherwise prosperous economic time. [uncertainty?] He served as chief economist in the Treasury Department from March 2009 until November 2010 ....
During his time at Treasury, Krueger advocates a number of key administration measures designed to stimulate the economy, including a tax cut for businesses that hire new workers, the "cash for clunkers" auto trade-in program, and "Build America Bonds" that allowed states and localities to raise funds for building roads and other construction projects.
BTW, I don't know why the Senate has to confirm the President's advisers. But the hearings could be amusing.
"BTW, I don't know why the Senate has to confirm the President's advisers. But the hearings could be amusing."
It has a statutory/ constitutional basis. While the name says Council of Economic Advisors, he is not exactly an "advisor" so much as an officer of the United States.
The advisors under Kruger will be inferior officers and will not need to be nominated (unless the mandate statute, under the APA which establishes this council designates these as Officers of the United States as well.)
All Officers of the United States must be appointed with the advice and consent of the Senate. Article II, Section 2, paragraph 2.
Technically by changing the mandate statutes you could increase or decrease the number of people who are Officers of the United States.
The constitutional default seems to favor Officers of the United States, since congress in the mandate statute must have vested in the president the ability to appoint inferior officers.
Bright line rule, anyone the president can appoint without the advice and consent of the senate is an inferior officer.
So the chair of the Council of Economic Advisors is actually an Officer of the United States.