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**OCTOBER 1, 2021**

Kuttner on TAP

Is the Regulatory Future Powell or Omarova?

Elizabeth Warren's courageous questioning of Fed Chair Jerome Powell,
who has been working to orchestrate his renomination by President Biden,
included the memorable description of Powell as "a dangerous man
."
To his face, no less.

Some felt that Warren had overreached. I don't think so. Powell is a
dangerous man because his use of his post to weaken policies of bank
regulation and supervision has left us with a shakier financial system,
one that is more reliant on bailouts by the Fed and the Treasury.

Powell supporters inside the administration and out have tried to keep
the focus on Powell's loose money policy and his commitment to full
employment, as if that were the Fed's only job. Warren's tour de
force makes that pretense a lot harder.

By coincidence, Biden has just nominated Saule Omarova to another key
banking regulatory post, that of comptroller of the currency, which is
the chief regulator of national banks. As David Dayen and Lee Harris
have detailed in this piece
,
Omarova is the first progressive ever appointed to this post. And the
financial industry has already begun a fierce campaign to block her
confirmation.

Which raises the question: At the Biden White House, does one hand know
what the other is doing? The Omarova nomination is in keeping with the
appointment of one regulatory progressive after another to top posts at
the SEC, the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau, the Labor Department, and other agencies.

Omarova seems to represent the true compass of the Biden
administration-the consumer-friendly future rather than the
industry-friendly past. Unless Biden is asleep at the switch, and allows
the appointment of the next Fed chair to proceed by inertia, it's hard
to see how the same president can appoint Jerome Powell and Saule
Omarova.

~ ROBERT KUTTNER

Follow Robert Kuttner on Twitter

Robert Kuttner's latest book is
The Stakes: 2020 and the Survival of American Democracy
.

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The Progressive Caucus Wields Power

In a rare moment in Congress, progressive Democrats held the line, for
now. BY DAVID DAYEN

New Flood Insurance Rates Still Subsidize Coastal Development

FEMA says new rates are more fair. But homeowners can still skip buying
insurance, premiums may still not price in severe climate risk, and the
program remains insolvent. BY LEE HARRIS

Hucksters on Parade

Today's CEOs are essentially carnival barkers, induced to yell louder
by a corroded business culture. BY DAVID DAYEN

Altercation: The Facebook Threat to Democracy-and Us All

On the hatred, violence, and lies that further enrich Mark Zuckerberg
BY ERIC ALTERMAN

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