As I was watching my retirement and my children’s college accounts evaporate before my very eyes, and trying to understand the current credit crisis, I turned to Meet the Press to get some insightful answers. First up, Secretary Henry Paulson. Good guest to explain things. Second up, Mayor Bloomberg. While most mayors would have little to offer in this regard, Bloomberg’s previous life as CEO of Bloomberg, LLP puts him in a unique position to offer some interesting insight. Good guest. Last up, a “roundtable” discussion on the economy. So here, I’m expecting a round table discussion by former council of economic advisers, such as, N. Gregory Mankiw, R. Glenn Hubbard, Joseph E. Stiglitz, Laura D’Andrea Tyson, Michael J. Boskin, or Martin Feldstein. Instead we get, Steve Pearlstein**, Steve Liesman and Erin Burnett. Tom Brokaw, c’mon…you can do better.
** Yes, I know that Steven Pearlstein won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary “for his insightful columns that explore the nation’s complex economic ills with masterful clarity” but if I had to choose, I’d rather have anyone from the list of council of economic advisers than Mr. Pearlstein.