Lisa Cook has a history of speaking about reparations, which is the notion that the government should subsidize or give some sort of payout to the decedents of slaves.
Tweet
- “Everybody benefited from slavery, everybody, we have to come to terms with that,” said Cook during a 2020 appearance on the EconTalk podcast. “So, I think that we absolutely need some sort of reckoning with that.
- There are many proposals on the table to study the possibility of reparations, many economic proposals being put forward, and I think they should all be taken seriously.”
- Cook, if confirmed, would be the first black woman to serve on the central bank’s board. She hails from a family of civil rights activists with ties to civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr.
- Some liberals are hoping that her experience with the intersection of race and economics will help further the central bank’s diversity initiatives, although some Republicans are fearful that she is too partisan for the role.
- A senior Republican Senate aide characterized Cook’s past statements as “inappropriate” for someone being considered for a leading role at the Fed, which is intended to be an independent regulatory institution.
- The questioning will not be focused as much on Cook’s individual views on reparations, policing, and politics but rather highlighting her past remarks in the context of an independent central bank, the aide told the Washington Examiner.
- The aide said that while the main focus on Thursday will be on highlighting Cook’s views through the lens of the Fed’s independence and commitment to its statutory mandate, GOP committee members are still concerned about her views in a more general sense because the lawmakers perceive them as being very politically partisan.
SOURCE: WASHINGTONEXAMINER
Political | Process 
Leave a comment