Obama's selection of Jason Furman as economic advisor is criticized

Labor union officials and some liberal activists say Furman is too enamored of globalization and too easy on Wal-Mart.

By Tom Hamburger, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

11:02 PM PDT, June 10, 2008

WASHINGTON -- Labor union officials and some liberal activists were seething Tuesday over Barack Obama's choice of centrist economist Jason Furman as the top economic advisor for the campaign. The critics say Furman, who was appointed to the post Monday, has overstated the potential benefits of globalization, Social Security private accounts and the low prices offered by Wal-Mart -- considered a corporate pariah by the labor movement.

Furman, 37, is linked closely to Robert Rubin, a Wall Street insider and Clinton economics aide who eventually became Treasury secretary. Rubin's views on global trade and deficit reduction riled liberal economists and labor activists, though his presence gave the Clinton administration valuable credibility in the business and financial communities.

"We are very much taken aback that Furman has been put at the head of this team," said Marco Trbovich, a senior aide to United Steelworkers President Leo W. Gerard, whose support is considered crucial to Obama's success in heavily unionized areas of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Minnesota and other battleground states.


More: http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na...


Sounds like more of the same ol' same ol'. "One caanot deliver change without inevitably serving the needs the system first."