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Obama Introduces Economic Advisors

The new financial team being pieced together by President-elect Barack Obama has a couple of months to get their affairs in order. With the economy struggling, they'll be expected to hit the ground running in January when the new President is sworn in.

Barack Obama has put together a diverse group of individuals who will oversee America's monetary policy. Here's a brief look at the top four nominees and what they will bring to the table in 2009:

Tim Geithner, Treasury Secretary

Geithner is currently serving as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He is expected to bring a different philosophy than that taken by current secretary Henry Paulson.

Unlike his successor, Geithner wants to modify the large number of loans held by subprime borrowers. Observers believe this might be a psychological boost for the nation and might help create support for home prices, thus resolving some of the uncertainty in the financial markets.

Geithner would also likely revert to the strategy originally intended for the $700 billion TARP program. Geithner supports buying the distressed assets from the banks, which he believes would revive investor confidence in the banks. Paulson switched strategies and began diverting capital to banks, which have been a bit stingy in dispensing funds.

Larry Summers, National Economic Council

The former Treasury Secretary under Bill Clinton and former president of Harvard will have a huge voice in helping the new President define his tax policy. Summers will lead the group inside the White House that will advise the president on domestic and international monetary policies.

Summers is a brilliant academic. He was admitted to MIT while a junior in high school and became a tenured professor at Harvard when he was 28. He served as chief economist at the World Bank and worked as an adviser for Ronald Reagan.

Summers calls himself a "market-oriented progressive." He wants to reduce the number of regulators in the financial system, with the federal government focused on maintaining the health of the entire system and making sure financial firms don't get "too big to fail."

Christina Romer, Council of Economic Advisers

Romer brings an academic background into the job. She and her husband, David Romer, are respected economics professors and should fit in well with the position, which helps make policy decisions and work closely with the president.

Romer is an expert on the Great Depression and has done extensive study in how the U.S. economic policy can be an instrument for sustaining economic growth. In an article published in 2006, Romer wrote that the federal government did not respond adequately to help during the Depression.

Romer has also published her belief that tax increases have a negative impact on economic output. She is considered to be leaning left, but is also thought of as a pragmatist.

Peter Orszag, Director of the Office of Management and Budget

Orszag has been in charge of the Congressional Budget Office since January 2007 and has been focused on programs projected to contribute to huge budget deficits, like Medicare and Medicaid. He is the author of the book "Saving Social Security: A Balanced Approach."

Orszag served as an economic adviser to Bill Clinton and was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute. He generally falls among the group that favors free trade and fiscal responsibility.

- by BetterTrades Financial Analysts