Romer: Inaction on Unemployment is Shameful

People should listen to Christina Romer:

"I frankly don't understand why policy makers aren't more worried about the suffering of real families," former Council of Economic Advisors Chair Christina Romer, who left the Administration last fall, said during a discussion at Vanderbilt University in Nashville Tuesday. "I think there are tools we have tools we have that we can use, and I think it's shameful that we're not using them." [...]

"If I have a complaint about policy these days, it's that we're not doing enough," she said. "That goes all the way up to the Federal Reserve, [which] could be taking more aggressive action. It goes to the Congress and the Administration – there are fiscal policy actions they could be taking."

What can I say? She's right. She'd also be a great choice for a Federal Reserve Board of Governors seat. It's painful to watch the country grind through massive joblessness simply because key politicians don't seem to realize they have tools at their disposal.