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Jared Bernstein

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Jared Bernstein
Official portrait, 2021
31st Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers
Incumbent
Assumed office
July 10, 2023
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byCecilia Rouse
Member of the Council of Economic Advisers
In office
January 20, 2021 – July 10, 2023
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byTomas J. Philipson
Succeeded byKirabo Jackson
Personal details
Born (1955-12-26) December 26, 1955 (age 68)
Political partyDemocratic
EducationManhattan School of Music (BM)
Hunter College (MSW)
Columbia University (DSW)

Jared Bernstein (born December 26, 1955)[1] is an American government official who is the chair of the United States Council of Economic Advisers. He is a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.[2] From 2009 to 2011, Bernstein was the chief economist and economic adviser to Vice President Joe Biden in the Obama administration.[3] In 2008, Michael D. Shear described Bernstein as a progressive and "a strong advocate for workers".[4]

In February 2023, President Joe Biden nominated Bernstein to serve as Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers.[5] He was confirmed to be chair on June 13, 2023.[6] He was ceremonially sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris on July 10, 2023.[7]

Early life and education

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Bernstein stated he grew up in a "musical family" and aspired to be a professional musician as a young person.[8] Bernstein graduated with a bachelor's degree in music from the Manhattan School of Music where he studied double bass with Orin O'Brien. Throughout the '80s, Bernstein was a mainstay on the jazz scene in New York City.[citation needed] He is of Jewish descent.[9]

He also earned a Master of Social Work from Hunter College as well as a Doctor of Social Work in social welfare from Columbia University's school of social work in 1994.[10][11] At Columbia, his dissertation advisor was Irwin Garfinkel.[12]

Career

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Bernstein in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on April 1, 2022

Bernstein has taught at Howard University, Columbia University, and New York University.[citation needed] His areas of interest include "federal, state and international economic policies, specifically the middle class squeeze, income inequality and mobility, trends in employment and earnings, low-wage labor markets, poverty, and international comparisons."[This quote needs a citation][13] He is known as a critic of free trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).[4]

In 1992, Bernstein started working as a senior official at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a liberal think tank with a focus on issues affecting low- and middle-income working people.[4] From 1995 to 1996, he served in the United States Department of Labor as deputy chief economist. He then returned to the EPI, as senior economist and director of the Living Standards Program, until he was selected by Biden. His designated job on the vice presidential staff is a new position, created because of "the critical nature of the economic challenges facing America."[14] Upon his appointment, some journalists claimed that it "contrasts sharply with the more centrist views of many of president-elect Barack Obama's economic advisers."[4]

Bernstein sits on the Congressional Budget Office's advisory committee. He is a contributor at the financial news network CNBC. He also was appointed executive director of the Middle Class Working Families Task Force and is responsible for direct management of the project.

Paul Krugman, a Nobel laureate in economics and a noted progressive columnist, argued in November 2008 that the centrist makeup of President Barack Obama's economic inner circle, the new Economic Recovery Advisory Board, could be used to "give progressive economists a voice," and he mentioned Bernstein and fellow EPI economist president Lawrence Mishel among others as progressive economists who might be suitable for the board.[15]

Biden administration

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On September 5, 2020, Bernstein was announced to be a member of the advisory council of the Biden-Harris Transition Team, which was planning the presidential transition of Joe Biden.[16][17] Subsequently, President Joe Biden selected Bernstein to serve on the Council of Economic Advisors in January 2021.

In February 2023, Bernstein was nominated as Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers by President Biden, replacing Cecilia Rouse.[5][18]

On May 11, 2023, the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs advanced Bernstein's nomination by a 12–11 vote.[19] On June 13, 2023, the United States Senate invoked cloture on Bernstein's nomination by a 50–49 vote.[20] He was confirmed later that day by a 50–49 vote.[6]

Publications

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Bernstein's books include All Together Now: Common Sense for a Fair Economy and Crunch: Why Do I Feel So Squeezed? (And Other Unsolved Economic Mysteries).[21] He coauthored the last nine editions of The State of Working America, an ongoing analysis published since 1988 by the Economic Policy Institute,[22] as well as coauthoring The Benefits of Full Employment: When Markets Work for People,[23] where he states that "[l]ow unemployment by itself cannot address all the inequities in society," and advocates that "[o]ther forms of intervention are still needed to assist disadvantaged populations."[24]

He is a regular columnist for The American Prospect online, a contributor to the CNBC financial news television network,[25] and an op-ed writer in the New York Times and the Washington Post.[13] He has also written Diary entries on the Daily Kos website.[26]

References

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  1. ^ Lippman, Daniel (December 26, 2017). "Birthday of the Day: Jared Bernstein, senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and a Biden alum". Politico. Retrieved January 18, 2024. Since my birthday is the day after Christmas ...
    Heath, Thomas (August 9, 2019). "How to survive in volatile markets: Go live your life". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 18, 2024. Bernstein, 63 ...
  2. ^ "Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Jared Bernstein". Cbpp.org. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
  3. ^ "Vice President-elect Biden announces Chief Economist and Economic Policy Advisor". Change.gov. Archived from the original on May 9, 2012. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d Biden Picks Jared Bernstein as Economic Adviser Shear, Michael D. Washington Post. December 5, 2008. Accessed December 6, 2008.
  5. ^ a b "Biden announces reshaped economic team, naming 2 new top advisers". CBS News. February 14, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  6. ^ a b "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Jared Bernstein, of Virginia, to be Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors)". United States Senate. June 13, 2023.
  7. ^ "Vice President Harris Swearing-in Ceremony for Council of Economic Advisers Chair". CSPAN. July 10, 2023.
  8. ^ "Alumni Spotlight: Q&A with White House economist Jared Bernstein (BM '78)". Manhattan School of Music. May 18, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  9. ^ Friedman, Gabe (November 30, 2020). "Jared Bernstein is 'verklempt' to join Biden's council of economic advisers". Jewish Telegraph Agency.
  10. ^ Bernstein, Jared (1994). The determinants of the AFDC caseload: A time-series, cross-sectional approach (Thesis). p. 5. OCLC 46942873.[non-primary source needed]
  11. ^ "About Jared Bernstein". Jaredbernsteinblog.com. Retrieved July 18, 2018.[non-primary source needed]
  12. ^ Foer, Franklin (September 5, 2023). The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden's White House and the Struggle for America's Future. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-101-98114-6.
  13. ^ a b "Cnbc.com". CNBC. May 23, 2008. Retrieved June 23, 2012.[failed verification]
  14. ^ "Vice President-elect Biden announces Chief Economist and Economic Policy Advisor | Change.gov: The Obama-Biden Transition Team". Change.gov. Archived from the original on May 9, 2012. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
  15. ^ Krugman, Paul (November 26, 2008). "About that advisory board" (Blog). The Conscience of a Liberal. The New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2009.
  16. ^ "Cindy McCain Joins Biden-Harris Transition Team's Advisory Board". President-Elect Joe Biden. September 28, 2020. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  17. ^ "Biden Transition Organization - Staff, Advisors". www.democracyinaction.us. November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  18. ^ "Biden appoints Lael Brainard, Jared Bernstein to key economic jobs". Axios. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  19. ^ "Brown Advances CEA, HUD, and Treasury Nominees". banking.senate.gov (Press release). June 11, 2023. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  20. ^ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Jared Bernstein to be Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers)". United States Senate. June 13, 2023.
  21. ^ "Bernstein Biography on the Berrett-Koehler Publishers Website". Bkconnection.com. Archived from the original on February 14, 2012. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
  22. ^ "The State of Working America" Archived December 8, 2013, at the Wayback Machine at the EPI
  23. ^ "The benefits of full employment". epi.org. Economic Policy Institute. Retrieved August 8, 2016. April 2003 EPI Book
  24. ^ Introduction[permanent dead link‍] to The benefits of full employment
  25. ^ Jared Bernstein's Profile, Biography, About at CNBC
  26. ^ Gardner, Susan (December 5, 2008). "Jared Bernstein named as Biden economic advisor". Daily Kos. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
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Political offices
Preceded by Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers
2023–present 		Incumbent
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