What More Does Senator Collins Need to Know to Reject Trump’s Extreme Fed Board Choice?

April 23, 2019

If Stephen Moore’s Ugly History of Urging Kids to Burn Their Social Security Cards and Degrading Women Isn’t Disqualifying Enough for Senator Collins, What Is?

Moore Claims “Not a Single [Senate] Republican” Opposes His Potential Nomination

---

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last March, President Trump tapped Stephen Moore, a self-described “radical” who’s not a “big believer in democracy,”to serve a 14-year term overseeing the nation’s monetary policy on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Moore made a name for himself as a conservative commentator and frequent cable news guest who pushes fringe right-wing ideas like dismantling Social Security because in his words: “We’ve probably gone too far in providing a safety net for the elderly.” Moore’s troubling history of trafficking in misogyny and sexism has also come to public light in recent days. The question is: will Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) allow those views to be represented on the Fed where Moore would have influence over decisions that impact millions of Americans?

Stephen Moore boasted last week that the White House told him not a single Republican Senator is opposing his nomination. While Senator Collins has called Moore a “very unconventional choice” and has questions about his credentials and past positions, Collins said she is withholding judgement on Moore’s potential nomination until after his confirmation hearings.

“Given Stephen Moore’s history of degrading women, dissing democracy, and disparaging the elderly, what more does Senator Collins need to know to conclude Moore does not belong at the Fed?”said Jeremy Funk, spokesman for consumer watchdog group Allied Progress. “Moore has been on the Washington scene for decades and what he stands for is no mystery. We’re talking about someone who egged on a roomful of kids to burn their Social Security cards and thinks seniors who depend on Social Security are living too high on the hog. If Senator Collins needs more time to decide whether Moore is a rational choice for a fourteen-year appointment to the Fed, it’s time to question her own judgement. Or if it’s just her usual drill of pretending to have concerns only to fall in line with President Trump, she ought not waste anyone’s time – again – and be honest about it.”

BACKGROUND: If Senator Collins Plans to Rubber-Stamp Moore for the Fed, Does She Agree With Some, Most or All Moore’s Extreme Views?:

• Moore Urged Kids to Burn Up Their Social Security Cards in Support of Privatization

• Moore on Social Security: “We’ve probably gone too far in providing a safety net for the elderly”, “Essentially was a Ponzi scheme”

• Moore wrote: “Capitalism is a lot more important than democracy … I’m not even a big believer in democracy.”

• Moore said women should be banned from refereeing or announcing at men’s college basketball games, asked if there was any area in life “where men can take vacation from women.”

• Moore Wrote That White Males Were The “New Oppressed Minority On College Campuses” And That If Women “Were So Oppressed And Offended,” They Wouldn’t Show Up “In Droves In Tight Skirts To The Keg Parties.”

• Moore Has Repeatedly Called for Scrapping the Federal Reserve in Favor of a Return to the Gold Standard, an Idea Resoundingly Rejected by Republicans and Democrats Alike in the Economist Community

• Moore Has Advocated For a Regressive National Sales Tax That Would Be a Massive Tax Cut for Millionaires While Increasing The Tax Burdens of Low- And Middle-Income Taxpayers

 # # #