New World Bank President To Be Selected By April 20
Hillary Clinton
Newscast Media NEW YORK — The World Bank announced on Friday that by April 20, a new president to succeed Robert Zoellick would be selected. Nominations will be accepted through March 23, from the Bank’s 187 member countries.
“The executive directors expressed their deep appreciation to President Zoellick for his leadership of the World Bank Group and its very significant accomplishments during his tenure,” the Bank said in a statement.
Since the United States is the biggest stakeholder, it is more than likely that an American will be selected for the job, because Congress would be needed to disburse the funds.
“It is very important that we continue to have strong, effective leadership in this important institution, the experience and requisite qualities to take this institution forward,” Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner wrote in an e-mail.
The top choices for the position are US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former White House economic advisor Lawrence Summers. Clinton has said she’s not seeking the position, even though there is no doubt that she would not be resisted if she decided she was game for the position.
The Asian and Arab nations have said that the US has a firm grip on the World Bank since its presidents have been American. What the Asians and Arabs do not realize is that both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank get their sustenance from the Federal Reserve, which in turn is sustained by the hardworking American taxpayers. The US is thus justified in choosing an American for the position of president.
In fact the Federal Reserve is considered a Lender of Last Resort (LOLR) and can prevent the collapse in international money or liquidity, help stabilize or anchor the value of international money, and thereby prevent various (e.g., credit) disturbances from developing into world monetary crises. Since the dollar is the dominant reserve currency and the Federal Reserve is the principal institution that can create world dollar reserves, this responsibility falls largely on the US central bank.
Robert Mundell, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, has long recognized this Federal Reserve responsibility: “The Federal Reserve… has the power to determine… the size of foreign exchange reserves abroad… In a practical sense, the Federal Reserve System is the lender of last resort to the international banking system, and the determinant of the dollar value of world reserves,” he said.
Since the World Bank is part of the international banking system that is controlled by the US Federal Reserve, whoever ascends to the position of president will have considerable leverage in dealing with rogue governments that apply for loans from the World Bank. Because of her political acumen, and being a legal scholar, it is no wonder that Hillary Clinton’s name is on the top of the list, since the dynamics of her life and career are conducive to achieving the economic growth that she often says she wishes to see happen in developing countries. http://newscastmedia.com/world-bank.html
