VP Mike Pence Hires Cato Libertarian as Chief Economist in Trump Administration

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by Micah J. Fleck

More silver linings? Vice President Mike Pence has reportedly chosen a libertarian economist for a chief position in the new administration.

According to Politico:

Vice President Mike Pence has hired Mark Calabria, a libertarian advocate of free markets, as his chief economist, according to a Pence spokesman.

Calabria was director of financial regulation studies at the Cato Institute, where he was a prominent voice on financial and economic policy and an expert on mortgage and housing reform.

He gives President Donald Trump’s White House “a voice around the table that will give them their philosophical true North,” said Jim Parrott, a senior adviser to former President Barack Obama’s National Economic Council.

Before joining Cato in 2009, Calabria worked for the Senate Banking Committee, where he handled housing, mortgage finance, economics, banking and insurance for then-ranking member Richard Shelby (R-Ala.).

His resumé includes stints at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders.

Now time will tell if something truly good comes from this decision and hire.