Serious Question, Janet Yellen Edition

In spite of a sustained lack of inflation, a large, sustained gap in the Civilian Employment/Population Ratio, an abiding lack of post-recession growth domestically, and significant underperformance (old, new, [PDF] and overall) internationally, the Fed appears prepared to raise interest rates this year. Which leaves me now wondering:

With the possible exception of Robert, is there any former colleague/roommate/coworker of whom Brad DeLong has spoken highly who is worth the trouble of paying attention to when they have a chance to do something in government?*

My top-of-the-head list is:

  1. LawrenceLarryH. Summers (the RoboQB of the Econ field, in more ways than one)
  2. Tim Bloody Effing Geithner (all links but one to Brad in his post-Chief Internet Geithner Apologist days)
  3. Andrei Shleifer
  4. Christina Romer (though I’ll be the second or third to stipulate that It Wasn’t Her Fault; see above), and, now,
  5. Janet Yellen

What good is alleging that you have sharp, respectable people who Know What to Do if they then Don’t Do It? When the perpetual answer you get when they screw up is a variation on “You said you regretted not doing more. What do you regret not doing?”

*Robert isn’t and hasn’t been, so far as I know, in a position to make policy. So whether he counts as an exception is left as an exercise.