Biden's economic team thin in a critical area

 I have been scrolling through various lists of personnel being considered for President-elect Biden's economic team.  As one would expect, the lists are chock-a-block with experience, expertise, and academic degree.  There is one thin spot on the roster though; there is nobody that know much about getting a struggling business onto life support and subsequently moving the enterprise off life support and into successful operation.

As I hastily closed out my last post on the 13th, I mentioned this need briefly.  The macro stabilization needs are pretty obvious, so let's get at least one more round of income replacement out really quickly.  In fact, put that ahead of rejoining the Paris Climate Accords and World Health Organization.  Actually, put it even ahead of sending these foreign syndicates the terms we need to see met before we start renewing our disproportionate subscription to bearing their costs.

But back to the soft spot in the new economic policy structure.  I didn't find anyone who has been involved in the nitty-gritty details of running a business, or even been involved in providing technical or financial support to such enterprises in any of the lists I reviewed.  One of the huge problems that will be coming up is the shattered financial structure of independent businesses.  No one on any of the short lists I could find quickly as a background that even suggest that they give a damn about the financial problems of running a business. 

The closest I could get was Richard Cordray at the bottom of a list compiled by CNBC.  His actual background was defending consumers from the depredations of the consumer finance interests. The article did report that "Cordray has sounded the alarm on both the current and impending consumer debt crisis and proposed measures to rein in what he describes as ‘vehement’ debt collectors."  If his analytical and policy scope can be enlarged to include business debtors of relatively small scale, perhaps he will be able to help business owners channel some of the stimulus money into making a profit and defend those entrepreneurs as well from debt collectors, who will very likely include the government.  

Unfortunately, Cordray and the others on the lists are generally drawn from that part of the wonky class that sees profit as the embodiment of evil and business owners, especially successful business owners, as the spawn of Satan. Thus, one key set of actors is not going to much help getting over the hills they are looking up at from the Biden administration. Where will they then turn?