Politics: Herman Cain, The Fed Years

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Politics Herman Cain: The Fed Years What did Herman Cain actually do at the Federal Reserve? By David Weigel Posted Monday, Oct 17, 2011, at 11:24 PM ET Herman Cain's tenure at the Federal Reserve makes many conservatives queasy—even if they can't agree on what he did there. According to Alex Jones, from 1992 to 1996 Cain was "Kansas City Board President of the Federal Reserve Bank." According to a Cain fan at Ricochet, Cain was merely a "member of a Federal Reserve District Board." In his book, This Is Herman Cain!, the candidate calls himself a former "head of the Kansas City Federal Reserve." Maybe the mainstream media has figured this out? Maybe not. According to the Atlantic, he was a "Federal Reserve Chairman." According to the Huffington Post, he was a "director of the Kansas City Fed." It was Cain's only high-profile government role, and 15 years after he finished it, the public that might make him president has no idea what it was or meant. What did Herman Cain do at the Fed, and what does it tell us about him? The answers: "Not much," and "a little more than not much." There are 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks. Each has a nine-member board of directors, composed of three commercial bankers (Class A, in Fed jargon), three people from nonbanking sectors of the economy (Class B), and three captains of industry from the region (Class C). Cain was Class C. In 1992, he joined the board of directors at the Kansas City branch of the Federal Reserve. In 1994, he was chosen to chair the board. What does the board of ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Cain Uses $36,000 in Campaign Cash To Buy Copies of His Own Book Toddlers Can Be Diagnosed With ADHD? Don't All Toddlers Have Short Attention Spans? Novelist Jennifer Egan on Doppelgangers and Pseudo-Reality	Advertisement
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