Fresh bloodletting

Barack Obama’s economics team is short on new faces. And the president-elect’s $825bn stimulus plan appears to be a massive version of old-school Keynesianism, albeit with some trendy tweaks. Yes, his advisors can hit the ground running, and that’s a big plus in a crisis. But to salvage the US economy, Obama must ensure they don’t just run in the same old directions. Obama’s choice of experienced hands was initially applauded, but enthusiasm has waned as skeletons have popped out of closets. Ob...