i was unaware that we could ask him questions and hadn't brainstormed anything. glistening profusely (because girls don't sweat), i stood up and nervously caught tfg's eye. unlike my colleagues, i didn't ask about new derivatives rules, the housing market, or ken feinberg's role as executive compensation special master. i asked the first thing that popped into my head:
"what are your thoughts on the speculation that the dollar may not be the "go-to" currency anymore?"
i sat down quickly and maintained eye contact. at first, the only thing i heard was the voice inside my head saying "omg! omg! omg! i just asked the treasury secretary a question! i didn't mess it up or sound like an idiot!"
tfg stepped back, thought about it, and then spent a longer time answering my question than he spent speaking to our group. after i calmed down and was receptive to the moment, i could literally visualize his thought process - it was like watching economics students walk through is/lm/ad/as curves on a whiteboard in the library. but tfg knew his content and it was fascinating watching him talk us through the analytical framework behind his answer. although it was difficult to understand through some mumbling, in short, he explained that once the u.s. got its debt and spending under control, the speculation will cease and "the dollar will be fine - the united states will be just fine".
afterwards, one of my colleagues patted me on the back and said "'atta girl - he didn't have prepared remarks for your question - way to throw him a curveball".
source: econmodel.net
