Czar questions

[charly_t]

Can anyone tell me how much the czars are being paid per year and the history of said offices ? I'm sure it has been a topic already but I missed it.

Thanks
charly (aka Helen T)

[YardleyLabs]

Can anyone tell me how much the czars are being paid per year and the history of said offices ? I'm sure it has been a topic already but I missed it.

Thanks
charly (aka Helen T)

There is no authoritative way to answer your question since there has never, to the best of my knowledge, been any position in the White House with the title of tsar or czar (alternate spellings). Generally, this is a title awarded by the press to presidential adviser positions that are given general oversight responsibilities in a particular arena.

The practice dates back to at least FDR, who appointed various staff members to oversee elements of the war effort. Jimmy Carter emphasized his focus on energy by appointing an Energy Czar who became the Secretary of Energy. Prior to GWB, the practice of appointing czars was very limited. It exploded unded GWB, whoc appointed ten times more czars than any prior President. Obama has continued in thie pattern, appointing almost as many since taking office as GWB did over eight years. Some of these are simply continuations of positions created by Bush. What is more difficult to figure out is how much of this growth is real and how much is simply a matter of reporting.

Most "czars" are simply assistants to the President and such assistants have existed for as long as the White House. In fact, this type of position is found at least as often in states and major cities around the country. Going back to the 1970's, I served as the "Medicaid Czar" in NYC and after as the "Health Czar". In both cases, I was officially an assistant to the mayor with responsibilities for coordnating services in those particular areas. The reality, however, is that, with a few exceptions, these positions are staff roles, not roles with line responsibility. Their authority derives solely from the Executive, but all action must be taken by people with legal control of the agencies affected -- the Cabinet officers approved by the Senate.

You can see an article on this on Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._executive_branch_%27czars%27.

You can see more at http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-me...than-Romanovs/.

[Bob Gutermuth]

Why are these czars not being vetted by the FBI to keep revolutionaries like Van Jones out of the White House?

[Buzz]

Why are these czars not being vetted by the FBI to keep revolutionaries like Van Jones out of the White House?

Better get Glenn Beck on it, pronto.

[road kill]

Here is the definition of a Czar.
Contrary to anything acceptable in the USA!!

__________________________________________________ ____

czar  /zɑr, tsɑr/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [zahr, tsahr] Show IPA
Use czar in a Sentence
See web results for czar
See images of czar
–noun
1. an emperor or king.
2. (often initial capital letter) the former emperor of Russia.
3. an autocratic ruler or leader.
4. any person exercising great authority or power in a particular field: a czar of industry.

Also, tsar, tzar.

__________________________________________________ __

Surprised Yardley missed this.

Anyway, being a "representative republic," we like to elect our people, not have them forced upon us.

Peace!!

[Buzz]

Here is the definition of a Czar.
Contrary to anything acceptable in the USA!!

Someone should have told he whose name must not be spoken something about this:

http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?...sh_upon_a_czar

The article contains links that go into more detail about each czar...

In 2001, with escalating concerns about possible attacks on our information technology infrastructure, Bush named a "cybersecurity czar."

In 2003, the president's desire to help his corporate benefactors led to the creation of a "regulatory czar" at the Office of Management and Budget. Around the same time, Bush named his first "AIDS Czar." (He didn't choose wisely -- Bush tapped Randall Tobias, the administration's former top advocate of global abstinence-only policies, who was recently forced to resign after procuring "massages" from a controversial Washington escort service.)

In 2004, faced with growing discontent over the nation's struggling manufacturing industries, Bush appointed a "manufacturing czar." (He chose the chief executive of a Nebraska company that had laid off manufacturing employees and built factories in China.)
2005 was a banner year for czars.

In February, Bush responded to revelations about failed national security intelligence by creating an "intelligence czar." Shortly thereafter, we had a "bird-flu czar." A few months after that, following the tragically botched handling of the response to Hurricane Katrina, there was a "Katrina czar."

[TXduckdog]

Buzz...big deal.....like Yardley said, there is a history on this concept and Slick Willie gave it took it to a whole nuther level.

[Gerry Clinchy]

It exploded unded GWB, whoc appointed ten times more czars than any prior President. Obama has continued in thie pattern, appointing almost as many since taking office as GWB did over eight years. Some of these are simply continuations of positions created by Bush.

Does that mean that O approved of some things GW did?

I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself

However, I'm also kind of surprised that O hasn't yet replaced Gates. I might have thought that O would have had that significant cabinet position all lined up by the time he took office.

[YardleyLabs]

Here is the definition of a Czar.
Contrary to anything acceptable in the USA!!

__________________________________________________ ____

czar  /zɑr, tsɑr/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [zahr, tsahr] Show IPA
Use czar in a Sentence
See web results for czar
See images of czar
–noun
1. an emperor or king.
2. (often initial capital letter) the former emperor of Russia.
3. an autocratic ruler or leader.
4. any person exercising great authority or power in a particular field: a czar of industry.

Also, tsar, tzar.

__________________________________________________ __

Surprised Yardley missed this.

Anyway, being a "representative republic," we like to elect our people, not have them forced upon us.

Peace!!

I think you'll find that the fourth definition is the one people usually use in referring to "czars" appointed by the President. However, if you read my post, you'll see that I used the term pretty carefully since I am fully aware that it had little relationship to the roles actually filled that are annointed with this name. I stated that "There is no authoritative way to answer your question since there has never, to the best of my knowledge, been any position in the White House with the title of tsar or czar (alternate spellings). Generally, this is a title awarded by the press to presidential adviser positions that are given general oversight responsibilities in a particular arena." By the Wikipedia count, which is relatively consistent with other listings I have seen, Clinton had six "czars", Bush had 35, and Obama has 32.

With respect to appointment versus election, all positions in the Executive Branch, other then the President and Vice President, and the Federal Judicial Branch are filled through appointment, with or without legislative confirmation. All of these positions exercise significant power within our government.

[YardleyLabs]

Does that mean that O approved of some things GW did?

I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself

However, I'm also kind of surprised that O hasn't yet replaced Gates. I might have thought that O would have had that significant cabinet position all lined up by the time he took office.

I think that Obama actually approved many things done by Bush. He definitely had possible candidates lined up for SecDef. However, Gates was not at all a Bush crony, was doing a pretty good job during his 14 month tenure under Bush, and I suspect that continuity was seen as having some value. His original appointment by Bush had broad bipartisan support. One of his big supporters was Zbigniew Brzezinski who was one of Obama's advisers during the campaign.