Secretary of Labor is never an economist 

And not just Labor. Any cabinet level position is a political appointment. 



Bell_curve

That's fine. I wasn't expecting this to turn into a debate about the meaning of "economist".

I am a labor economist and I don't think of him as one of us, because he wasn't trained in labor economics and he doesn't work as a labor economist. I can appreciate that these fine distinctions that are drawn within a field may not be shared by those outside the field.

econ

Robert Reich’s Blind Spots: The Elephant in the Progressive Left’s Room

kepford

That's fine. I wasn't expecting this to turn into a debate about the meaning of "economist". 

I am a labor economist and I don't think of him as one of us, because he wasn't trained in labor economics and he doesn't work as a labor economist. I can appreciate that these fine distinctions that are drawn within a field may not be shared by those outside the field.