Former Secretary of the Treasury and White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew visited Penn on Wednesday.
Lew opened the event by reflecting on his experience in government and sharing his views on careers in the public sector. The discussion was moderated by College sophomore and Government and Politics Association President Ferenc Brezo.
During his remarks, Lew told the audience that “there is no place where you can do more good” than in the public sector, recalling his time serving under former President Barack Obama’s administration.
Lew also served as director of the Office of Management and Budget under two administrations and as United States Ambassador to Israel under former President and Penn professor Joe Biden.
“I’m not going to say I fundamentally changed the world,” Lew said, adding that “if you didn’t want to see your name in lights, you could chip away at problems by just doing the work.”
Lew also discussed the importance of finding common ground in politics, highlighting that his government work “involved an enormous amount of compromise.”
During the moderated conversation, Lew described his role as Secretary of the Treasury in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Although the Department of Treasury enacted financial policy changes, Lew reiterated that it failed to ameliorate “the sense of unfairness” people felt at the time.
Lew also described his work addressing international economic issues, including the economic “battlefield” between Russia and Ukraine. With regards to domestic policy, he expressed pride for his work with Obama to find a solution to conflicts over Puerto Rico’s debt.
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The conversation then turned toward Lew’s most recent role as U.S. Ambassador to Israel.
“I never imagined myself as an ambassador,” Lew said, explaining how he accepted the role after being informed that the U.S. was in a position to “normalize” relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Lew was confirmed as ambassador just weeks after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel.
“Our job was to deal with a country that was in trauma, where all parties were in trauma,” he said.
Lew also emphasized that the U.S. government’s responsibility at the time was to minimize civilian impacts. He stated that while his team was unable to achieve all their objectives, they were able to make a significant impact.
In response to a question about 1968 Wharton graduate and President Donald Trump’s investigation into Chair of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell. He stated that effective monetary policy requires insulation from political forces.
“Is the Fed making judgements based on the data and their analysis as they understand it or are they being driven by political pressures?” Lew asked. “I think it’s crucial that the answer be that they’re driven by the data, even if they make a mistake.”
Lew also addressed questions about depleting Social Security funds. He proposed “very modest” changes in contributions and the retirement age as possible strategies to improve the situation.
“The right time to deal with this would have been ten years ago,” he said. “The next best time is as soon as possible.”
