Another Clinton associate dead—Was he really suicided?

Why did Obama and Clinton economic adviser, 58, take his own life despite having a new book coming out in June?

  • Alan Krueger’s sixth book, Rockonomics, will be released on June 19 
  • The Princeton University economist served in the Clinton and Obama administrations
  • His family announced on Monday through Princeton that he had killed himself 
  • They have not released any other details surrounding his death 
  • Krueger was an avid Twitter user who tweeted daily until the end of January  
  • He was known as an expert on the labor market who argued that raising minimum wage did not slow hiring
  • President Obama named Krueger chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers
  • ‘He helped us return the economy to growth and sustained job creation, to bring down the deficit in a responsible way,’ Obama said in a statement

By JENNIFER SMITH and ASSOCIATED PRESS and ARIEL ZILBER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

The suicide of Alan Krueger, a former Obama and Clinton adviser who killed himself this weekend, has shocked the worlds of politics and business where he was universally revered.

Krueger, 58, had a new book coming out in June and was still a member of faculty at Princeton University in New Jersey.

He lived at home with his wife Lisa, with whom he has two children, Benjamin, 28, and Sydney, 26. He is survived by them, his elderly parents and siblings.

The family confirmed that he killed himself in a statement that was released by Princeton on Monday but no further details surrounding his death have emerged.

Krueger, who served as a top adviser to both Obama and Clinton, recently completed his sixth book, Rockonomics.

The book, which will be released in June, ‘uses the music industry, from superstar artists to music executives, from managers to promoters, as a way in to explain key principles of economics, and the forces shaping our economic lives.’

He was an avid tweeter who used social media almost daily until the end of January when he suddenly stopped. Currency, his publisher, has not commented on his death.

Alan Krueger, a professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton University, died from suicide, his family said. He was 58 years of age

Krueger's latest book, Rockonomics, will be released in June

Krueger’s latest book, Rockonomics, will be released in June

Krueger was best known for his groundbreaking research into minimum wage and the effect it had on labor.

He determined that a higher minimum wage did not slow down hiring as conservatives have long argued.

After serving as a Labor Department economist under President Bill Clinton, Krueger worked for President Barack Obama as a top Treasury official and then as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers from 2011 to 2013.

In a statement, Obama credited Krueger with helping revive the U.S. economy after the devastating 2008 financial crisis.

‘He spent the first two years of my administration helping to engineer our response to the worst financial crisis in 80 years and to successfully prevent the chaos from spiraling into a second Great Depression,’ Obama said.

‘He helped us return the economy to growth and sustained job creation, to bring down the deficit in a responsible way and to set the stage for wages to rise again.’

In a statement, former President Barack Obama credited Krueger with helping revive the U.S. economy after the devastating 2008 financial crisis. Obama is seen above on the right with Krueger at the White House in August 2011

In a statement, former President Barack Obama credited Krueger with helping revive the U.S. economy after the devastating 2008 financial crisis. Obama is seen above on the right with Krueger at the White House in August 2011

In his statement, Obama said of Krueger: 'He had a perpetual smile and a gentle spirit - even when he was correcting you. That's what made him Alan a fundamentally good and decent man'

In his statement, Obama said of Krueger: ‘He had a perpetual smile and a gentle spirit – even when he was correcting you. That’s what made him Alan a fundamentally good and decent man’

Krueger (left) is seen with his wife, Lisa, at a conference in Wyoming in 2012

Krueger (left) is seen with his wife, Lisa, at a conference in Wyoming in 2012

Clinton tweeted: ‘Alan Krueger was a brilliant economist for the public interest – from his research proving that raising the minimum wage doesn’t increase unemployment, to his recent work showing that America’s opioid epidemic has increased it.

‘My thoughts are with his family. We lost him too soon.’

David Axelrod, a senior adviser in the Obama administration, tweeted: ‘Stunned and saddened to read of Alan Krueger’s passing. He was a brilliant and warm WH colleague. A wonderful combination. RIP.’

Jordan Weissmann tweeted: ‘Alan Krueger helped pioneer the early research showing that minimum wage increases don’t necessarily kill jobs. A giant in labor economics. Will be missed.’

Paul Krugman, columnist for The New York Times, tweeted: ‘The tragedy of Alan Krueger, even worse than we realized.

‘What a terrible thing to happen to an intellectual giant who made America a better place for millions of people.’

Jacob Bernstein, an economic adviser to former Vice President Joe Biden, tweeted: ‘Like anyone who knew him, I’m in shock and despair over the death of Alan Krueger.

‘All we can take solace in is how lucky we are to have known him.’

Krueger served as an economist in the Labor Department under former President Bill Clinton

Krueger served as an economist in the Labor Department under former President Bill Clinton

Clinton tweeted: 'Alan Krueger was a brilliant economist for the public interest - from his research proving that raising the minimum wage doesn't increase unemployment, to his recent work showing that America's opioid epidemic has increased it'

Clinton tweeted: ‘Alan Krueger was a brilliant economist for the public interest – from his research proving that raising the minimum wage doesn’t increase unemployment, to his recent work showing that America’s opioid epidemic has increased it’

Stephanie Ruhle, a host on cable news channel MSNBC, tweeted: ‘Truly sad to hear about Alan Krueger passing – a brilliant mind & a lovely man.’

Robert Reich, who was labor secretary in the Clinton administration, tweeted: ‘Our hearts go out to the family of Alan Krueger, friend and colleague, who served this country nobly as economic adviser to Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and who saw economics as inextricably related to ethics.

‘He passed far too early. We grieve the tragic loss.’

Cecilia Rouse, dean of Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School for Public Policy and International Affairs, said she first met Krueger during the 1980s when she was a student at Harvard University and he was a graduate student there.

‘He was incredibly creative, dedicated and prolific,’ Rouse said.

‘He couldn’t have been a better friend or mentor. It’s a loss for economics and public policy.’

Krueger had been teaching at Princeton since 1987.

His research extended to such issues as economic inequality and the consequences of opioid addiction for the job market.

He also applied his economic work to some unconventional areas, from terrorism to the music industry.

Krueger found, for example, a surging wealth gap within pop music.

In a 2005 paper, he illustrated how a rising share of concert revenue was flowing to a narrow top sliver of recording artists.

Continue reading at: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6826927/Alan-Krueger-killed-release-sixth-book.html

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