The appointment of Jacob Lew to the White House Chief of Staff has raised just one problem – his signature will appear on all new US currency, and it looks ridiculous.
The news that US President Barack Obama had appointed Jacob Lew to the White House Chief of Staff is certainly news worthy. It’s right and proper that a man appointed to such a high office should be scrutinised by the press, and especially since he has the added portfolio of US treasury secretary – but there is one area of his resume that has attracted undue attention.
It’s customary that during the tenure of a treasury secretary, their signature is printed on all US currency. There’s just one problem – Mr Lew’s signature looks like a loopy scribble.
“The guy signs his name like a first-grader scrawling loop-the-loops,” David Lazarus of the LA Times wrote. The New York Times labelled it ‘a slinky that's lost its spring’, while the The Atlantic’s headline read “'OoooooooO!': Jack Lew's Insane Signature Is Going to Be All Over Your Dollar Bills, Soon”. And there were many, many more witty labels handed out.
However the signature debacle may be all a storm in a teacup. CNBC reported that Lew would be likely to change the way he signs his name, something his treasury secretary predecessor Timothy Geithner did for the exact same reason. “Well, I think on the dollar bill I had to write something where people could read my name. That's the rationale,” Geithner commented.
Picture: The Independent
