Christina Romer: People Think the Stimulus Failed 'Cause There Aren't Enough Signs

White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairwoman Christina Romer, who will leave her post Friday to return to teaching, says the stubborn recession "has been fundamentally different from other postwar recessions" and that's what makes it "so terrifying and so difficult to cure."

Romer will deliver her final speech as President Obama's economic adviser at a National Press Club lunch in Washington. The lunch starts at 12:30 p.m. ET; Romer will speak around 1 p.m. The White House released excerpts this morning.

On the causes of the recession: "Rather than being caused by deliberate monetary policy actions, it began with interest rates at low levels. It is a recession born of regulatory failures and unsound practices that contributed to a housing bubble and eventually a full-fledged financial crisis."