“We are the United States of America, we are not Sweden.” U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, March 23, 2009. “The Swedish state is not prepared to own car factories.” Swedish enterprise minister Maud Olofsson, March 22, 2009. “Today, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and National Economic Council (NEC) Director Larry Summers convened official designees to the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry to discuss recently submitted restructuring plans from Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corporation.” The White House, February 20, 2009.
Can President Obama lead the United States out of the recession? In a word, no. Economist Russ Robert opines, “No man or woman runs the economy. No man or woman or team of people can possibly plan the evolution of the economy in the coming months. America will come out of the recession but the time and pace are unknown. Obama can help. But he can just as easily slow down any recovery. Some part of the current mess we’re in is the result of erratic government policy that has …
When President Barack Obama introduced Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) as his nominee for Commerce Secretary, Obama said of Gregg: “He shares my deep-seated commitment to guaranteeing that our children inherit a future they can afford.” After yesterday’s Senate Budget Committee hearing, we now know why Gregg eventually decided he could not in good faith join the Administration. Referring to the president’s fiscal 2010 budget proposal, Gregg told Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner: “This budget, as it’s presently constructed, pass[es] on to our children a nation which they will not be able …
Saturday Night Live opened their show this weekend with a parody of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner: Unfortunately, Treasury policy is just as rudderless as seen on SNL. What’s needed now, more than ever, are ideas based on principles; not ad hoc, “solutions” that don’t provide people enough information to make rational economic decisions for the future. If people want to lambast these principles as “ideology”, so be it. At least we’d have verified experience directing our economic policy.
The AP reports: “President Barack Obama’s Treasury secretary says the administration will unveil a series of rules and measures in the coming months to limit the ability of international companies to avoid U.S. taxes. ” We only ask because: January 7, 2009: “But even an experienced financial expert like [Nancy] Killefer is susceptible to tax errors: Four years ago, the District of Columbia slapped a $946 tax lien on her home for a few months until she paid back unemployment compensation tax for her personal employees. January 30, 2009: “Former …
How much government meddling will our nation’s banks put up with before they start rejecting the federal government’s TARP funds? Looks like we’re starting to find out. Last week ProPublica reported that IberiaBank of Lafayette, Louisiana became the first bank to return TARP cash to the Treasury. From the bank’s press release: “We believe recent actions, interpretations, and commentary regarding various aspects of the program places our Company at an unacceptable competitive disadvantage.” Now Crain’s is reporting that Northern Trust Corp will soon join IberiaBank: In a letter Friday to …
Politico reports today: It was a perfectly reasonable question, and on the surface it seemed like a perfectly reasonable answer. But when Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd went on Bloomberg TV Friday and mused about the possibility of bank nationalization, panicked investors sent the Dow plummeting a hundred points in the next hour. Whoops. Dodd’s casual remark and the not-so-casual consequences it caused were among the most vivid examples of a new Washington phenomenon. The city’s sudden status as the de facto world financial capital means that briefings and …
The federal government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program been complicated and controversial from the beginning. First sold by then Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson as a plan to buy mortgage-related assets from U.S. financial institutions,TARP quickly morphed into an incoherent slush fund. New Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has had a very similar problem deciding how best the federal government can interfere with the market place. The government’s constant policy whiplashes can be hard for the American people to follow. So here, in just 10 pictures, is TARP definitively explained: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8zzBkrv1wk[/youtube]
In less than a week, the city of New Orleans will begin celebrating Mardi Gras including over 20 different parades in a ten day span. Come Fat Tuesday though, all the parades will be over and revelers will have to wait another year before they can try and grab throws from the passing floats. The American taxpayer is not so lucky. For over a year we have been paying for a parade of bailouts which, despite President Barack Obama’s promise of change, doesn’t seem to have an end in sight. …
Earlier today, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-NY), told reporters that the tax cut provisions in the economic stimulus plan will be cut, without offering further details. You may remember that earlier in 2008, Chairman Rangel was investigated for violating a number of House ethics rules, which led to three separate investigations. During this time period, he admitted that he failed to report at least $75, 000 of income made off of his beachside condo in Punta Cana. He is also currently under investigation for failing to …
