Tim Geithner is an asshole and a failure

[AllentownJake]

"In particular, the tone-deaf Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, never ceases to amaze. His daily calendars reveal that most of his contacts with the financial sector in the first seven months of 2009 were limited to the trinity of Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and JPMorgan. And last week Bloomberg News reported that his inner circle of “counselors” — key advisers who, conveniently enough, do not require Senate confirmation — are largely drawn from the same club. It’s hard to see how any public official can challenge a culture that he is marinating in, night and day."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/opinion/18rich.html?_r=1

[Swamp Rat]

1. k&r

[MannyGoldstein]

10. Hey Swamp Rat - Is That Geithner?

A little ambiguous.

Please don't take that wrong - your stuff is astonishingly good.

[Ruby the Liberal]

12. It looks like Dick Fuld?

[Swamp Rat]

18. See post #17

you win a cookie. :)

[MannyGoldstein]

20. How About A Similar One For Geithner and Summers?

Summers as Darth Vader, perhaps.

[Swamp Rat]

17. Former Chairman and CEO of Lehman Brothers Richard Fuld

Richard Fuld punched in face in Lehman Brothers gym: Richard Fuld, the disgraced head of Lehman Brothers, was punched in the face in the office gym amid the bank's collapse.

"Mr Fuld, who has been testifying on the financial crisis before the US House Oversight Committee, was attacked on a Sunday shortly after it was announced that the banking giant was bankrupt.

Following rumours that the incident had occurred, Vicki Ward, a US journalist, said "two very senior sources - one incredibly senior source" had confirmed it to her. "He went to the gym after ... Lehman was announced as going under," she told CNBC. "He was on a treadmill with a heart monitor on. Someone was in the corner, pumping iron and he walked over and he knocked him out cold.

"And frankly after having watched , I'd have done the same too."

"I thought he was shameless ... I thought it was appalling. He blamed everyone ... He blamed everybody but himself."

(snip)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/3150319/Richard-Fuld-punched-in-face-in-Lehman-Brothers-gym.html

____________

Lehman Brothers’ Dick Fuld Has a New Gig

"Late Friday an assistant to former Lehman Brothers Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard Fuld Jr. sent a blast email saying he has landed at Matrix Advisors, located at 780 Third Ave. in New York City.

Lehman filed for bankruptcy in September, a move that sent the financial world into a tailspin and Mr. Fuld in search of new perch. The 62-year-old executive then vacated Lehman’s 31st floor executives offices in New York City to less plush digs a block or so away to help with the unwind of Lehman, the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history.

In September, in a letter to employees announcing that part of Lehman had been sold to Barclays Capital, Mr. Fuld wrote: “I know that this has been very painful on all of you, both personally and financially. For this, I feel horrible.” In October he testified before Congress, saying he is haunted nightly wondering what he might have done to avert Lehman’s bankruptcy. “This is a pain that will stay with me for the rest of my life,” he said.

Despite his fall from grace, Mr. Fuld is still a fixture around New York, and is often seen lunching or power breakfasting at Brasserie in midtown Manhattan. And now he has a new place to hang his shingle, although so far little is known about this gig. He did not respond to requests for comment."

http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2009/04/03/lehman-brothers-dick-fuld-has-a-new-gig

____________

Exile for Lehman Brothers CEO Dick Fuld

(snip)

"The move means that Fuld will no longer hold the corner office at Lehman. On Monday, he and other senior Lehman executives who were not offered jobs by Barclays are officially leaving the 31st floor of Lehman’s headquarters and moving to the 45th floor of 1271. 1271, located in the Time & Life Building, is also the headquarters of Fortune Magazine, which should make Mr. Fuld a daily sitting duck for any intrepid reporters.

While there, Fuld and some of his executive compatriots will go about their business of wrapping up what is left of Lehman. There’s not much left now, with the sale of the Americas business to Barclays, the European and Asian businesses to Nomura, and investment management to Bain Capital and Hellman & Friedman. But Lehman Brothers Holdings is still involved in a bankruptcy process, and Mr. Fuld and his cabinet are the cleanup crew."

(snip)

http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2008/10/01/exile-for-lehman-brothers-ceo-dick-fuld/

[corpseratemedia]

14. facilitating goldman sachs to run the country's financial system

= big achilles heel for Dems in 2010..and 12

edited to add: sorry this was just meant to add to the overall thread, not a specific post

[Piewhacket]

135. Swamp Rat for Presid... er... Emperor!

[Union Yes]

150. Why does the Tri-Lateral Commission need a rep in Obama's cabinet in TLC member Geitner?

Oh yeah, cuz it's banking we're talking about.

Silly me.

Edit: BTW I've always liked your pics!

:hi:

[FLAprogressive]

2. K&R but I fear the unreccers will come over from GD:P in due time

[AllentownJake]

4. To quote another DUer the other day

I hear angry Pom-Poms in the distance.

[jonnyblitz]

128. !!

:rofl:

[liberation]

131. LOL, well played.... well played!

[debbierlus]

3. And, he was appointed by Obama and he continues to be supported by Obama

He is executing this White House's economic policies.

I am so sick of people divorcing Obama's cabinet appointments from the President.

As if they are a seperate entity for which Obama has no control.

[Warpy]

11. He didn't have much control in one important way

Since the last liberal administration went out of power in 1969, there is no pool of experienced liberals to draw from, not even conservative-lite people from the Carter administration of 28 years ago. He was stuck with people from Clinton's administration, which was all DLC and Wall Street Democrats, if he wanted experienced people in his cabinet who would easily get confirmed by Congress.

Yes, Geithner is part of the problem and is very unlikely to be any part of a solution to it, left to his own devices.

[debbierlus]

13. So, Obama HAD to appoint Geithner because there was no one else with experience

Who could have been appointed by Congress?

Are you fucking kidding me?

That is utter and complete and total bullshit. Obama could have appointed any number of credible economists who predicted this disaster and offered true solutions to the crisis. And, they would have been appointed by Congres.

Puke.

[AllentownJake]

16. The logic that people use

to defend some of these picks, amazes me.

[theFrankFactor]

96. Will it EVER end?

Just give 'em another three years? FUCK THAT! If this was a Republican Administration that had OUR agenda we'd be in fuckin' solar powered cars and have single payer health care for all by now. But Democrats provide nothing but cover for corporate cock sucking. Now we're supposed to believe Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are going to deliver us a "public option"? Yeah, and Glen Beck is a fucking genius!

[liberation]

127. That is not "logic" it is either denial or shilling...

... in any case, I am tired of being told about how things work by people who are clearly divorced from reality.

[Warpy]

38. Credible economists, yes. Credible administrators, probably not.

Personally, I'd have preferred to see him point a left of center economist who would then hire an administrator, but that's me and not Obama.

Please don't assume I approve of his choices. I just understand why he might have made some of them.

[flyarm]

85. lets learn a little about little Timmy Geithner...shall we... LETS........

lets learn a little about little Timmy Geithner...shall we...and for those who say we couldn't find someone better..i say read this and then tell me that again..i say hogwash!!!!!!!!!!!

Early career
Geithner worked for Kissinger Associates in Washington for three years and then joined the International Affairs division of the U.S. Treasury Department in 1988.

In March 2008, he arranged the rescue and sale of Bear Stearns;<10><19> in the same year, he played a pivotal role in both the decision to bail out AIG as well as the government decision not to save Lehman Brothers from bankruptcy, though claims were made after Geithner's nomination that distanced him from both AIG and Lehman Brothers.


Geithner;

His father, Peter F. Geithner, is the director of the Asia program at the Ford Foundation in New York. During the early 1980s, Peter Geithner oversaw the Ford Foundation's microfinance programs in Indonesia being developed by Ann Dunham, President Barack Obama's mother, and they met in person at least once.

Memberships
Center for Global Development - (Board of Directors)<50>
Council on Foreign Relations<14>
Economic Club of New York (trustee)<50>
Bank for International Settlements (chairman) - Committee on payment and settlement systems <8>
Bilderberg Group


http://www.ustreas.gov/organization/bios/geithner-e.shtml
He was director of the Policy Development and Review Department at the International Monetary Fund from 2001 until 2003. Before joining the Treasury, Secretary Geithner worked for Kissinger Associates, Inc.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


What we are seeing is a Financial Oligarchy ..run by a few with all the power over all of us.
Posted by flyarm in Latest Breaking News
Wed Oct 14th 2009, 12:09 PM

from my journal:


What we are seeing is a Financial Oligarchy ..run by a few with all the power over all of us.
Posted by flyarm in Latest Breaking News
Mon Jul 20th 2009, 01:11 AM

Look who Obama has appointed to his Executive Branch...and their memberships to elite groups.



Timothy Geithner, Secretary of Treasury..former Pres of the Federal Reserve Bank
Bilderberg Group, Trilateral Commission, CFR

Ambassador to UN Susan Rice..Trilateral Commission

National Security Advisor, Gen James L. Jones: Bilderberg Group, Trilateral Comm, CFR

Deputy National Security Advisor, Thomas Donilon: CFR

Special State Dept Speical Envoy, Henry Kissinger: Bilderberg Group, Trilateral Commission, CFR

Chairman of Economic Recovery Committee, Paul Volcker: Bilderberg Group , Trilateral Comm., CFR

Larry Summers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Summ ...


There are powers at work invested in marginalizing the truth tellers, they try to divide us and sub- divide us to take us into a financial Oligarchy..don't let them!

snip:
As Treasury Secretary, Summers led the Clinton Administration's opposition to tax cuts proposed by the Republican Congress in 1999. <10> Also during his stint in the Clinton Administration, Summers was successful in pushing for capital gains tax cuts. During the California energy crisis of 2000, then-Treasury Secretary Summers teamed with Alan Greenspan and Enron executive Kenneth Lay to lecture California Governor Gray Davis on the causes of the crisis, explaining that the problem was excessive government regulation.<11> Under the advice of Kenneth Lay, Summers urged Davis to relax California's environmental standards in order to reassure the markets.<12>

Summers hailed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in 1999, which lifted more than six decades of restrictions against banks offering commercial banking, insurance, and investment services (by repealing key provisions in the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act): "Today Congress voted to update the rules that have governed financial services since the Great Depression and replace them with a system for the 21st century," Summers said.<13> "This historic legislation will better enable American companies to compete in the new economy."<13> Many critics, including President Barack Obama, have suggested the 2007 subprime mortgage financial crisis was caused by the partial repeal of the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act.<14>


snip:

National Economic Council
In 2009, he was tapped by President Obama to be the director of the White House National Economic Council<1><31>. He has emerged as a key economic decision-maker in the Obama administration, where he has attracted both praise and criticism. There has been friction between Summers and former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, as Volcker has accused Summers of delaying the effort to organize a panel of outside economic advisers, and has cut Volcker out of White House meetings and has not shown interest in collaborating on policy solutions to the current economic crisis. <32> On the other hand, Obama himself was reportedly thrilled with the work Summers did in his first few weeks on the job. And Peter Orzag, andother top economic advisor, calls Summers "one of the world’s most brilliant economists." <33>

In January 2009, as the Obama Administration tried to pass an economic stimulus spending bill, Oregon Democratic Representative Peter DeFazio criticized Summers, saying that he thought that President Barack Obama is "ill-advised by Larry Summers. Larry Summers hates infrastructure." <34>. DeFazio, along with liberal economists including Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz, has argued that more of the stimulus should be spent on infrastructure,<35> while Summers has supported tax cuts.

Summers has recently come under fire for accepting perks from Citigroup, including free rides on its corporate jet last summer.<36> According to the Wall Street Journal, Larry Summers called Chris Dodd asking him to remove caps on executive pay at firms which have received stimulus money, including Citigroup. <37>

On April 3, 2009 Summers came under renewed criticism after it was disclosed that he was paid millions of dollars the previous year by companies which he now has influence over as a public servant. He earned $5 million from the hedge fund D. E. Shaw, and collected $2.7 million in speaking fees from Wall Street companies that received government bailout money.<38>

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

and From an April post of mine here at DU: and please, don't believe me click the link..it was in the CFR publication!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Remarks by National Security Adviser Jones at 45th Munich Conference on Security Policy

Published February 8, 2009
Speaker: James L. Jones


U.S. National Security Adviser Jones ( edit to add: new advisor hired by Obama!!!!) gave these remarks at the 45th Munich Conference on Security Policy at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof on February 8, 2009.

"Thank you for that wonderful tribute to Henry Kissinger yesterday. Congratulations. As the most recent National Security Advisor of the United States, I take my daily orders from Dr. Kissinger, filtered down through General Brent Scowcroft and Sandy Berger, who is also here. We have a chain of command in the National Security Council that exists today.


Source: http://www.cfr.org/publication/18515/remar ... ...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

because he grew up with Obama in Indonesia? Maybe?? And Obama's mom worked with Geithner's dad
Posted by flyarm in Latest Breaking News
Wed Oct 14th 2009, 11:51 AM
with the Ford Foundation in Indonesia perhaps?????

and do look up the connections of the Ford Foundation..and many believe it was a front for the CIA.

Oh and do look at Timmy's bio..and his connections to Kissinger..you know the guy who's nickname is the Butcher of Cambodia...and his connections to the CFR and was the President of the Federal Reserve of NY..

Go ahead look him up..I posted about him alot, but people ingored it.

People tend to do that until they get hit directly in their own pocket book or lose their own jobs!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Geith...

[Autumn]

105. Holy shit, that is fucking

disturbing.

[flyarm]

108. it damn well should be..i posted this many times in the spring and summer only to have the

cheerleaders try to block people seeing it!

[liberation]

130. The amount of denial is damned scary...

... some of the retorts by the Obama loyalist remind me of the same attitude I got back when I was telling people that putting troops in Afghanistan right after 9/11 was a pretty bad idea.

[Tansy_Gold]

174. 11/24/08

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=7922946#7922953

Tansy Gold, still "batshit insane" but with a lot more company now

[flyarm]

176. Yes Tansy_gold..there are alot more of us now..but that doesn't make me feel any better

about the direction of things past and things to come for our once great nation! It more has me looking for the escape routes! We are on our own now , and the future of this country will depend on how we act and react.
"We the people" are the solution to this dilemma, just as our forefathers were. If we accept this shit..we get what we deserve. Solution?..i have no doubt if we want real change, it will have to come from all of us, not from politicians...and it can't be empty slogans..it means taking to the streets in massive numbers.We must mean business. So FAR THE ONLY ONES I SEE THAT HAVE SUCCEEDED..ARE THE FASCISTS. The paid pigs are all over the internet..we must shut them down the same as we finally shut down the Bushbots. Call them out..shut down their bullshit. What i have learned since 2000 is people can be bought very cheaply..but their numbers are relatively small.

I say fight fire with fire..they unrec posts that tell truth..close theirs down..enmass! The propaganda posts..shut em down! The cheerleading posts of nothing but lies and bullshit and half truths..shut em down.

We all worked hard to stand from truth under bush..we can and must do the same now.It is no less important now, quite the contrary..it is more important now..our democratic values and principles are on the line now.

Do we just speak the shit or do we walk the walk?

Thank you Tansy_Gold for speaking truth and speaking it early , when it was unpopular to do so.

IN the days after 9/11 I had to make a very unpopular stand..as a flight crew of one of the airlines based in NY ..and I chose to stand for truth..it was lonely out there..but in the years that followed , I became the norm..not the exception..I became a target for many,,but I am standing and I am in the majority today in believing 9/11 was nothing but lies and untruths and half truths.

One of the realities I have come to since going to Iowa to work is ..there are no two parties..there is one party with a very giant money pot in the middle.

I went home from Iowa and cried for days..when I realized this ..but then I put my fighting boots on and said..no more..I will not sit quiet and let this happen to the country I am leaving my children and grandchildren! I will fight..and god help those who try to shut me up!

fly

[unkachuck]

133. my oh my, they do keep it in the family....

"He earned $5 million from the hedge fund D. E. Shaw, and collected $2.7 million in speaking fees from Wall Street companies that received government bailout money.<38>"

....the appearance of graft and corruption is astounding....forget about a new political party, we need a new government and economic system....

[leveymg]

134. Is there any doubt that there are Democrats and Labour Party in the Establishment?

Did anyone, ever, for a second, believe otherwise?

"Gambling in this establishment? Shocked, shocked, I say!"

Those are some amazing catches about Barack's mother and the Ford Foundation. Almost as amazing as Jones' comment about his chain of command - hard to believe he's so tone deaf.

If it weren't for the timeless realities of nepotism, old-boys and girls clubs, and insider-trading, it might be a conspiracy.

[flyarm]

177. Not me, I had and have no doubt! And it is up to all of us to expose the crooks and liars!

make sure you keep the info i posted and keep the flow of Info going! Until everyone knows this shit! Until it can't be denied and shut up!

[olegramps]

182. Thanks for the information, this is primarily why I come to DU.

Isn't is a damn shame that our national media is failing us so miserably to keep us informed?

[glitch]

110. + :) nt

[tblue]

136. I don't blame Geitner. I blame Obama. The buck stops there.

There is no excuse for this. None. Zilch. Nada. It hurts to say it but I am SO disappointed in my president. He is blowing it. He is digging himself into a very deep hole, and he thinks America is behind him? On this? Where are the fricking jobs at least?

[sendero]

138. I agree with you...

... Obama is nothing more than a Corporatist(D). I'll never vote for the son of a bitch again.

[waiting for hope]

141. +1

I'm waiting for the "the change will emanate from Obama" bullshit. Obama knew full well who and what he was appointing to that position.

[Hidden Stillness]

22. The Great Joseph Stiglitz Campaigned Openly for Treasury Job, and Was Snubbed

One of the greatest people I ever heard on economics--to someone like me who knows almost nothing--has been the Nobel-Prize-winner Joseph Stiglitz. This Stiglitz is very clear on these huge and complicated issues, is a liberal, sounds like a New Dealer, a populist, someone who supports unions, public works projects, who knows the greatest stimulants to the economy are food stamps and unemployment benefits (as measured by amount spent, and amount returned to real economy), etc. Stiglitz explains things very well, and talks of the moral meaning of an economy as something that is controlled by, and for the benefit of, society--it is not a mathematical instrument for investors only. Joseph Stiglitz campaigned openly, as an Obama supporter, for the position of Treasury Secretary, and I was so excited thinking it might happen; Stiglitz would have been brilliant. The "Obama team" never even called.

These arguments that they had nowhere to turn, no path was even blazed, etc., would have been a lot more impressive if only several great people--I think Paul Krugman expressed interest, too--had not publicly expressed support and a great desire to help on any level.

[AllentownJake]

30. No Obama had to appoint Timmy

He just had to. Timmy is the only person in the world possible of understanding Wall Street. Don't you understand that.

:sarcasm:

[Warpy]

36. An administrative job going to an academic or a seasoned administrator

That choice probably entered into it.

[AllentownJake]

39. Timmy was a terrible administrator

All indications are that he did a shitty job as the head of the Fed in NY.

[glitch]

111. Definitely should put an end to any "only DLCers had experience" bullspin.

ESPECIALLY for the Secretary position.

[Enthusiast]

172. Stiglitz knows exactly the steps to correct

this mess. But some have an interest in keeping the regulatory system we have. And no wonder. This can't have a happy ending.

[Marr]

26. That's absurd.

These kinds of posts make me think of the old geocentric models of the solar system-- they had to become more and more complex as more information was revealed, if they wanted to support the initial assumption. Your argument is just an elaborate construct for maintaining your preferred perception of Obama in the face of evidence that suggests it's unlikely.

Isn't it a lot more likely that Obama chose Geithner because he agrees with his approach? C'mon.

[Warpy]

35. He probably does agree with a lot of these people

I'm just pointing out the man didn't have a wide choice available.

[valerief]

75. I like the straight line approach, too. nt

[flyarm]

87. AHHH AND FAMILY TIES,,..

and do understand many believed and still do that the Ford Foundation was a front of and for the CIA!!

lets learn a little about little Timmy Geithner...shall we...and for those who say we couldn't find someone better..i say read this and then tell me that again..i say hogwash!!!!!!!!!!!

Early career
Geithner worked for Kissinger Associates in Washington for three years and then joined the International Affairs division of the U.S. Treasury Department in 1988.

In March 2008, he arranged the rescue and sale of Bear Stearns;<10><19> in the same year, he played a pivotal role in both the decision to bail out AIG as well as the government decision not to save Lehman Brothers from bankruptcy, though claims were made after Geithner's nomination that distanced him from both AIG and Lehman Brothers.


Geithner;

His father, Peter F. Geithner, is the director of the Asia program at the Ford Foundation in New York. During the early 1980s, Peter Geithner oversaw the Ford Foundation's microfinance programs in Indonesia being developed by Ann Dunham, President Barack Obama's mother, and they met in person at least once.

Memberships
Center for Global Development - (Board of Directors)<50>
Council on Foreign Relations<14>
Economic Club of New York (trustee)<50>
Bank for International Settlements (chairman) - Committee on payment and settlement systems <8>
Bilderberg Group


http://www.ustreas.gov/organization/bios/geithner-e.shtml
He was director of the Policy Development and Review Department at the International Monetary Fund from 2001 until 2003. Before joining the Treasury, Secretary Geithner worked for Kissinger Associates, Inc.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


What we are seeing is a Financial Oligarchy ..run by a few with all the power over all of us.
Posted by flyarm in Latest Breaking News
Wed Oct 14th 2009, 12:09 PM

from my journal:


What we are seeing is a Financial Oligarchy ..run by a few with all the power over all of us.
Posted by flyarm in Latest Breaking News
Mon Jul 20th 2009, 01:11 AM

Look who Obama has appointed to his Executive Branch...and their memberships to elite groups.



Timothy Geithner, Secretary of Treasury..former Pres of the Federal Reserve Bank
Bilderberg Group, Trilateral Commission, CFR

Ambassador to UN Susan Rice..Trilateral Commission

National Security Advisor, Gen James L. Jones: Bilderberg Group, Trilateral Comm, CFR

Deputy National Security Advisor, Thomas Donilon: CFR

Special State Dept Speical Envoy, Henry Kissinger: Bilderberg Group, Trilateral Commission, CFR

Chairman of Economic Recovery Committee, Paul Volcker: Bilderberg Group , Trilateral Comm., CFR

Larry Summers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Summ ...


There are powers at work invested in marginalizing the truth tellers, they try to divide us and sub- divide us to take us into a financial Oligarchy..don't let them!

snip:
As Treasury Secretary, Summers led the Clinton Administration's opposition to tax cuts proposed by the Republican Congress in 1999. <10> Also during his stint in the Clinton Administration, Summers was successful in pushing for capital gains tax cuts. During the California energy crisis of 2000, then-Treasury Secretary Summers teamed with Alan Greenspan and Enron executive Kenneth Lay to lecture California Governor Gray Davis on the causes of the crisis, explaining that the problem was excessive government regulation.<11> Under the advice of Kenneth Lay, Summers urged Davis to relax California's environmental standards in order to reassure the markets.<12>

Summers hailed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in 1999, which lifted more than six decades of restrictions against banks offering commercial banking, insurance, and investment services (by repealing key provisions in the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act): "Today Congress voted to update the rules that have governed financial services since the Great Depression and replace them with a system for the 21st century," Summers said.<13> "This historic legislation will better enable American companies to compete in the new economy."<13> Many critics, including President Barack Obama, have suggested the 2007 subprime mortgage financial crisis was caused by the partial repeal of the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act.<14>


snip:

National Economic Council
In 2009, he was tapped by President Obama to be the director of the White House National Economic Council<1><31>. He has emerged as a key economic decision-maker in the Obama administration, where he has attracted both praise and criticism. There has been friction between Summers and former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, as Volcker has accused Summers of delaying the effort to organize a panel of outside economic advisers, and has cut Volcker out of White House meetings and has not shown interest in collaborating on policy solutions to the current economic crisis. <32> On the other hand, Obama himself was reportedly thrilled with the work Summers did in his first few weeks on the job. And Peter Orzag, andother top economic advisor, calls Summers "one of the world’s most brilliant economists." <33>

In January 2009, as the Obama Administration tried to pass an economic stimulus spending bill, Oregon Democratic Representative Peter DeFazio criticized Summers, saying that he thought that President Barack Obama is "ill-advised by Larry Summers. Larry Summers hates infrastructure." <34>. DeFazio, along with liberal economists including Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz, has argued that more of the stimulus should be spent on infrastructure,<35> while Summers has supported tax cuts.

Summers has recently come under fire for accepting perks from Citigroup, including free rides on its corporate jet last summer.<36> According to the Wall Street Journal, Larry Summers called Chris Dodd asking him to remove caps on executive pay at firms which have received stimulus money, including Citigroup. <37>

On April 3, 2009 Summers came under renewed criticism after it was disclosed that he was paid millions of dollars the previous year by companies which he now has influence over as a public servant. He earned $5 million from the hedge fund D. E. Shaw, and collected $2.7 million in speaking fees from Wall Street companies that received government bailout money.<38>

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

and From an April post of mine here at DU: and please, don't believe me click the link..it was in the CFR publication!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Remarks by National Security Adviser Jones at 45th Munich Conference on Security Policy

Published February 8, 2009
Speaker: James L. Jones


U.S. National Security Adviser Jones ( edit to add: new advisor hired by Obama!!!!) gave these remarks at the 45th Munich Conference on Security Policy at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof on February 8, 2009.

"Thank you for that wonderful tribute to Henry Kissinger yesterday. Congratulations. As the most recent National Security Advisor of the United States, I take my daily orders from Dr. Kissinger, filtered down through General Brent Scowcroft and Sandy Berger, who is also here. We have a chain of command in the National Security Council that exists today.


Source: http://www.cfr.org/publication/18515/remar ... ...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

because he grew up with Obama in Indonesia? Maybe?? And Obama's mom worked with Geithner's dad
Posted by flyarm in Latest Breaking News
Wed Oct 14th 2009, 11:51 AM
with the Ford Foundation in Indonesia perhaps?????

and do look up the connections of the Ford Foundation..and many believe it was a front for the CIA.

Oh and do look at Timmy's bio..and his connections to Kissinger..you know the guy who's nickname is the Butcher of Cambodia...and his connections to the CFR and was the President of the Federal Reserve of NY..

Go ahead look him up..I posted about him alot, but people ingored it.

People tend to do that until they get hit directly in their own pocket book or lose their own jobs!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Geith...

[sabrina 1]

114. You seriously cannot mean what you just said.

the country is full of economists who predicted the failure of this economy and named those responsible for years now. Geithner was probably the worst possible choice, someone who has pretty much failed at everything he has done. Unless failure is what he's supposed to be doing, all I can say is, if this the best America has to offer, we are truly without hope.

Obama chose these people. Nearly one year later, Geithner's friends on Wall St. are back in business, still thinking up new ways to screw the American people, while ordinary Americans are worse off now than they were before.

For the American people, this was a disastrous choice. For Wall St. though, he's a great tool for them to have working for them in the WH. That's one guy who could not care less about ordinary people.

I'll give Obama one more year, reluctantly, before making up my mind about whether he was just unaware of how bad these people are, whether that was the only way he could get to the WH, or worst of all, he really is one of them.

[DWilliamsamh]

117. That is ridiculous.

I really like Obama. I wouldn't vote for a republican over him, for all the tea in china so to speak...but.....

Paul Krugman? You know, the guy who not only wrote Concience of a Liberal but won the Nobel Prize in economics in 2008. Obama probably heard about that. Joseph Siglitz? Either could have been pressed into service. Stiglitz literally campaigned for the job.

The hero worship and refusal to hold him responsible for the things going in the wrong direction (I.E., the appointment of Geithner and (SUMMERS for Christ's sake) was patently stupid - IF he truly thought changing the system was what needed. As the article said, how could you POSSIBLY hope to do that with people marinated and sucked by Wall Street? Every move his economic team has made has has one thing in common: Save the banks. Fuck the banks. Take them over (since they are insolvent) break them up and sell off the smaller entities. Then pass antitrust regulations that will forever keep any company from EVERY gaining the title "too big to fail" ever again.

Democratic administrations shouldn't be in the business of "protecting and defending" huge corporations that patently rape their customers.

These policy decisions are the biggest disappointment I have in Obama's first 10 months in office. I am not a hater. I don't think he has failed. I do have patience but the direction he is striding on these issues is no where near the destination that will help the vast majority of the American people.

[JDPriestly]

158. Elizabeth Warren could handle all three positions at once -- Sec. Treasury,

Fed Chair and Sec. Commerce. It isn't that she is some sort of superwoman who never sleeps. It is, quite simply, that she has the one quality that must be possessed by true leaders: integrity. And it is integrity that inspires others to follow the leader and to have the courage to do what is right. President Obama should ask Elizabeth Warren to lead his economic team.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Warren

It's up to him. She is not overly greedy. She cares about justice. She understands consumer and bankruptcy law. She is honest. She is articulate. She is brilliant. She strikes me as being loyal. She will do her job and not upstage Obama. She is a first class person as far as I can tell. Now, I do not know her at all. I have never met her. I have no idea whether she is well organized. But I do know I trust her and I think other Americans will too. She will not be intimidated by the Goldman Sachs money or all the geniuses they have hired.

If anyone has President Obama's ear . . . there is still time to redeem this administration and the country. But President Obama should not wait too long.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Warren

[clear eye]

194. Nonsense.

There are liberal economic thinktanks like EPI, a progressive Nobel-prizewinning economist, Joseph Stiglitz, the generally acknowledged genius and pragmatist Nouriel Roubini, and numerous very competent labor economists--all outside the inner int'l banking circle. He wasn't stuck w/ anyone. He and his main advisor throughout the campaign, U of Chi business prof Austen Goolsbee intentionally chose who they chose b/c they had a particular point of view about whose opinions were worthy. Candidate Obama actively opposed waiting a few days to hear testimony from economists (who were begging to testify) before passing the original bailout.

They didn't even look for a variety of viewpoints for the broadest possible options. And now we are stuck w/ this continuing fail of an unimaginably deep pit of a bank bailout.

[ChiciB1]

183. I Started A Thread About This Last Week & Actually Got Attacked For Bringing

this up. Of course it was because Dylan Ratigan was calling Goldman Sachs out and I was trying to call attention to Geithner & his ties to them. I didn't get many replies, a few agreed with me, but the thread was basically panned.

So GLAD to see this front and center once again!! Anyone can say it's Congress who needs to fix the problem, but it was THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION who hired all these people. When will this problem be addressed and WHEN will "we the people" quit getting screwed because of these kinds of actions??

Ratigan is calling them out ONCE AGAIN this AM! THIS seems to be one of him MAIN issues of late... THE BANKING INSTITUTIONS and I applaud him for this!

[Blue_In_AK]

5. He seemed like a questionable choice from the beginning.

Larry Summers, too.

[MannyGoldstein]

6. He's A Success

In his own world - since he does not have a conscience, there's zero downside to him for his actions - only a marvelous payday when he leaves office.

Until there is great pain for Geithner and Obama for their harmful actions, they are wild successes.

[Karmadillo]

7. Just wait until Obama finds out about this guy. Big time FIRING. You just wait.

nt

[MannyGoldstein]

9. LOL nt

[flyarm]

oh please let me get a huge yawn here..or a Big GIANT CHUCKLE!

lets learn a little about little Timmy Geithner...shall we...and for those who say we couldn't find someone better..i say read this and then tell me that again..i say hogwash!!!!!!!!!!!

Early career
Geithner worked for Kissinger Associates in Washington for three years and then joined the International Affairs division of the U.S. Treasury Department in 1988.

In March 2008, he arranged the rescue and sale of Bear Stearns;<10><19> in the same year, he played a pivotal role in both the decision to bail out AIG as well as the government decision not to save Lehman Brothers from bankruptcy, though claims were made after Geithner's nomination that distanced him from both AIG and Lehman Brothers.


Geithner;

His father, Peter F. Geithner, is the director of the Asia program at the Ford Foundation in New York. During the early 1980s, Peter Geithner oversaw the Ford Foundation's microfinance programs in Indonesia being developed by Ann Dunham, President Barack Obama's mother, and they met in person at least once.

Memberships
Center for Global Development - (Board of Directors)<50>
Council on Foreign Relations<14>
Economic Club of New York (trustee)<50>
Bank for International Settlements (chairman) - Committee on payment and settlement systems <8>
Bilderberg Group


http://www.ustreas.gov/organization/bios/geithner-e.shtml
He was director of the Policy Development and Review Department at the International Monetary Fund from 2001 until 2003. Before joining the Treasury, Secretary Geithner worked for Kissinger Associates, Inc.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


What we are seeing is a Financial Oligarchy ..run by a few with all the power over all of us.
Posted by flyarm in Latest Breaking News
Wed Oct 14th 2009, 12:09 PM

from my journal:


What we are seeing is a Financial Oligarchy ..run by a few with all the power over all of us.
Posted by flyarm in Latest Breaking News
Mon Jul 20th 2009, 01:11 AM

Look who Obama has appointed to his Executive Branch...and their memberships to elite groups.



Timothy Geithner, Secretary of Treasury..former Pres of the Federal Reserve Bank
Bilderberg Group, Trilateral Commission, CFR

Ambassador to UN Susan Rice..Trilateral Commission

National Security Advisor, Gen James L. Jones: Bilderberg Group, Trilateral Comm, CFR

Deputy National Security Advisor, Thomas Donilon: CFR

Special State Dept Speical Envoy, Henry Kissinger: Bilderberg Group, Trilateral Commission, CFR

Chairman of Economic Recovery Committee, Paul Volcker: Bilderberg Group , Trilateral Comm., CFR

Larry Summers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Summ ...


There are powers at work invested in marginalizing the truth tellers, they try to divide us and sub- divide us to take us into a financial Oligarchy..don't let them!

snip:
As Treasury Secretary, Summers led the Clinton Administration's opposition to tax cuts proposed by the Republican Congress in 1999. <10> Also during his stint in the Clinton Administration, Summers was successful in pushing for capital gains tax cuts. During the California energy crisis of 2000, then-Treasury Secretary Summers teamed with Alan Greenspan and Enron executive Kenneth Lay to lecture California Governor Gray Davis on the causes of the crisis, explaining that the problem was excessive government regulation.<11> Under the advice of Kenneth Lay, Summers urged Davis to relax California's environmental standards in order to reassure the markets.<12>

Summers hailed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in 1999, which lifted more than six decades of restrictions against banks offering commercial banking, insurance, and investment services (by repealing key provisions in the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act): "Today Congress voted to update the rules that have governed financial services since the Great Depression and replace them with a system for the 21st century," Summers said.<13> "This historic legislation will better enable American companies to compete in the new economy."<13> Many critics, including President Barack Obama, have suggested the 2007 subprime mortgage financial crisis was caused by the partial repeal of the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act.<14>


snip:

National Economic Council
In 2009, he was tapped by President Obama to be the director of the White House National Economic Council<1><31>. He has emerged as a key economic decision-maker in the Obama administration, where he has attracted both praise and criticism. There has been friction between Summers and former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, as Volcker has accused Summers of delaying the effort to organize a panel of outside economic advisers, and has cut Volcker out of White House meetings and has not shown interest in collaborating on policy solutions to the current economic crisis. <32> On the other hand, Obama himself was reportedly thrilled with the work Summers did in his first few weeks on the job. And Peter Orzag, andother top economic advisor, calls Summers "one of the world’s most brilliant economists." <33>

In January 2009, as the Obama Administration tried to pass an economic stimulus spending bill, Oregon Democratic Representative Peter DeFazio criticized Summers, saying that he thought that President Barack Obama is "ill-advised by Larry Summers. Larry Summers hates infrastructure." <34>. DeFazio, along with liberal economists including Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz, has argued that more of the stimulus should be spent on infrastructure,<35> while Summers has supported tax cuts.

Summers has recently come under fire for accepting perks from Citigroup, including free rides on its corporate jet last summer.<36> According to the Wall Street Journal, Larry Summers called Chris Dodd asking him to remove caps on executive pay at firms which have received stimulus money, including Citigroup. <37>

On April 3, 2009 Summers came under renewed criticism after it was disclosed that he was paid millions of dollars the previous year by companies which he now has influence over as a public servant. He earned $5 million from the hedge fund D. E. Shaw, and collected $2.7 million in speaking fees from Wall Street companies that received government bailout money.<38>

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

and From an April post of mine here at DU: and please, don't believe me click the link..it was in the CFR publication!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Remarks by National Security Adviser Jones at 45th Munich Conference on Security Policy

Published February 8, 2009
Speaker: James L. Jones


U.S. National Security Adviser Jones ( edit to add: new advisor hired by Obama!!!!) gave these remarks at the 45th Munich Conference on Security Policy at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof on February 8, 2009.

"Thank you for that wonderful tribute to Henry Kissinger yesterday. Congratulations. As the most recent National Security Advisor of the United States, I take my daily orders from Dr. Kissinger, filtered down through General Brent Scowcroft and Sandy Berger, who is also here. We have a chain of command in the National Security Council that exists today.


Source: http://www.cfr.org/publication/18515/remar ... ...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

because he grew up with Obama in Indonesia? Maybe?? And Obama's mom worked with Geithner's dad
Posted by flyarm in Latest Breaking News
Wed Oct 14th 2009, 11:51 AM
with the Ford Foundation in Indonesia perhaps?????

and do look up the connections of the Ford Foundation..and many believe it was a front for the CIA.

Oh and do look at Timmy's bio..and his connections to Kissinger..you know the guy who's nickname is the Butcher of Cambodia...and his connections to the CFR and was the President of the Federal Reserve of NY..

Go ahead look him up..I posted about him alot, but people ingored it.

People tend to do that until they get hit directly in their own pocket book or lose their own jobs!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Geith...

[Jim Sagle]

120. If only the king knew, said the serfs.

;)

[varelse]

125. ...

:spray:

[EndElectoral]

8. Asshole? Yes ... Failure? No. He's done exactly what he and his buddies wanted.

[flyarm]

90. BET ON THAT!!!!!!! YOU WOULD WIN THE LOTTERY! N/T

[graywarrior]

15. Truth

[RainDog]

19. Since he's marinating in that culture, I say it's time to grill him.

and find out what he and Paulson were up to.

His friends with their big bonuses need to deal with the truth of what their financial looting has caused.

If they had walked into a 7-11 and done one billionth of the damage they have done to this nation, someone could have shot them in self-defense and gotten away with it.

But, if you're a rich bastard, reality doesn't apply to you in America.

If democrats want to totally alienate their base, they're doing a good job with Geithner and the bail out and bonuses. Maybe they should use some clout and buy a clue from FDR that it is better to address social unrest by redressing abuse rather than wait until people are rioting because they have no homes, no jobs or no way to feed themselves and their families.

If we do get to that point, I hope the rioters will focus their ire on the correct targets.

[AllentownJake]

21. If you've ever met anyone who runs the democratic party

Their primary concern is money for the next election cycle. It is all they care about. So them teaming up with Wall Street is just a step in maintaining power. Do they care about some issues, sure. Does raising money to stay in power trump said issues...every fucking time.

[scentopine]

153. Rahm Emanuel has his fingerprints all over this shit...

one huge giant fuck you to the other 99% of America. This isn't the change we need.

[Ardent15]

23. I was saying this a while ago...

He's part of the problem, and I don't understand why Obama lets him and his Goldman buddies continue to loot the nation.

[Marr]

24. He's not a failure. He's doing what he was hired to do.

The people who picked him and confirmed just aren't on your side here, that's all.

[QC]

25. Bingo! n/t

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

27. K&R.

[theophilus]

28. Nixon went to China. n/t

[AllentownJake]

29. How has that worked out for us?

[Sebastian Doyle]

42. Actually, Nixon sent Ambassador Poppy Bush to China

And guess which (crime) family cashed in on that more than any other?



That guy on the right is Poppy's big brother Prescott Bush Jr.

He was the chairman of something called the "US-China Chamber of Commerce".

[lostnfound]

171. wow, Learned something new. Didn't know there was a Prescott Jr.

[Thickasabrick]

31. Summers is just as bad. They both need to go - soon nt

[AllentownJake]

32. Summers is worse

[Enthusiast]

173. And we have as much chance

of getting rid of them as we do enacting single payer health care. It appears to me that THEY are in charge.

[Subdivisions]

33. Marinating...

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00009638

University of California $1,591,395
Goldman Sachs $994,795
Harvard University $854,747
Microsoft Corp $833,617
Google Inc $803,436
Citigroup Inc $701,290
JPMorgan Chase & Co $695,132
Time Warner $590,084
Sidley Austin LLP $588,598
Stanford University $586,557
National Amusements Inc $551,683
UBS AG $543,219
Wilmerhale Llp $542,618
Skadden, Arps et al $530,839
IBM Corp $528,822
Columbia University $528,302
Morgan Stanley $514,881
General Electric $499,130
US Government $494,820
Latham & Watkins $493,835

[AllentownJake]

34. No surprises when you pull the Open Secrets information

None at all.

[Kitty Herder]

37. A very enthusiastic K&R! He is indeed an asshole and a failure.

[ProSense]

40. Does this mean the Obama administration is a failure

or just Geither?

[Sebastian Doyle]

43. The entire Wall Street/"Federal" Reserve fellating economic team definitely is.

You cannot be part of the solution, if you're part of the problem. Or in this case, the entire problem.

(Same principle applies to insurance corporate whores being involved in the health care reform discussion.)

[ProSense]

44. That's not what I asked.

If the entire team is a failure, does that mean the Obama administration is a failure?

[AllentownJake]

45. I'll answer

if the administration continues to allow the financial service industry to be run by a clique of 3-4 firms which manipulate the market and run to the government for favors, than on this issue...they will be a failure.

[ProSense]

49. "If"? So hypothetically it might be failure? You declared Geithner a failure without an "if." nt

[AllentownJake]

50. Geithner

Has been nothing but a shill for these guys since he walked into the Treasury department. We replaced Paulson with Paulson lite. Geithner still has money to make in the industry, not return years of favors.

[ProSense]

51. You're not answering the question. n/t

[Jim Sagle]

121. For a five buck an hour DLC hogwash dispenser, you display an admirable work ethic.

[Sebastian Doyle]

46. Too early to answer that question.

But I'll say this much... Wall Street profiting on money they stole from the American people does not equal a "recovery". And I don't believe these thieves are interested in a REAL recovery. Throw the bastards out, replace them with a team who understands why the policies FDR began in the 1930's saved the country then, and that it was the Reagan/Poppy/Clinton/Chimpy dismantling of those policies that allowed this shit to happen again.

And I'm not talking about the rumored new regulations putting everything under the supervision of the "Federal" Reserve horseshit. That's like asking the Catholic church to regulate pedophiles. Go back to what actually worked. And it's not possible with the likes of Timmy the Keebler Elf, Rubin, and $ummer$ in charge.

[Fire1]

109. I wish I could 'rec' a post. Nail on the head. n/t

[IrateCitizen]

47. On this issue, the Obama administration is a complete failure

At least, if you assume that they want to act in the best interests of the citizenry.

However, given the amount of money that flowed to Obama's campaign, I don't necessarily make that assumption. If you approach it from a more cynical angle, then they are decidedly NOT a failure. They have bent over backwards to protect financial services interests, and those interests have only tightened their grip on power over the economy and government.

[ProSense]

53. Nonsense

Facts and more facts.

[AllentownJake]

54. Neither of those have anything to do with the OP

This is why I'm not responding to you anymore. You take a critique and than you link something that has nothing to do with the critique.

[ProSense]

56. So he's not a failure based on evidence, just on your opinion of him? n/t

[AllentownJake]

57. That isn't fucking evidence

Your back on ignore.

[ProSense]

58. "Your back on ignore." Figures you can't deal with reality n/t

[StreetKnowledge]

66. ProSense, bud......

Trying to say Obama is a failure cannot be said yet, because he's got a lot more time to go as President. But so far, the OP is right, Geithner and company aren't doing much to help the economy, and they are surely kissing up to the financial services giants. The OP is right, Geithner has gotta go, and they have to get somebody who can do the job right as SecTreas. Geither is kissing up to the Wall Street crowd, who caused this problem in the first place.

[ProSense]

70. Until Obama dismisses Geithner, he is carrying out administration policy.

The notion that Geitner has a policy that runs counter to Obama's is ridiculous.

[IrateCitizen]

78. No, it's rather that Summers and Geithner largely regulate the flow of information

THAT is the problem that they represent. They ensure that Obama pretty much hears one perspective -- and when he does hear others, that they get the last word.

What is that perspective? It is the perspective of big finance.

[jgraz]

147. Oh please. This isn't B*sh we're talking about

Obama has a functioning brain -- that's why I voted for him. He needs to start using it.

[audas]

155. Are you for real ?

Your links were irrelevant.

[ampad]

72. Hilarious

I'm sorry but this is funny. You have the nerve to complain about angry pom pom cheerleaders for Obama, yet put someone on ignore because they annoy you. Or is it because they do not agree with you? LOL, I guess that poster better learn to stay in line if they want to bask in your righteousness. LOL Oh boy.

[AllentownJake]

73. I have no problem with debate

However, when one is talking about something and another person posts two links talking about an entirely different topic, and they do this every time they engage you in a conversation, the only rational thing to do is to stop talking to said person.

This poster is the Sarah Palin of DU

[glitch]

113. !

:spray:

[waiting for hope]

142. And thinks this is okay ...

"Until Obama dismisses Geithner, he is carrying out administration policy." So, what does that say about the administration?

[IrateCitizen]

59. So then, please tell me what measures were taken...

... in terms of sweeping reform of the financial services industry to prevent such a meltdown from occurring in the future. Because as far as I've followed things, there has been NOTHING done to prevent another meltdown.

You do realize, of course, that derivatives trading has INCREASED over the past year, right? This is the ticking time bomb that will ensure that the next meltdown is worse than the last one -- and there WILL be another meltdown to clear out the trillions of dollars in the unregulated derivatives market that isn't really backed up by anything.

The FACT is that the Obama administration missed the moment of real reform, and instead set out to save the banking industry that contributed so heavily to his campaign. Now, the crisis moment has passed, and the likelihood of real, meaningful reform has passed -- despite all of the feel-good speeches to the contrary.

[ProSense]

61. Financial regulatory reform is

a work in progress:

President Obama pushes for Consumer Financial Protection Agency, regulatory reform

Obama wins first financial reform victory in months

[IrateCitizen]

62. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

One link talks about speeches and web pages. Hardly real progress.

The other mentions a possible Congressional bill that is already being blasted by consumer groups as being gutted from the get-go.

So, once again, I ask you what meaningful reform of the financial services industry has been enacted by the Obama administration.

[ProSense]

63. So the steps toward reform are not important to you? What do you propose:

magic?

[IrateCitizen]

68. No, what I propose is a vigorous campaign...

... similar to the strong-arming that took place to get Dems to go along with additional funding for the IMF, as well as firing the generals (Geithner, Summers) who are so compromised and have proven so inept in handling this mess.

All they have done is papered over the problem at every turn, while Obama has done little more than give feel-good speeches.

For example, they could have forced the banks to carry the real value of their bad assets on the books, but they didn't. Then, they pushed through the "stress tests" when the game was already rigged from the start due to that accounting trickery. At no point during this problem have they seriously challenged the power of big finance. And, FWIW, foreclosures continue to rise, with little or no action being taken by the banks to work with struggling homeowners.

Keep waving those pom-poms if you want. My eyes are wide open.

[ProSense]

71. "similar to the strong-arming that took place to get Dems"

I say we go back to back-room deals and quit this transparency shit.

[IrateCitizen]

74. Nice strawman, but it misses the point

The point is that when the executive really wants something, it doesn't hesitate to use political capital to achieve it.

Apparently it really wanted the IMF funding, because it certainly used its muscle to influence Dems in Congress to vote their way.

And, it logically follows that they're not as serious about meaningful financial reform, because they haven't brought anything approaching that pressure to bear.

But hey, if you want to change the terms of debate to transparency because you don't like what I'm saying, go right ahead. Just don't expect me to let the strawman pass without pointing it out.

[Name removed]

76. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ProSense]

81. "The Sarah Palin of DU." You're really funny.

You talk in circles and really have no point.

[HughMoran]

149. nice

love the personal insult

[ProSense]

82. No, you miss the point. You seem to think that with everything on the agenda

from health care to recovery to trying to end war, Obama should have magically overhauled the entire U.S. financial system in nine months.

Ridiculous.

[IrateCitizen]

83. No, I'm a historian and I understand that in politics...

... a successful politician never lets a crisis go to waste. Yet, that is exactly what they did with the financial crisis.

Furthermore, the notion that Obama is trying to "end war" is utterly laughable, in light of recent moves to ramp up US presence in the "graveyard of empires" that is Afghanistan.

[ProSense]

86. "the notion that Obama is trying to "end war" is utterly laughable,"

You're a historian denying reality. More here and here?

[IrateCitizen]

93. Based upon the links you posted....

... there will still be over 200,000 US armed forces personnel and contractors in Iraq, even after the drawdown.

And this, accompanied by requests for MORE troops to Afghanistan? Not to mention the troops and private contractors that are scheduled to remain in Iraq after the "withdrawl" is complete.

That is not "ending war". To refer to it as such is, as I stated before, laughable.

[IrateCitizen]

100. More on "ending war" being laughable

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/12/AR2009101203142.html?g=0

[ProSense]

102. More on not believing everything you read in

WaPo

[IrateCitizen]

84. Then, there's also this -- Obama and Summers at the G20

Dude, where's the derivatives?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTYizzdHAXM

[saracat]

189. What transparency?Like the deal with Pharma? Sheesh.

[theFrankFactor]

95. I'm With You! Been there for about six months now.

Fucking embarrassment, this administration. It started with the moronic cabinet appointments by Obama the "Centrist".

[audas]

156. Non steps - just more rhetoric -

Actual things done include : NOT pulling out of Iraq, INCREASING the war in Afghanistan, Pakistan, not rebuking Israel for war crimes and crimes against humanity - increasing the rhetoric against Iran, handing over trillions to banksters, not creating jobs - rather LOSING THEM - these are concrete things OBAMA has done which fly IN THE FACE of what he said he would do. INCLUDING ATTEMPTING TO DISMISS WAR CRIMES CHARGES AGAINST THE PREVIOUS ADMIN - how the fuck does someone win a Nobel Peace prize when they have stood up for PARDONING AND FORGETTING WAR CRIMES - get over the hype.

[JDPriestly]

164. Putting the Fed in charge of regulating derivatives? Come on now.

That's like putting a three-year-old in charge of the kindergarten snack bar.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

64. If I could

I would K&R your response to the "doing nothing about the financial mess but he is Obama so he can do no wrong" apologist.

[IrateCitizen]

69. Yeah, I'm so sick of ideology over ideas...

... and partisanship over substance. I guess that's why I rarely venture into GDF anymore, preferring to check in at E&E and Economy forums instead.

[BREMPRO]

103. in this case they needed to save the financial sector from a meltdown BEFORE they regulated it..

you can argue that more control should have been legislated over how the bailout money was given- but that was Bush/Paulson and congress, not Obama and his economic team that set the parameters. Now that health care is in the final stretch and the American and world economy by measure of most economists is stabilizing, Obama's team has started the regulation rhetoric this week with a shot across the bow of wall street for the big bonuses. This will the stage for regulations to prevent another future meltdown. There will be push back, but Obama, Geithner,Summers, and Bernanke are all on record for tighter regulations. Give it a chance to run it's course before you judge it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4108375

[AllentownJake]

106. President Obama was the major force behind TARP in congress

No approval from than Senator Obama, No TARP.

[BREMPRO]

118. it's not that simple.

you do remember that we were facing the real prospect of another great depression? There were not many other choices on the table to act quickly enough to attack the problem besides recapitalize the banks and bailout of institutions that could have brought down the entire economy. I agree that these unethical greedy irresponsible institutions didn't deserve public support, and that TARP was not all used wisely, was poorly regulated (especially the first 350B under Bush), and favored large institutions. But for all it's faults, TARP and the stimulus looks like its averted financial and economic disaster. We are not out of the woods, and there is still a lot of work to do, regulation, rebuilding the economy. I just think it's counter productive to harp on TARP and premature to judge to Obama economic record.

[asdjrocky]

65. I think they are a brilliant success.

For the corporate overlords, for the people not so much.

[placton]

88. results count

but most here want US to wait several Friedman Units before we speak out

[glitch]

116. rofl! nt

[tblue]

137. Obama is failing his supporters. Geitner is taking care of his. nt

[change_notfinetuning]

166. I'll answer your question, Pro. I feel like the wife in Heartbreak Kid. I feel

like I've gotten burned, and we're running low on sunburn cream. I feel like my new man forgot about me as soon as I said I do. He's making plans with others, but I still think it can work. I have my fingers crossed and still have a great deal of hope.

As for you, Pro, the word that comes to mind after reading your posts is "hopeless".

[wildbilln864]

41. k&r! nt

[earth mom]

48. Who hired him? nt

[greytdemocrat]

89. Sadly, too true. n/t

[TheWebHead]

52. So Frank Rich is the final arbiter for the treasury secretary

the financial system was on the brink of collapse, they've since largely recapitalized and repaid TARP with interest, the only "zombie" financials we're left to deal with are Citi and AIG (well CIT but they're manageable), and the financial markets have rocketed higher since March. Among those directly involved, Paulson, Bernanke and Geithner have been viewed as heroes, whether a NY Times columnist with no skin in the game throwing spitballs from the sideline wants to think so or not.

[AllentownJake]

55. I believe this is what Mr. Rich is talking more about

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6802921&mesg_id=6802921

They didn't save anything, they papered over it.

[IrateCitizen]

60. So, you're challenging the assertion that Geithner...

... talks almost exclusively to Wall Street bigwigs -- the same bigwigs that he talked exclusively to during his tenure as chair of the New York Fed?

You also are challenging the assertion that by talking exclusively to this club he is failing to consider interests outside of Wall Street?

I ask this only because it seems to me that these are the main points of the article, and this is hardly the first time that I have heard these challenges. If you want another perspective, just go look at the transcript of Bill Moyers' Journal, October 9 edition, the interview with Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) and Simon Johnson.

[girl gone mad]

124. ummm, no.

http://ethisphere.com/ethisphere-tarp-index-report/"> TARP Index Still Down $148.2 Billion Overall as of June 19

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/10/34-banks-miss-tarp-dividends-and-almost-no-one-notices.html">34 Banks Miss TARP Dividends and Almost No One Notices

[davidwparker]

67. after seeing what has happened and, after watching Capitalism: A Love

Story, maybe everything is happening according to their plans, not ours.

The movie brought up that maybe you could call what has happened over these last years has been a financial coup d'etat by the financial sector.

[bvar22]

77. Heck of a job, Timmy!

*

[IrateCitizen]

79. +1

:thumbsup:

[Toucano]

80. He must go!

He can say he wants to spend more time with his family.

[Sebastian Doyle]

92. They do look like a happy bunch, don't they?

Timmy's family, that is.....

[Fire1]

91. Yeah. I'd say that. n/t

[theFrankFactor]

94. Barack Obama's Cabinet is a Fucking Shithouse - Welcome to Reality.

[tonysam]

152. The only one worse than Geithner is Arne Duncan

Duncan is a total disaster.

[change_notfinetuning]

167. This ain't no kitchen cabinet. It's a bathroom cabinet. If only we could flush

the whole lot of them, and start from scratch. Or would that be too "disruptive"?

[natrat]

97. they are crooks from the white house down,,hello

More Gov’t Sweet Talk While US Risks Loss of Global Confidence

By Rocky Vega


10/18/09 Stockholm, Sweden – Like a lothario insistent on saying the right things, but with other, more scandalous, ideas in mind, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was on TV speaking again. He had more soothing words to relax the citizens while he continues to participate in the corruption of their future finances.

In a CNBC interview, Geithner stated that the US must live within its means… or risk facing a loss of global confidence in the US dollar.

The confidence is extremely important, as he also pointed out. Treasuries are historically “the safest and most liquid markets.” We saw money flood into that asset class when people “were most concerned about the future of the world,” although “it’s not something you can count on.”

True words indeed. The latest US budget deficit reports a record $1.4 trillion shortfall, 10 percent of gross domestic product, which is not exactly an example of belt-tightening. The deficit forecasts through 2011 are also greater than $1 trillion, so right now it’s not like the future is looking any brighter.

Unfortunately, there is no exit strategy. The plan forward is vague and undefined at best, disastrous at worst. There’s a strong need for individuals to take the reins of their own finances and to plan on old-fashioned self-reliance going forward.

More details are available in Reuters coverage of the need for US to live within its means

http://dailyreckoning.com/

[Vidar]

98. K&R

[neverforget]

99. Geithner and Summers take care of their own to the detriment of the rest

of the US.

[defendandprotect]

101. And, Citigroup . . .

is our largest drug laundering bank, is it not?

[defendandprotect]

104. Misplaced --

can be seen post WWII . . . Germany was to be denazified -- war criminals persecuted . . .

Until the Nazi propagandists used "intelligence" to lure both the Soviet Union and US into
a loggerhead jam, creating fear on both sides of one another.

Rather than concentrating on what should be done with Germany - breaking up cartels,
industrial monopolies which had profited from WWII concentration camps, etal ...

Two superpowers were sidetracked into a Cold War -- which benefited no one but the Nazis...

in fact, the CIA makes clear, it hurt our own country.

The wealth elites in America didn't want Germany denazified so it didn't happen --
they didn't want public examination of their dealings pre-WWII with Germany and all of the
financial entanglements that continued on.

Finally, most of the Nuremberg trials and plans to break up the financial end which permitted
Hitler/Nazis to rise weren't carried out.

The Cold War gave these Nazis both here and in Soviet Union a chance to recover, spread out,
act in their own interests.

And they are certainly rising again!


Same thing going on now . . . the wealthy/Wall Street are running things --

We are given leadership which they select -- intended to keep things running their way!

[defendandprotect]

107. This is the same elitist game played over and again . . .

can be seen post WWII . . . Germany was to be denazified -- war criminals persecuted . . .

Until the Nazi propagandists used "intelligence" to lure both the Soviet Union and US into
a loggerhead jam, creating fear on both sides of one another.

Rather than concentrating on what should be done with Germany - breaking up cartels,
industrial monopolies which had profited from WWII concentration camps, etal ...

Two superpowers were sidetracked into a Cold War -- which benefited no one but the Nazis...

in fact, the CIA makes clear, it hurt our own country.

The wealth elites in America didn't want Germany denazified so it didn't happen --
they didn't want public examination of their dealings pre-WWII with Germany and all of the
financial entanglements that continued on.

Finally, most of the Nuremberg trials and plans to break up the financial end which permitted
Hitler/Nazis to rise weren't carried out.

The Cold War gave these Nazis both here and in Soviet Union a chance to recover, spread out,
act in their own interests.

And they are certainly rising again!


Same thing going on now . . . the wealthy/Wall Street are running things --

We are given leadership which they select -- intended to keep things running their way!

[natrat]

129. so do these nazis have the same final solution in mind, or a new one ?

[defendandprotect]

163. Can't speak to what they "actually" have in mind . . . however,

Certainly idea is to regain power - a return to POWER

Supremacist
Nationalistic
Anti-immigrant - which they see as an excellent "pressure point" everywhere,
including America

Some general ideas ... and this from "the Beast Reawakens" by Martin A. Lee -
but not exact quotes --

Nazi/neo-fascism is described as a supervirus which constantly evolves --

Neofascists will distance themselves from historical image of fascism--

Their purposes are camouflaged as they embark on the quest for power --

Self-portrayal as ...
"Protectors of Western European culture"
"Economic prosperity -
as method of elbowing their way into mainstream

Collapse of Communism triggered neofascist resurgence to Northern Hemisphere --

Re America --
A vibrant democratic culture would withstand neofascism -
However, uncontrolled corporate power has stifled democratic process

American militias groups - "Hitler was for gun control"
Have not excluded Jews or people of color/therefore, not a reliable litmus test
Reinventing fascism in uniquely American way

NATIONAL RESURGENCE THRU VIOLENCE

Former Rep. Newt Gringrich stymied a much needed probe into right wing paramilitary activity --


Generally patriarchal, control over others, exploitation, anti-female, anti-labor --

Pretty much what you see in the GOP -- sexist, racist, homophobic -- on and on --


I'm not familiar with what is happening in Germany at this time, however, there still seems
to be reported "deep-rooted xenophobia" -
Chancellor Kohl financed a NYC tourism office where employees were ordered to discourage
Jews, Blacks, Hispanics, and Asiatics from visiting Bonn Republic!

And, I think this is quite interesting . . .

The mass consumer culture is seen as a weakness in personalities with high dependency
needs and easily manipulated by commercial advertisers and political demagogues


See Odessa/Cedade/The org

I'd also recommend this book which I read some years ago -- and just happened to be looking
thru notes on it -- your library probably has it --



RE THE FINAL SOLUTION . . . I THINK YOU SHOULD UNDERSTAND THIS . . .

"Well, what do you really object to in my treatment of the Jews?
I have certainly been consistent -
I'm doing what the Catholic Church has already done for fifteen centuries --
The difference between the Church and me is that I am finishing the job --"

---Adolph Hitler/"Confronting anti-Semitism"

[DWilliamsamh]

112. Proud to be the 100th Rec. Kick and completely agree. (N/T)

[defendandprotect]

115. Are you kidding . . . ?? He's a great success for the financial crowd/Wall Street -- !!!

[beachmom]

119. I disagree. I am so tired of the "in crowd" pissing on the Treasury Secretary.

Just sick of it.

[Jim Sagle]

123. Then give us concrete evidence as to why we should stop.

[natrat]

132. please, these people are so stupid they believe anything they are told

[Jim Sagle]

192. Yeah, that's concrete, all right...

;)

[jgraz]

145. I'm tired of the Treasury Secretary pissing on us

Or did you think it was raining?

[Dinger]

122. Why In The Hell Did Our President Pick him?

Is he actually Obama's type??



K & R

[Skittles]

126. to do exactly what he is doing

[Orwellian_Ghost]

139. Yep

Some just don't want to face that fact.

K&R

[Solly Mack]

140. K&R

[arthritisR_US]

143. fox guarding the hen house. n/t

[jgraz]

146. No, he's just holding the door open for the foxes

Even worse.

[waiting for hope]

144. K&R -

The longer he stays, the longer it will take to get any meaningful reform in .. oops, that's assuming anyone in the WH wants reform ..

[Name removed]

148. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[scentopine]

151. Wall Street's Stink and Piss

Obama has his own Katrina disaster - we are drowning in Wall Street's stink and piss. And Bernie? You're doing one heck of a job.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

154. Oh totally.

Dow's over ten thousand.

Manufactured goods increased.

Declines in new unemployment claims.

Second great depression averted.

The guy's a total dick.

[Name removed]

157. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

161. You're just jealous.

It's the Nobel prize that's really set you off, isn't it?

[scentopine]

160. thanks for letting us know the worse is over because

I'll be sure to pass that on to the 400 people who are losing their job next week a few blocks from my house. That makes a few thousand from this company alone. Add to that the continuing national blood letting every week in the high tech sector. And lets talk about selling everything that isn't nailed down to India and China. This is a major fucking disaster. No one living in the middle of this shit storm sees real recovery or reform in progress. It is business as fucking usual and the treasury is getting gang raped by Wall Street. Oh, wait I forgot, we need to wait until 2012 before being critical.

==================

Official numbers for August

New orders for manufactured goods in August, down following four consecutive monthly increases, decreased $2.8 billion or 0.8 percent to $352.9 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today. This followed a 1.4 percent July increase. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.4 percent. Shipments, down following two consecutive monthly increases, decreased $0.9 billion or 0.3 percent to $360.0 billion. This followed a 0.3 percent July increase. Unfilled orders, down eleven consecutive months, decreased $3.1 billion or 0.4 percent to $736.8 billion. This was the longest streak of consecutive monthly decreases since the series was first published on a NAICS basis in 1992. This followed a 0.1 percent July decrease. The unfilled orders-to-shipments ratio was 5.98, up from 5.94 in July. Inventories, down twelve consecutive months, decreased $3.9 billion or 0.8 percent to $498.2 billion. This was the longest streak of consecutive monthly decreases since February 2001-May 2002 and followed a 0.9 percent July decrease. The inventories-to-shipments ratio was 1.38, down from 1.39 in July.

http://www.census.gov/indicator/www/m3/

If you have the official Sept data post it here.

==============================

Job losses

We are probably still underestimating job losses,” said John Silvia, chief economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC in Charlotte, North Carolina. “There could be another 30,000 to 40,000” that the data isn’t picking up, he said.

That would mean the loss of jobs for September could turn out to be as high as 300,000, rather than the 263,000 reported today by the Labor Department. Today’s report also showed the jobless rate climbed to 9.8 percent last month, a 26-year high.

The potential revision for the year through last March would mean that the economy lost 5.6 million jobs for the period instead of the 4.8 million now on the books.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=aGBkhROUjNds

=======================================

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

162. OK, you do that.

[saracat]

168. Don't confuse them with the facts. It is much easier to be stupid.

They don't want to stress their brains.They want to have "Hope" and blind trust in the Admin. It is all they have.

[Enthusiast]

175. Okay, what steps would you take?

If these institutions were allowed to fail what would have been the result?

I hear many suggest we bring jobs back to America but I have never heard how we can accomplish this.

[flyarm]

179. start here..India to ask US for more H-1B visas

India to ask US for more H-1B visas

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4109066
Thank you mule Train for this important thread!!
Edited on Sun Oct-18-09 09:58 PM by mule_train
Source: The Economic Times

NEW DELHI: India is likely to ask the United States to raise the cap on visas for skilled workers at the bilateral trade forum meeting to be held in
New Delhi later this month, a government official told ET. India may also push for a special mechanism for Indian professionals travelling to the US for short-term assignments arising out of contractual obligations.

The issue of a more liberal and simple US visa regime for professionals will be high on India’s agenda at the bilateral meeting to be chaired by Indian commerce minister Anand Sharma and the US trade representative Ron Kirk, the official said.

H-1B visas, which are non-immigrant US visas for skilled professionals, given for up to six years, are highly popular with Indian IT companies such as Infosys, Wipro, TCS and Satyam, which usually corner a big chunk of such visas issued by the US. The subsidiaries of these companies in the US usually employ H-1B visa professionals to deliver services at customer’s location.

“The number of world-wide H-1B visas issued to professionals was reduced by more than half to 65,000 per year about two years back. This has affected the functioning of Indian companies in the US, especially ones in the IT sector,” the official said. He added that India was keen on taking up with the new US government the issue of a possible increase in the cap on such visas. Although, this year, the entire quota of 65,000 H-1B visas has not yet been utilised because of the on-going global economic slow down, the official pointed out that it was a temporary phase and the demand for US work visas would soar the moment the global economy began to look up.


Read more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-indust...

[Enthusiast]

187. You are an advocate of fewer H-1B Visas?

Just so I understand.

[flyarm]

195. absolutely...

and all other visa's ..American people are having to train their replacements in many cases that are coming here on those visa's..it disgusts me.

Sorry i didn't answer ..had to go out.

[scentopine]

180. OK - here is what I'd do

My job isn't to run the treasury or fed reserve. But, here is what I think I would do if I did. I am doing this knowing that I am falling into dialog trap with where no good outcome will emerge. But I won't sit back and watch this disaster unfold without registering real horror at what is happening. This is fucking sick.

1. No TARP money unless strict conditions on bonus and payroll just like every single other employee in this recession who is working for free on forced vacations or labor. Put out a blitz of publicity about the excess and build public confidence for the justification. The truth will sell itself.

2. If they don't agree - LET THEM FAIL. Then nationalize the banks. Remove the BOD and put in publicly accountable management. Mount a non-stop campaign to bring the truth to the public. Treat the criminals like criminals. Seize assets, throw the fuckers in jail do what you have to. If these individuals caused worldwide collapse, they need to pay for their sins. The real terrorists have been here all the time.

3. Immediate stop to out-sourcing and in-sourcing. This means we stop selling our intellectual property to Asia for pennies on the dollar.

4. Replace the SEC. Put in strict revolving door regulations. These fuckers spend a couple of years learning how to game the system at Gov. expense and they leave to work as compliance officers at Goldman Sachs. Build up an investigative task force with the power to prosecute and have them drill the shit out of these sons of bitches.

5. Create a TARP agency that funds public works and infrastructure projects. We are paying a MA$$$$IVE premium buy having wall street act as little more than a middle man, they pay themselves and whatever is left over they might make available for investment.

6. Fire the three musketeers (or stooges) - Geithner, Summers, Bernankke. Saved us? They have promised Wall Street every dollar bill we print for the next 100 years. Jesus - if this was WWII we'd be trying to buy off Hitler to keep him from invading (wait - the US and Europe tried that, didn't work out very well).

7. Subpoena the the Executive branch & Treasury to find out where the goddamn money is! Make sure we know how every dollar we shipped to wall street is spent.

8. RAISE THE TAXES ON THE RICH. The 1% have had an explosion of wealth over last decade while 99% have had major decline.

I would add more if I had time. Of course we don't even have a fraction of the remedies I am asking for. In fact, just the opposite. Business as ususal.

For sure I would not lecture school kids on behavior and education while letting Wall Street treat us like chumps. Fortune 500 is outspending all public municipal spending on student dollars training people in Asia who have little education. So while your prop. taxes go up to pay for computers in kindergarten, AT&T is training some 26 yr old in Bangalore with limited education and who is working with computers for the first time. No benefits, no legal protections, no problems.

As we sit back and hope, we are slitting our own throats.

[Enthusiast]

188. Okay, I could go for this.

Getting this done would be impractical, however. The nutters already call Obama a "commie" for taking over the auto industry. Their heads would explode if he had nationalized the banks. Not that I'm against nationalizing the banks, that's what should have been done, of course.

[AllentownJake]

169. Fail

We aren't even close to being out of the woods yet. Foreclosures reaching record highs in July, September, and August. Record bonuses on Wall Street for cooked books. A Treasury Secretary who spends most of his day talking to 3-4 players in New York instead of looking at the big picture.

Great Depression far from averted. But keep spewing the talking points.

[Truth2Tell]

159. K&R. Yup. nt

[change_notfinetuning]

165. So the Wizard of Change appointed the Wizard of Business As Usual! And

what are we if we expect a different outcome?

Still stupid, and fleeced again!

No matter how much time since the inauguration and how many pawns Obama takes, the OP is being too kind to Geithner, the appointee, and Debbierlus is being too kind to the appointer.

[Hubert Flottz]

170. He did a great job for the CEOs

The people he really represents.

[dugaresa]

178. he is counting on a cushy job after he leaves the Treasury so he has to keep the "trinity" happy

[closeupready]

186. Yes, that is the correct answer.

n/t

[Blue_Tires]

198. +1

[mjvpi]

181. It's much like healthcare.

It's hard , if not impossible to affect change within the paradigm.

[olegramps]

184. In view of all the testimony here, I have to conclude that Obama's choices are puzzling at best.

I would like to know just why Obama chose Geithner and Summers and why he continues to place any confidence in them. Is it that they know where the bodies are buried or just more of the same old crap that we put up with during the last administration that wrecked the nation. What I would like to see is them putting a stop to the usury rates on credit cards. The interest they are allowed to charge is absolutely immoral.

[AllyCat]

185. Yup

[Occam Bandage]

190. His primary task was to stabilize the financial sector. He did. nt

[AllentownJake]

191. No he didn't

They changed the accounting rules so they don't have to recognize the losses. The banks are still insolvent. The only difference between now and 9 months ago, is we changed the rules so we don't have to recognize the reality that they are insolvent.

[Greyhound]

193. And don't forget the $15T - $17T, that's trillions, we are on the hook for when they lose the next

bet they place.

"We have a banking system run by terrorists" - Thom Hartmann

They are borrowing money (our money) from the Fed at no interest and "investing" it in Chinese manufacturing to drive the stock prices up. We are living H. Ross Perot's nightmare scenario.

[scentopine]

196. WTF? They rewrote the rules about reporting losses...

Geithner is so covered with Wall Street Piss and Stink you can smell it flying into National Airport.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=alC3LxSjomZ8

He bought 5 or 6 largest banks their own money printing press. Don't worry they're self-regulating.

Geithner was bad news from day one and part of a no-change insider Juggernaut that Obama brought to Washington. A transparently bad choice. Just like Bush was easy to read, so is Bernanke and Geihtner and Summers. We should not be surprised who is cashing in and making a fortune on this disaster.

Wall Street has their stimulus package.

The not so rich have their stimulus package also - go serve in Iraq or Afghanistan where you can murder or be murdered.

Always fighting and dying for the rich sons of bitches on Wall Street. This bonus shit is a slap in the face of humanity and proof that Obama is completely impotent except when it comes to appeasement and offering sacrifices to Glenn Beck.

There will always be people happy to die so some billionaire can fuck us out of every last penny, but this is really getting sick.

Obama needs to get off the lecture circuit and start collecting heads in a basket.

[scentopine]

197. Also- when did it become treasury's job to manage wall street?

Wall Street and the treasury need to be miles apart. This is really running afoul of constitutional safe guards and way, way out of league with good governance and constitutional intent.

It is not the Dept. of Treasuries job to stabilize Wall Street investment banks. People think Wall Street as the fourth branch of government !!

This is exactly why FDR didn't just carpet bomb rich people with more money hoping it would trickle down to the rest of us. He knew what would happen. And it has happened here and we will all suffer and sacrifice just so Goldman can shove our noses in their shit.