This is perfect:
Putting aside, at least for now, whether Tim Geithner is my favorite Treasury Secretary of all time or not, I’ve been thinking a bit lately about what it must be like to be in his shoes right now.
When he was sworn in two-and-a-half years ago, I imagine he had a lengthy list of overwhelming crises that demanded his immediate attention. As some of those pressures subsided, Geithner probably began evaluating how to deal with the next series of possible crises.
The list probably included concerns over Europe, the U.S. housing market, abrupt changes in China, the effects of instability in the Middle East, etc.
It almost certainly never occurred to Tim Geithner that the single greatest threat to the global economy in 2011 is the criminal stupidity of congressional Republicans and their desire to prevent the United States government from paying its bills.
The House Republicans as the Spanish Inquisition.
Gheitner: “. . . and also take advantage of this opportunity to make some progress in dealing with our long-term fiscal problems,”
If Gheitner really did see the debate over a debt ceiling as an opportunity to push for some fiscal reform, then I can’t feel sorry for him now.
Don’t. I don’t know why anyone would feel sorry for that scumbag. He’s Wall Street’s bagman. And a lot of them funded the Tea Party. They let the genie out of the bottle, and now don’t know how to stuff it back in.
He’s a Wall Street insider. They look out for there own.
Who owns Fabian Socialism? Can you have it without a central bank and the associated Big Bank entities ultimately driving the truck?
Wait. Geithner worked on Wall Street? When?
No seriously, when? I didn’t see it on his Wikipedia entry but I might have missed it.
This, one hundred times over. Deficit ceilings and budget concerns should not be tied together.
Just like it was a colossally stupid idea for Obama to float SS and Medicare reforms to this negotiation, even if he was playing his 11-dimensional chess, knowing that his deal would never be accepted. It makes SS and Medicare reform part of the conversation, when it shouldn’t be.
Just like it was a colossally stupid idea for Obama to float SS and Medicare reforms to this negotiation, even if he was playing his 11-dimensional chess, knowing that his deal would never be accepted. It makes SS and Medicare reform part of the conversation, when it shouldn’t be.
Which is what some people seem to forget. People forget that President Obama wants a “Grand Bargain.” He believes in it.
I’d say you’re missing something.
I’m missing the relevance of that story to the comment.
Here’s a clue. It was written in April. Mission Accomplished.
I do get the point. I’d just disagree that the dissension among the Republicans was worth opening negotiations with them (and there would have been some dissension regardless of the strategy the administration used, assuming they didn’t just completely capitulate). I’m also beginning to understand (or think I understand) some of the President’s strategy. By making a deal now that puts cuts off into the future, perhaps we can pre-empt more immediate cuts the next time a budget bill comes up that would damage the recovery. I just disagree that this was worth implicitly accepting the premise it was legitimate to negotiate even as one side was holding a gun to the nation’s head, metaphorically speaking.
How does he not open negotiations?
They control the House of Representatives. A bill needs to pass. They get a say in what the political debate is going to be.
What am I missing? The President thinks a “grand bargain” is the way to woo Indies back. Do you want to dispute that?
There’s a lot of things the president likes or wants that he isn’t going to get. But, on the merits, he’s got a point.
I could go on, but the administration has some good reasons to want a grand deal, provided it’s structured in a way that boosts the economy now rather than the opposite. The thing is, they’re not going to get one. And they’ve known that for a long time now.
Why do you think McConnell and Boehner caved instead of striking a deal? They can’t control the House Republicans.
But they don’t even want McConnell’s deal(which is apparently is McConnell caving with out looking like a total tool to his caucus). And is it really going to get things off the table? “Centrism” will be the death of us all.
Define what you mean by ‘don’t want.’
Because, from where I sit, that’s precisely what they want. But they want it because they can’t get a grand bargain. And, no, the grand bargain they’ve been offering is not what they want either. It’s what they want the GOP to reject.
Deficit ceilings and budget concerns should not be tied together.
Tell the Republicans. Once the party that controlled the House of Representatives decided they were going to make linking the two the central plank in their political efforts this year, Obama didn’t have the option of not dealing with that. He had to account for it.
Pretending it wasn’t happening wouldn’t have worked any better for him than it worked for John Kerry with the swift boaters. The other side gets a vote when it comes to what fights are about.
I think you can make a case that Italy+Greece+Spain default would be worse, but it’s about 50-50.
Tim’s current lack of credibility on Wall Stret justice doesn’t negate the fact that any sane financial guru on the planet standing in Tim’s shoes would be cursing the infantile Cantor. The ultimate note of Tim’s career, to be given the keys of the most powerful treasury on the planet only to find out he has to carry a squalling Cantor & his pals in the backseat has to be Gawd awful.
I’m still waiting for the beer crisis that came with the govt shutdown of Minn to translate into the pea brained GOP that their $boys can’t get permits to drill because of govt shutdown.
This has affected the national economy if its not earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes or oil leaks the Republicans make up bullshit like the debt “crisis” to destroy any consumer confidence. Bunch of goofballs are blatantly trying to send the economy into recession. This will make yearly deficits even worse but the Teabaggers don’t care because they only want to get Obama. The rest is bullshit.
Like Drunken Sailor pissed off the bartender cut them off…likening the bartender to Spanish Inquisitors.
Stop Spending Our Money!
Oh good — more chatbot wisdom for us.
Federal Government spending as a percentage of GDP is the highest since World War 2. Considering state and local Governments, Government spending as a percentage of GDP is HIGHER THAN IT HAS EVER BEEN. When is enough enough?
But those of us who say no to higher taxes are “Crazy Nutwings”. Is there a mirror around?
How will you feel when the deprectiation schedule for corporate jets returns to seven years from five, reducing the sale of corporate jets and leads to manufacturing jobs being eliminated? Who suffers the pain–the evil rich guy riding in the corporate jet, or the middle-class worker whose job was eliminated because your hero Obama found an effective rhetorical talking point? Whoops–I forgot. You guys like when people go on unemployment–more votes!
Paul Ryan’s plan for Medicare is brilliant–it will reduce health care costs by introducing competition to the market. And you guys run ads showing senior citizens being pushed off a cliff. Absolutely pitiful.
You guys claim that “supply side” economics doesn’t work–but it does. The Kennedy, Reagan, and, yes BUSH tax cuts produced more revenue to the U.S. Treasury. Do the research–revenues increased. Deficits increased because spending increased. Do the research–look at the damn numbers
You guys ignore the period from 2003 to 2007 when revenues skyrocketed. You conflate the revenue decrease caused by the recession with the tax cuts. You guys and Barney Frank caused the recession, not Bush.
The problem is that half the country collects more money from the Government than they pay to it. You guys have more votes now. We are screwed–God help us. I should probably move to Costa Rica.
I don’t know — Geithner hung out with these crooks and crazies for most of his life. He had no clue about who and what they were? Maybe he thought his plutocrat buddies would do a better job of keeping the cannon fodder in check.