Goodbye Geithner?
According to today’s Huffington Post, Obama’s financial wizard, Mr. Turbo Tax himself Tim Geithner may be in serious trouble. According to Huff Po “A brutal report issued Monday by a government watchdog holds Timothy Geithner — then the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and now the nation’s Treasury Secretary — responsible for overpayments that put billions of extra tax dollars in the coffers of major Wall Street firms, most notably Goldman Sachs”
The report was scathing in it’s criticism of Geithner both in terms of his actions on some issues and inaction on others. Huffington Post also reported that “There is no question that the effect of FRBNY’s decisions — indeed, the very design of the federal assistance to AIG — was that tens of billions of dollars of Government money was funneled inexorably and directly to AIG’s counterparties,” the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program said.
Wall Street firms like Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and Wachovia got full value for their derivatives contracts with AIG, and taxpayers got the bill. In total, $27.1 billion of public money was transferred to companies that did business with AIG.”
Hmmmm, not being an accountant myself I can only say that does not sound good, it almost hearkens back to the days of old, I think it was this March when calls for Geithner’s resignation were long and loud on Capitol Hill
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Politico actually ran the following article on calls for Geithner’s resignation over his handling of AIG “Should he stay or should he go? That was the topic being hotly debated on the Hill Wednesday as a partisan battle shaped up over the fate of embattled Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.) kicked it off early, becoming the first member to publicly call for Geithner’s head. “I’ve had serious concerns about Secretary Geithner from the moment he was nominated. In the months since, he has shown us time and again why he was the wrong choice for this critical post,” Mack wrote in a statement. “This week’s news on the AIG bonus scandal is but the latest fiasco under his watch, and he has lost the confidence of the American people. Quite simply, the Timothy Geithner experience has been a disaster. … Timothy Geithner should either resign or be fired for the good of the country.”
Obama stuck up for the embattled Geithner through his previous problems, but should it prove good timing to blame Geithner for all the financial troubles the administration is currently having then we will soon find Geithner keeping company with the crowd currently cooling their heels under Obama’s bus. Stay tuned!!
By Patrick Michael
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/16/aig-bailout-government-ov_n_359919.html
If you just need a good laugh check out the following video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfL-Oj1rQ-c